Part 2
The second, or the Temple of Neptune, is not the largest, but by far the most massy and imposing of the three: it has six columns in front and fourteen in length, the angular column to the west, with its capital, has been struck and partially shivered by lightning. It once threatened to fall and ruin the symmetry of one of the most perfect monuments now in existence, but it has been secured by iron cramps. An inner peristyle of much smaller columns rises in the cella, in two stories, with only an architrave, which has neither frieze nor cornice between the columns, which thus almost seem standing the one on the capital of the other--a defect in architecture, which is, however, justified by Vitruvius and the example of the Parthenon. The light pillars of this interior peristyle, of which some have fallen, rise a few feet above the exterior cornice and the massy columns of the temple. Whether you gaze at this wonderful edifice from without or from within, as you stand on the floor of the cella, which is much encumbered with heaps of fallen stones and rubbish, the effect is awfully grand. The utter solitude, and the silence, never broken save by the flight and screams of the crows and birds of prey which your approach may scare from the cornices and architraves, where they roost in great numbers, adds to the solemn impression produced by those firmset and eternal looking columns.
The third structure, generally called a basilica, but sometimes an atrium, a curia, a market-place, or an exchange, is the most extensive, and, in point of architecture, the most curious, It has nine columns in front, and eighteen in length, and a row of pillars in the middle, parallel to the sides, which divide the temple, or whatever it may have been, into two equal parts. The diameter of these columns is somewhat larger than that of the columns of the first temple, but much smaller than the diameter of those of the second temple.
All the three structures are in the peculiar style called the Doric. They are all raised upon substructions forming three gradations or high steps--the columns without bases repose on the uppermost of these steps: the columns are not quite five diameters in height, they taper off about one-fourth as they ascend, they are fluted like all ancient Greek columns, their capitals are flat and prominent, and their intercolumniation, or the space from one to the other, little exceeds one diameter. The material of which they are built is the same throughout each of the temples and common to them all. It is an exceedingly hard, but porous and brittle stone, of a sober brownish-grey colour. It is a curious fact, that not only the ignorant people on the spot, but Neapolitan antiquaries (who, however, rarely travel to see things with their own eyes) wonder whence the ancients brought these masses of curious stone. They found them on the spot. “The stone of these edifices,” says Mr. Forsyth, “was probably formed at Pæstum itself, by the brackish water of the Salso acting on vegetable earth, roots, and plants; for you can distinguish their petrified tubes in every column.” And Mr. Mac Farlane, who passed a considerable time on the spot, adds, “The brackish water of the river Salso that runs by the wall of the town, and in different branches across the plain, has so strong a petrifying virtue that you can almost follow the operation with the eye; the waters of the neighbouring Sele (a considerable river--the ancient Silarus) have in all ages been remarkable for the same quality: in many places where the soil had been removed, we perceived strata of stone similar to the stones which compose the temples, and I could almost venture to say that the substratum of all the plain, from the Sele to Acropoli, is of the like substance. Curious petrifactions of leaves, pieces of wood, insects, and other vegetable and animal matters, are observed in the materials of the columns, walls,” &c.
These temples are the only ancient remains of any importance to be found at Pæstum, except the Cyclopean walls of the city, which are pretty well preserved on three sides, and only entirely obliterated on the side towards the sea. On the eastern side, indeed, they have suffered little, and fragments of towers, which seem to have flanked the walls at regular distances, yet exist. There is a gate in this part called _La Porta della Sirena_, or the Syren’s Gate (from a small rudely sculptured figure that looks like a dolphin, over the arch) which is very perfect, but mean and small; and here the ancient aqueduct is traced for some distance.
The origin of the city may safely be referred to remote antiquity; but those are probably in the right who would fix the period at which the existing temples were erected as contemporary with, or a little posterior to the building of the Parthenon at Athens. But even this calculation leaves them the venerable age of twenty-two centuries; and so firm and strong are they still, that, except in the case of a tremendous earthquake or some other extraordinary convulsion of nature, two thousand two hundred and many more years may pass over their mighty columns and architraves, and they remain, as they now are, the objects of the world’s admiration.
[Illustration: Interior of the Temple of Neptune.]
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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GAMBLING AND TRADING.
It has been remarked that all games or sports are imitations either of _war_ or _commerce_. The imitations of war are sufficiently obvious; some, such as the combats of the gladiators in ancient Rome, were exhibitions of actual fighting; others, such as the bull-fights of Spain, the elephant and tiger-fights of India, the cock-fights, dog-fights, badger-baits, &c. of England and other countries, are exhibitions of the combats of animals. In these cruel sports, the men or animals are made to fight for the amusement of the lookers-on, who sympathize in the exertions of skill, power, and courage which they behold. More frequently, however, the pleasure is derived from being, not a spectator, but an actor in the contest; as in all field-sports, such as hunting, shooting, and fishing; or in bloodless games, such as cricket, football, prisoners-base, chess, draughts, &c.; in which the gratification arises from a sense of the skill exercised, from the love of emulation, and the feeling of superiority. The games which appear to be imitations of mercantile dealings are, without exception, _games of chance_ or _gambling games_, such as games with dice and cards, lotteries, raffles, &c. In games of this kind there is usually a stake to be played for, which is like the sum that a trader hopes to gain by an adventure or speculation; and either chance alone, or a mixture of chance and skill, determines the winner. In some games of cards the resemblance is still further increased by the players _exchanging_ some of their cards, as in the well-known game of _commerce_.
