No. 538, of The Mirror, contains a very interesting memoir on the subject of the Cross-bow, but I do not find that the mode of bending the steel bow has been described; which from its great strength it is evident could not be accomplished without the assistance of some mechanical power. This in the more modern bows is attained by the application of a piece of steel, which lies along the front of the stem, and is moved forward on a pivot until the string is caught by a hook, and a lever is thus obtained, by means of which the bow is drawn to its proper extent. It seems to me that this is the description of bow of which your correspondent has furnished a drawing. Another mode, and which appears to have been applied to the ancient bows, was by a sort of two-handed windlass, with ropes and pulleys, called a "moulinet," which was temporarily attached to the butt-end of the Cross-bow; of this a drawing is given in the illustrations of Froissart's Chronicles, particularly in that one descriptive of the Siege of Aubenton; in which two bowmen are shown, one in the act of winding up the bow, and the other taking his aim, the moulinet, &c. lying at his feet. Of this latter description, there are two specimens preserved in the Tower of London, both of about the period of our Henry the Sixth.

C.P.C.

LINES TO A LARK

(For the Mirror.)

Upon thy happy flight to heaven, again, sweet bird, thou art; The morning beam is on thy wings, its influence in thy heart; Like matin hymns blest spirits sing in yonder happy sky, Break on the ear, the small, sweet notes of thy wild melody. Cold winter winds are far away, the cruel snows have past; And spring's sweet skies, and blushing flowers shine o'er the world at last; Where the young corn springs fresh, and green, sweet flowerets gather'd he, And form around thy lowly nest a shelter sweet for thee. Is it not this which wakes thy song, with thoughts of summer hours, When warmer hues shall clothe the skies, and darker shades the bowers; Has nature to thy throbbing heart such glowing feelings given, That thou canst feel the beautiful, of this bright earth and heaven. If so, how blest must be thy lot, from azure skies to gaze, When the fresh morn is in the heavens, or mid-day splendours blaze; Or when the sunset's canopy of golden light is spread, And thou unseen, enshrin'd in light, art singing overhead. Oh then thy happy song comes down upon the glowing breast, Soft as rich sunlight, on the flowers, comes from the golden west: And fain the heart would soar with thee, enshrin'd in thought as sweet, As the rich tones, which from thy heart, thou dost in song repeat. Oh there is not on earth a breast, but turns with joy to thee. From the cold wither'd years of age, to smiling infancy. Thou claimest smiles from ev'ry lip, and praise from ev'ry tongue; Such sympathy each happy heart finds in thy joyous song.

Dorking.

SYLVA.

THE COSMOPOLITE

SUPERSTITIONS, FABLES, &C. RELATIVE TO ANIMALS

(Continued from page 180.)

The following curious notice of the Acherontia Atropos, or Death's-head Moth, we extract from "The Journal of a Naturalist:"—"The yellow and brown-tailed moths," he observes, "the death-watch, our snails, and many other insects, have all been the subjects of man's fears, but the dread excited in England by the appearance, noises, or increase of insects, are petty apprehensions compared with the horror that the presence of this Acherontia occasions to some of the more fanciful and superstitious natives of northern Europe, maintainers of the wildest conceptions. A letter is now before me from a correspondent in German Poland, where this insect is a common creature, and so abounded in 1824 that my informant collected fifty of them in a potato field of his village, where they call them the 'death's-head phantom,' the 'wandering death-bird,' &c. The markings on the back represent to their fertile imaginations the head of a perfect skeleton, with the limb bones crossed beneath; its cry becomes the voice of anguish, the moaning of a child, the signal of grief; it is regarded, not as the creation of a benevolent being, but as the device of evil spirits—spirits, enemies to man, conceived and fabricated in the dark; and the very shining of its eyes is supposed to represent the fiery element whence it is thought to have proceeded. Flying into their apartments in an evening, it at times extinguishes the light, foretelling war, pestilence, famine, and death to man and beast. * * * This insect has been thought to be peculiarly gifted in having a voice and squeaking like a mouse when handled or disturbed; but, in truth, no insect that we know of has the requisite organs to produce a genuine voice; they emit sounds by other means, probably all external."

The Icelanders believe Seals to be the offspring of Pharaoh and his host; who, they assert, were changed into these animals when overwhelmed in the Red Sea. The Grampus, Porpoise, and Dolphin, have each from the earliest ages been the subject of numerous superstitions and fables, particularly the latter, which was believed to have a great attachment to the human race, and to succour them in accidents by sea; it is a perfectly straight fish, yet even painters have promulgated a falsity respecting it, by representing it from the curved form in which it appears above water, bent like the letter S reversed. "The inhabitants of Pesquare," says Dr. Belon, "and of the borders of Lake Gourd are firmly persuaded that the Carp of those lakes are nourished with pure gold; and a great portion of the people in the Lyonnois are fully satisfied that the fish called humble and ernblons eat no other food than gold. There is not a peasant in the environs of the Lake of Bourgil who will not maintain that the Laurets, a fish sold daily in Lyons, feed on pure gold alone. The same is the belief of the people of the Lake Paladron in Savoy, and of those near Lodi. But," adds the Doctor, "having carefully examined the stomachs of these several fishes, I have found that they lived on other substances, and that from the anatomy of the stomach it is impossible that they should be able to digest gold." This fable, therefore, with that of the Chameleon living on air only, and some others which we shall have occasion to mention, may be regarded amongst those exploded by science.

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The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 19, No. 541, April 7, 1832

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THE ARBALEST, OR CROSS-BOW

(To the Editor.)

LINES TO A LARK

(For the Mirror.)

THE COSMOPOLITE

SUPERSTITIONS, FABLES, &C. RELATIVE TO ANIMALS

(Continued from page 180.)

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