ll it--but _not here_.
When that new sense is given,
What rapture will its first experience be,
That never woke to meaner melody,
Than the rich songs of heaven--
To _hear_ the full-toned anthem swelling round,
While angels teach the ecstasies of sound!
CURIOSITIES OF RAILWAY TRAVELING.
There are some peculiarities about railway traveling which we do not
remember to have seen noticed, however commonplace the mode of transit
itself may have become. There is a singular optical illusion, for
instance, in going through a tunnel, which nearly every one must have
observed, and yet which nobody, so far as we can learn, has thought it
worth while to explain: no sooner have you plunged into complete
darkness, and the great brassy monster at the head of the train is
tearing and wheezing, and panting away with you through the gloom, at
the rate possibly of twenty miles to the hour, than, if you happen to
fix your eye on the faintly illuminated brickwork which you are so
rapidly dashing past, the apparent movement of the engine will be in a
reverse direction to the real; and the general effect will be that of
retrogression at a furious pace, instead of the progression which is
taking place in reality. This is altogether different from the trite
illustration of the astronomical lecturer, who reminds us of the
apparent movement of the shore when observed from the deck of a
steamboat; for in this case it is the damp side of the tunnel that
appears to be stationary, and the framework of the window through which
the prospect is presented that seems to be receding; of course, the
uniformity of the objects visible, and the faint light in which they are
beheld, materially assist this ocular deception; but the hint thus
thrown out may serve as a convenient peg on which passengers may hang a
theory of their own, and thus beguile the tedium of their journey in
default of more exciting topics of discussion.
Not but that the observant eye may find ample scope for employment in
the ever-changing variety of landscape, which even on the least
picturesque lines will be found constantly coming into view. The most
ordinary objects have then a fresh interest imparted to them. You catch
a distant glimpse perhaps of a haystack on the brow of an eminence miles
away before you. As you proceed, a farm-house, with its out-buildings
and granaries to follow, marches right out of the haystack, and takes up
its p
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