But in noting the _resemblance_ between trade and games of chance, it is also important to note their _difference_. At games of chance there is a certain stake made up by the contributions of the players; and when the game is over, whatever is gained by one player is lost by another. There can be no gain without a corresponding loss. In trade, however, this is far otherwise. _Every voluntary exchange must necessarily be for the benefit of both parties._ It would be an absurdity to suppose that both
## parties to an exchange are not gainers. No man exchanges merely for the
sake of _changing_: for example, no man gives a shilling in order to get a shilling, or gives a copy of a book in order to get an identical copy of the same book. Still less does any one exchange in order to give away something which is more valuable to him than that which he gets in return. No man gives a horse worth £30 for a bushel of corn worth 10_s._ No man gives a cargo of cotton goods worth £500 for a pipe of wine worth £50.
Some of our readers may perhaps be inclined to exclaim that they need not to be informed of a maxim which is never formally stated, only because it is universally admitted; and may think that in telling them that neither party loses by an exchange, we adhere strictly to our character of not admitting _news_ into our magazine. Nevertheless this axiom, however evident and undeniable, is impliedly rejected by many of those persons who consider free trade as injurious to the wealth of a country. For in whatever manner merchants are permitted to trade it is quite certain that they will never give more than they get--in other words, never voluntarily make a losing bargain. Sometimes indeed it happens that goods are voluntarily sold _at a loss_, but it is evident that no merchant will long continue to make exchanges by which he is a loser. Those persons, therefore, who maintain that if we trade freely with a foreign country our merchants will lose, unless that country trades freely with us, maintain that one of the parties to a voluntary exchange may be a loser. For as no considerable trade can be carried on by means of the precious metals by a country in which they are not produced, it is obvious that if we import a large quantity of goods from a foreign country, we must either give in exchange goods of less value to us than those which we part with, or that if they will not take our goods and do not want bullion, they must give us their goods for nothing. The latter supposition is, we fear, too favourable to ourselves to be very probable, or, as is commonly said, it is _too good to be true_; but at any rate it is as likely that foreigners will give us _their_ goods for nothing, as that we will give foreigners _our_ goods for nothing; which would be the case if it were true that a free trade, or any other trade, is a losing trade.
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SATURDAY NIGHT’S WAGES.
The system frequently pursued in manufacturing towns in paying the wages of mechanics, is not, perhaps, calculated to give to these all the advantages which they should derive from their hard earnings.
It is the custom in many factories to pay the wages of the week at a neighbouring public-house on the Saturday evening, after the labours of the day are over. This duty, in a large establishment, is a work which necessarily occupies some time; and the most sober and well-disposed, those most anxious to take their earnings home to their families, cannot obtain their money in time for procuring the Sunday’s meal before the usual hour of rest. After a hard day’s labour, spent in domestic cares, and in rendering the dwelling in a fit state for the coming day, the weary housewife would gladly seek repose. Under this arrangement, however, she is obliged to encroach on the period which should be devoted to sleep, in order to make her requisite purchases, or to invade the quiet of the Sabbath morning with the petty cares of life, which, for that one day at least, should be laid aside.
This in itself is a great annoyance to the female part of the community; but it is light as air to them, compared with the more serious evil which the system carries in its train, and which they would gladly exchange for any personal inconvenience they might be called upon to endure.
Workmen of the most abstemious habits consider themselves in a manner constrained to take some refreshment in the house where they have just received money; and though they may spend but a trifle, that trifle would have been better bestowed in assisting to minister to the wants of those nearest and dearest to them. But what a temptation is held out to men of a less temperate character. Here the love of noisy fellowship is nourished, unfitting the mind for the quiet enjoyments of home. Here the habit of intoxication is gradually acquired and confirmed. While wives are anxiously waiting at the door of the house for those supplies which will enable them to furnish necessaries for their families, husbands are too often rioting within, forgetful of those ties which should prevent such a waste of time and money in selfish and degrading enjoyment; and when, at length, the expecting female does obtain the residue of the earnings which should have been appropriated to the support of her family for the ensuing week, she finds the sum fearfully diminished and inadequate for the purpose.
Many a watchful mother has had to mourn over the ruined prospects of a beloved son, whose first deviation from right was the loitering at the public-house on the Saturday night; his former simple habits gradually turned into those of selfishness, and all its lamentable consequences. Many an affectionate wife has had to grieve at this wreck of her early happiness, first invaded by the Saturday night’s temptation; while she is either left to struggle neglected and alone through the miseries of life, or called upon to endure more active ill treatment from her inebriated partner.
It may be said, we are rather exaggerating the picture; that a large proportion of those who gain their livelihood by working as mechanics are respectable, intelligent, and virtuous members of society. Most happily this is true; but we think a still farther number might be ranked in the same class, if the payment of wages were better regulated, while the comfort of the artisans, and that of their families, would at the same time be materially increased.
