If an ear be cut off, let compensation be made by payment of twelve shillings.

ferring his followers." But his devoted attachment | fined, prices being set on every species of bruise or to the laws, customs, and government of Nor- wound with marvellous exactitude. mandy, was undeniable; and his prohibition of For example:the use of the Saxon tongue was of more destructive effect, than any open opposition to the laws or customs of the realm. And these, his moderate measures, refer only to the early portion of his reign; for his arbitrary and cruel temper being driven to exasperation by the unceasing revolts of the English, he became exacerbated to the utmost extreme of tyranny, and "formed the scheme of rivetting such fetters upon the conquered nation, that all resistance should become impracticable."

He fully realized his purposes. All Englishmen, who still held honourable offices, were deprived of them; they were deprived of all their political privileges; all their property was confiscated; the whole soil (with very slight exceptions) was divided amongst foreigners; and the very name of Englishman became a reproach.

If an ear be cut through, let compensation be made by payment of three shillings. If a piece of the ear be cut off, let compensation be made by payment of six shillings.

If an eye be lost, let compensation be made by payment of fifty shillings.

Whoever fractures the chin bone, let him forfeit twenty shillings for the offence.

For each of the front teeth six shillings. For the tooth that stands by the front teeth (on either side) four shillings.

For the tooth that stands by the last-mentioned tooth, three shillings; and for every other tooth, one shilling. If the speech be affected, twelve shillings.

If a thumb be cut off, let compensation be made by payment of twenty shillings; and for a thumb nail, three shillings.

If the shooting finger (i. e. the forefinger) be cut off, let compensation be made by payment of eight shillings.

If the gold finger (i. e. the ring or third finger) be cut off, let compensation be made by payment of six shillings.

And, in the progress of this utter subversion of old rights, in apportioning the confiscated lands on military tenure to his Norman knights, William introduced as a universal system that foreign feudalism which was hitherto but slightly known in England. No land was granted to a noble, no estate held, but on condition of rigidly specified military service and feudal obligation. These nobles imposed correspondent obligations on their tenants, and multitudinous bonds, fines, and services were specified and rigidly enforced. 'which were unheard of in the Saxon times, when the extent of feudality seems to have been the obligation to attend the king in military expeditions, to assist in defending the royal castles, and in repair-six shillings. ing the highways and bridges. To these Knute added the Heriot, or the forfeiture of a thane's horse and armour, on his death, to the king.

If the little finger be cut off, let compensation be made by payment of eleven shillings.

For every (finger) nail, one shilling. For a smaller disfigurement or deformity (in the countenance), three shillings; and for a larger one,

If a man hit another on the nose with his fist, let compensation be made by payment of three shillings. If there be a bruise on the nose, one shilling.

Et cetera, et cetera.1

Thus, though the influence of the Norman invasion remains to this day, yet was its immediate effect not so perceptible as we might suppose If we bear in mind the difference in the value of among a great mass of the people; for the labour- money then and now, we shall not consider these ing class of that day, having no acknowledged fines lenient. The weres were made to apply to station, passed like the cattle which they tended, every possible injury, from the slightest personal and the ground which they tilled, from one pro- blemish even to loss of life: and it is a singular cirprietor to another, little heeding, in the mere ex- cumstance in the jurisprudence of the Middle Ages, change of misery, whether he were Norman or that, if a person removed from one kingdom or proEnglish. "They could not," says Henry, "so vince to another, his life and limbs continued to be much as call their lives their own; for these might valued at the same rate they had formerly been, have been taken from them by their masters with whatever were the different custom of the country perfect impunity, and by any other person, for to which he was come; consequently those perpaying their price to their owners. For some time sons who removed from a rich country into a poor after the settlement of the Saxons in England, their one, had much greater, and those who migrated slaves were in the same circumstances with their from a poor country into a rich one, much less horses, oxen, cows, and sheep, except that it was security for their lives, limbs, and properties. not fashionable to kill and eat them." And though "The nose of a Spaniard (as Henry humorously this brutal disregard of human life became amelio-illustrates the custom) was perfectly safe in Engrated as the influence of Christianity prevailed, still the extreme carelessness with which the life of a slave was regarded was evidenced by a law which prevailed a considerable time afterwards, viz. that if a slave killed his master, he was punished with instant death; but if he killed only a fellow-could afford to return the compliment." slave, his punishment was-just what his master pleased.

