Notes On Literature, Science And Art.

The certainly very singular island of Ascension— -so called from being discovered by Joao de Nova Galego on Ascension Day , 1501 ( which the British have held since 1815 , and which is now in commission as one of her Majesty ' s ships !! !—a

tender to the Flora , the guard-ship at the Cape of Good Hope , though 520 miles from the nearest land , Matthew Island ) is thus described by Professor Sir Wyville Thomson , F . R . S ., who visited it on the 27 th of March of last year : " Ascension

is certainly a strange little place . It is purely volcanic , and though there is now no sign whatever of volcanic activity , the cones of tufa are so fresh , and so defined and vivid in their different shades of brown

and red , and the lava beds are so rugged , apparently utterly unaffected by atmospheric action , that the impression is irresistible that it is a lately-formed heap of cinders and ashes , probably resting upon slumbering fires . The island is irregularly oval in . formabout seven and a half miles

, long by six wide ; the position of the central peak is latitude 7 ° 56 ' 58 '' S ., longitude 14 ° 20 ' W . It is directly in the path of the south-east trade , so that there is an exposed weather side , with abrupt cliffs and precipices and unsafe landing ,

and a lee side where there is the settlement and anchorage . As in almost all these volcanic islands in the path of constant winds , during the period of eruption the scorias and ashes have been driven to leeward of the centre of actionand has

, produced a bank , which now forms good holding anchorage ground . " Nature is there gradually clothing the immense cinder heap with life ; and the Professor remarks that if the inhabitants ¦ ' could

only irrigate , bit by bit , for a few years , till enough of vegetable soil had been accumulated to make the surface a little more compact and retentive , " he feels sure that " the wilderness would soon blossom like the rose . " Let us hope that the time is fast coming when the immense energies

now devoted to war , will be universally applied to the peaceful arts , so that the sublime precepts of Freemasonry may be more universally practised over the whole habitable portion of the globe . So mote it be ! There are now 843 young women employed as clerks in the Telegraph Room

at the General Post Office , and 278 others in various parts of London , making a total of 1 , 121 in the Metropolis alone . The following pretty little poem , on " Woman ' s Love , " is from a neatly-got up volume , entitled Echoes of Life , by Charlotte Phillips , printed for private circulation : —

As the green ivy to the oak tree clings In wild luxuriance ' neath its sheltering leaves , A beauteous mantle o ' er the stem it flings , And gives support , while it support receives . Just such is woman ! oft she may appear To lean ou man for help and fostering care ; Yet is she sent to beautify , to cheer His hours of loneliness , perchance to bear His wounded spirit up , when some wild blast His drooping head hath rudely overpast . "

At a time when cremation is likely to be revived again , at least in certain circles , the following extract from an excellent volume , entitled Sketches of some of the Southern Counties of Ireland , collected during a Tour in the Autumn , 1797 , written and illustrated by George Holmes ,

the grandfather of our literary brother , Emra Holmes , and published seventy-six years ago , will be read with interest : — " The ancient Irish burned their dead , and deposited the ashes in urns , of which many have been foundcontaining bonesashes ,

, , and a jelly-like consistence , which was probably flesh . At Killimeille , near Dungannon , on the top of a hill , were two circles of stones joining each other , forming a figure of eight , each about twenty yards in diameter , being repositories for urns .

The person who farmed the ground , wanting stones to build a house , drew the most of them away . Within one of the circles were found three urns , in three several holes , covered with flat stones ; around them were set six large stones , and others thrown upon the top . On the same hill ,

eastward of these circles , was discovered the altar on which they used to burn their dead , overgrown with green sod and earth . On uncovering it , it was found to be of unhewn stone , eight feet long , and four broad ; the coals and bones fresh among the stones ,

and the stones burnt with fire . At the east end of this altar there was a pit , which was likewise overgrown with soil , which on opening , was found to be the receiver where they swept in all that remained on the altar after burning . On searching deep , the substance was found to be all