There can be little doubt that, were proprietors once convinced of the bad effects which arise from this plan, they would adopt one more conducive to the comfort of those by whose labour they are benefited. A walk in a manufacturing town at twelve o’clock on the Saturday night, would sufficiently expose the evils of this manner of payment. The shops are then still open, and harassed females are seen flocking to them; the streets are crowded with people; and many women, with looks of distress, are still lingering at the doors of the pay-houses, in the vain hope of alluring home their truant husbands. The whole continues a scene of noise, bustle, and confusion, long past the hour of midnight, and but ill-befitted to usher in the day of rest. How unlike the holy soothing repose of the cotter’s Saturday eve, so beautifully described by Burns.
If payment of the week’s earnings were made on the respective premises instead of at a drinking-house, and on the Friday instead of the Saturday evening, all these evils might at once be avoided.
The men would have no temptation given them to spend their earnings away from their families--the women would be enabled to make their purchases on the Saturday, at the time most convenient for the purpose, and they would have one chance less for unhappiness.
Two objections are made to this proposed alteration--the one moral, the other practical.
It is said that, with a well furnished pocket, a man not very industrious may be inclined to indulge himself in idleness during the ensuing day; but this would evince so total an absence of foresight and prudence, that the individual capable of such conduct would, we fear, when paid on the Saturday, in like manner take his holiday on the Monday, or just as long as his money might last.
The other objection arises from the mode in which the wages are usually paid at a large establishment. The required amount of money is in the first instance deposited in the hands of the confidential foreman, who does not pay each individual workman, but divides the whole in classes, and to a responsible man in each of these intrusts the sum due to his
## particular class: should the individuals of which this is composed be
very numerous, he in his turn subdivides, till at length the various claimants receive their due. The transaction is not, therefore, simply that of a proprietor paying his men, but it involves itself into a much more complicated form, and the men must necessarily have a common place of rendezvous to adjust their various accounts. That this difficulty may be obviated, and that it is in fact nearly as easy to pay on the premises as to adjourn to another house, we happen to be furnished with a practical proof. The proprietor of a large concern, not residing on the spot where it is carried on, had recently occasion to proceed to that place in order to examine more particularly how the works were conducted. He immediately perceived the bad effects arising from the system of paying the workmen at a drinking-house, and determined at once to abolish the practice. This intention was strongly combated by the superintendent, who assured him that it was an impossibility to pay all the men at the works, for if the few to whom he delivered the money for their respective divisions were to receive it on the premises, they would of their own accord repair to the usual pay-house with those to whom the money was due, in order to make a settlement among themselves.
The gentleman persevered, however, in his intention; and on the day of payment, he himself, without any assistance, paid into the hands of each workman before he left the premises, the wages due to him. He thus proved the practicability of the alteration, and acquired the right of insisting that henceforth the plan should always be pursued. By a little method, and by the aid of a few assistants, this work would of course be comparatively easy to one understanding its practical details; if in the absence of these advantages it was accomplished without any difficulty, in the manner we have described, by one quite new to the business, in an establishment where numerous work-people are employed, it follows that this objection is of no weight.
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_Struggle between an Eagle and a Salmon._--“That the eagle is extremely destructive to fish, and particularly so to salmon, many circumstances would prove. Eagles are constantly discovered watching the fords in the spawning season, and are seen to seize and carry off the fish. Some years since a herdsman, on a very sultry day in July, while looking for a missing sheep, observed an eagle posted on a bank that overhung a pool. Presently the bird stooped and seized a salmon, and a violent struggle ensued: when the herdsman reached the spot, he found the eagle pulled under water by the strength of the fish, and the calmness of the day, joined to drenched plumage, rendered him unable to extricate himself. With a stone the peasant broke the eagle’s pinion, and actually secured the spoiler and his victim, for he found the salmon dying in his grasp. When shooting on Lord Sligo’s mountains, near the Killeries, I heard many particulars of the eagle’s habits and history from a grey-haired peasant who had passed a long life in these wilds. The scarcity of hares, which here were once abundant, he attributed to the rapacity of those birds; and he affirmed, that when in pursuit of these animals, the eagles evinced a degree of intelligence that appeared extraordinary. They coursed the hares, he said, with great judgment and certain success; one bird was the active follower, while the other remained in reserve, at the distance of forty or fifty yards. If the hare, by a sudden turn, freed himself from his most pressing enemy, the second bird instantly took up the chase, and thus prevented the victim from having a moment’s respite. He had remarked the eagles also while they were engaged in fishing. They chose a small ford upon the rivulet which connects Glencullen with Glandullah, and, posted on either side, waited patiently for the salmon to pass over. Their watch was never fruitless,--and many a salmon, in its transit from the sea to the lake, was transferred from its native element to the wild aërie in the Alpine cliff that beetles over the romantic waters of Glencullen.”
[These anecdotes are extracted from a work just published, containing spirited details of a sportsman’s life in Ireland, and numerous sketches of natural history. It is entitled, ‘_Wild Sports of the West._’]
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THE WEEK.