By the time of the Conqueror the Anglo-Saxon laws were minute and multifarious, and were, for the most part, duly administered. William confirmed many of the laws of Ethelbert; amongst them the WERES, or pecuniary compensation for personal injuries, which were most minutely de

land, because it was valued at thirteen marks; but the nose of an Englishman ran a great risk in Spain, because it was valued only at twelve shillings. An Englishman might have broken a Welshman's head for a mere trifle; but few Welshmen

One of the most interesting peculiarities of the early legislature of England was the compurgation, branching as it did into various ordeals, and later into the trial by combat.

The most ancient form of clearing an accused person seems to have been by oaths taken in his behalf; and we are told that the conflicting parties

(1) Palgrave, Proofs and Illustrations, cvii.

appeared in the court or field, attended sometimes by as many as a thousand witnesses on each side, who discharged whole volleys of oaths at one another.

The person called upon to clear himself of the imputation of crime was required to bring his compurgators (as those who testified in his behalf were called) to a certain place; the number of oaths required for any crime being regulated by law. These compurgators did not testify their knowledge of the man's innocence, but only their belief of his own affirmation of the same. They each placed a hand on the Gospels, or on a holy relic, and the accused party placed his above the rest, and swore by the Almighty, and by all the hands that were under his, that he was not guilty. In some cases, two, three, or four hands were sufficient; in others, fifty or a hundred were required; and if one were withdrawn from the heap, the testimony of the whole was invalidated.

If the party accused were a female, law and custom required that she should obtain the requisite number of women to take oaths in her behalf, though in any other case they were not admitted to be compurgators. If the accused person, male or female, failed to clear himself by the requisite number of hands, if but one were wanting, he was condemned. This oath was called the oath of credulity, and hence arose the saying, "he has cleared himself by so many hands.”

Afterwards a certain value was fixed on hands, according to the different ranks of the owners; thus, the hand of a thane was equal to the hands of six ceorls, &c. We must not omit to add that the law required compurgators to be of unblemished character; a "good name," says the historian," was never of more value than now;" and a man of ill reputation was compelled to undergo a triple ordeal in cases where a single one sufficed for persons of credit.

There is an ancient form of words extant, which shows the solemn estimation in which an oath was held.

May he who breaks his plighted troth be banished and driven from land and home, as far away as men may flee! Let him be a forflemed man, whilst fire shall flame, whilst the grass shall spring, whilst the fir-tree grows, whilst the babe shall greet after the mother, whilst the mother shall give suck to the babe, whilst the ship shall sail, whilst the shield shall glitter, whilst the sun shall shine, whilst the hawk shall soar, whilst the heavens shall roll, whilst the wind shall howl, whilst the waves shall flow. Let him be forbidden from Church and from Christendom, from the house

of God and the fellowship of all good men, and never let him find a resting-place except in hell!"

Mar. Nor I, my lord, in faith.
Ham. Upon my sword.

Mar. We have sworn, my lord, already.
Ham. Indeed, upon my sword, indeed.
Ghost. (beneath). Swear.

Art thou

Ham. Ha, ha, boy! Say'st thou so?
there, Truepenny ?
Come on,-you hear this fellow in the cellarage,-
Consent to swear.

Hor. Propose the oath, my lord.

Ham. Never to speak of this that you have seen,
Swear by my sword.

Ghost. (beneath). Swear.

Ham. Hic et ubique? then we'll shift our ground.
Come hither, gentlemen,

And lay your hands again upon my sword:
Swear by my sword

Never to speak of this that you have heard.
Ghost. (beneath). SWEAR BY HIS SWORD.
Ham. Rest, rest, perturbed spirit.

In later times the sword has been a very usual each case a religious emblem, it has not been, as emblem on which to pledge faith, but though in with the Danes, a Pagan, but a Christian one, from the handle being always made in the form of a and in the last moments of the great and good It was long used almost as a confessional, Bayard, the knight sans peur et sans reproche, he held the crucifix (of his sword) upright before him whilst he prayed solemnly.

cross.

the Gospels-the holiest emblem we possess; but Our solemn oaths of justice are administered on formerly the relics of saints and holy men were esteemed, if not more holy than this, at any rate to add solemnity to the attestation; and though this oath might even be obtained by fraud, it was picture of the superstitious reverence attached to vet considered imperatively binding. A vivid relics is found in the Roman de Rou, when William Duke of Normandy, having Harold in his power, causes him to take an oath to further his accession to the English throne, and Harold, making a virtue of necessity, takes it. Some extrayet so marvellous is the effect, that it is said the ordinary relics are placed there unknown to Harold, hand trembled and the flesh quivered as he touched the chest containing them. In these days we might suppose the emotion was caused by his taking au oath which he did not mean to keep. After he had

Can a more impressive denunciation be imagined? But, despite all precautions as to character, the multiplication of oaths had the natural effect of destroying their force, and then other means were resorted to, to imbue them with a degree of solemnity which might beneficially influence the minds of the compurgators. Of course each nation or province adopted such symbols as were most interwoven with their own prejudices and opinions. The Danish army, we are told, A.D. 876, "stole into Wareham, a fort of the West Saxons. The king afterwards made peace with them; and they gave him as hostages those who were worthiest in the army; and swore with oaths on the holy bracelet, eucharistic emblems: hence perhaps our term corporal oath.

(1) Saxon Chronicle.

(2) It was often usual formerly to cause an attestator to place his right hand on the corporate, or linen cloth, which covered the

FACTS are to the mind the same thing as food to the body. On the due digestion of facts depends the strength and wisdom of the one, just as vigour and health depend on the other. The wisest in council, the ablest in debate, and the most agreeable companion in the commerce of human life, is that man who has assimilated to his understanding the greatest number of facts.-

Burke.

I HOLD it a greater injury to be over-valued than under. For when they both shall come to the touch, the one shall rise with praise, while the other shall decline with shame. The first hath more uncertain honour, but less safety: the latter is humbly secure; and what is wanting in renown is made up in a better blessing, quiet. There is no detraction worse than to over-praise a man, for, whilst his worth comes short of what report doth speak him, his own actions are ever giving the lie to his honour.-Feltham's Resolves.

the universe are carried on. But, if the ancients | words, one being ogus, (oxys,) acid, and the other failed to perceive that water was the result of a yevvaw, (gennao,) I produce; the compound term union between two widely different principles, the oxygen denoting something which produces acids; moderns were not quick in observing this fact. It a name given to this gas from its property of formwas not till the latter part of the eighteenth cen- ing acid substances, when combined with certain tury, that the severely trained philosophy of Europe other bodies. Thus, if sulphur receives a large could answer the question "What is water?" There mixture of oxygen, it becomes sulphuric acid, or is something surprising in this long ignorance oil of vitriol. It produces a brilliant flame respecting a substance which is daily before us, when fired by heated substances; thus a piece of which the farmer and mechanic depend upon for heated iron wire burns with vivid corruscations daily comforts and necessaries, and which, in the when plunged into a vessel filled with oxygen. Such form of rivers, rain, and dew, must have been are the properties of one of the constituents of continually soliciting the attention of scientific water. minds. Distant planets and comets had been measured, their mysterious journeys noted as accurately in the astronomers' tables as the various details of an English county in the hand-book of the topographer; but the nature of water was yet unknown.

Such a fact proves that things near and common are often the least understood; so little are we trained to see nature's plainest signals, or listen to her voice.

The other, hydrogen gas, resembles oxygen in three respects, being without colour, taste, or smell; but differs in its extreme lightness, common air itself weighing 144 times heavier than this gas. It is inflammable. A jar full of it when fired will burn till all is consumed; and a particular combination of it with the substance called carbon produces the brilliant gas-light which nightly illuminates our towns and cities. The name is formed from two Greek words, vowp, (hydor,) water, and yevvaw, (gennao,) and thus the word hydrogen expresses the fact, that this gas is the basis or principal element of water.

Such are the two substances which form the fluid of our oceans, seas, and rivers. There are some particulars which here call for attention. We have remarked the similarity of these gases in their want of odour, colour, and taste; and their product, water, resembles them in the same particulars, as pure water, unaffected by mineral, earthy, or other matter, is certainly tasteless; it will take any colour, but cannot be said to have itself a colour, and odour we cannot detect. So far the compound resembles the primitives. An inattentive thinker may assert that sea-water is not without taste, but that is not pure water, being mixed with several foreign substances, such as muriatic acid, sulphuric

Let us first state the nature of water, and then narrate the steps by which its composition was discovered. This widely-diffused fluid is formed from the union of oxygen and hydrogen gas, in the proportion of eight weights of oxygen to one of hydrogen. That is, eight grains of oxygen, mingled with one of hydrogen, will produce nine grains of water; and from nine grains of water the chemist can again obtain eight grains of oxygen and one of hydrogen. We have spoken only of the proportionate weights of the two gases required for the production of water; but, as hydrogen is among the lightest of gases, one grain of it will be of much greater bulk than a like weight of oxygen. If these gases be mingled by bulk or measurement, the proportion will be two measures of hydrogen to one of oxygen gas. Thus, whilst the weight of oxygen in water exceeds the hydro-acid, soda, lime, and magnesia, which, it must be gen in the proportion of eight to one, there is more volume of the latter gas in the ratio of two to one. When we speak of these gases being mingled, we do not refer to any kind of mixture; for, if such proportions of oxygen and hydrogen are put together in a vessel, and there left, water will not be formed; the mixture must be set on fire, an explosion then ensues, the two gases totally disappear, and water alone remains in the vessel.

In this case it is evident that nothing except the gases contributes to the production of the water; from these therefore it must be formed. The gases may | be set on fire by passing an electric spark into the vessel containing them. Thus the glass of water on the reader's table, the river which adds to the beauty of his neighbourhood, and the whole mass of the ocean-waters, are resolvable into common gases.

Before proceeding, let us briefly describe those two elements of water. Oxygen is without taste, colour, or smell, and a little heavier than the common atmospheric air; it is the chief supporter of animal life, being extracted from the air by the lungs, and thus keeps the wonderful mechanism of our bodies in motion. But this fluid, so necessary to our existence when moderated by admixture with other gases, becomes destructive when breathed in its pure state, as it then excites the vital functions so rapidly that premature death is the result. A man is reckoned to consume 46,000 cubic inches of this gas daily. Its name is derived from two Greek

admitted, are quite sufficient to impart a pretty strong taste to the water. But further resemblance between the gases and their product cannot be traced, as the compound possesses some properties completely opposed to those of its elements. Both oxygen and hydrogen are combustible, and give out light during the combustion; but water tends to extinguish heat and flame.

Previously to experiment, we might have inferred, that when two combustible bodies were combined, the resulting compound would also be combustible. Where are the combustible qualities of the gases? Locked up in the secret cells of the water so securely that no force can draw them out, so deeply hidden that the most delicate senses cannot detect their presence.

Again, oxygen gives increased energy to the vital powers, even developing them into an overwrought and destructive activity; whilst hydrogen, though it may be respired for some seconds, cannot be long breathed without being followed by death. Now we might have supposed that the admixture of the two gases would produce a wholesome air, the excessive power of the oxygen being corrected by the antagonist properties of the hydrogen; whereas the result is a fluid destructive to terrestrial life.

The density of water is another singular result, (1) Hydrogen also contributes to form some acids, but these pro

ducts are much less frequent than the combinations of Oxygen.