with a dull report, scattering a black unctuous fluid having the odour of naptha, in all directions. After the interval of a few seconds, the surface of this boiling cauldron again becomes covered with a film or crust, and the phenomenon is repeated. AFRICAN COAST. The powerful currents on the western coast of Africa, and especially near the Canaries, are the cause of frequent shipwrecks. A hundred and sixty passengers, embarked in a vessel bound for Chili, but wrecked off the coast of the desert of Sahara, were lately miraculously saved from falling into the hands of the savage people who inhabit that inhospitable region, by the sudden appearance of some European ships; a rare occurrence in those latitudes. GYPSIES. before Peter the Great, all people were much like gypsies." There were many curious circumstances which I deduced from his information: first, the identity of the gypsy race in Europe and India, and their connecting link seemed established by a very observant witness, and certainly one unprejudiced by system. Secondly, on further inquiry, I found the people whom he identified with our gypsies in Persia, were the wandering tribes of Louristan, Curdistan, &c. whom he described with truth as being of "good caste," valiant, and wealthy. It therefore follows, that these tribes, whose existence in Persia seems to be traced down from before the time of Cyrus, and whose language is generally understood to differ from the Persians of the plains and cities, resemble in countenance and person the gypsies, and that their ancient language has On the other side of the river been a dialect of Hindoostanee. The Ganges was a large encampment of wretched tents of mats, with a number of little hackeries, panniers, ponies, goats, &c. so like gypsies, that on asking what they were, I was not much surprised to hear Abdullah say they were gypsies; that they were numerous in the upper provinces, living exactly like the gypsies in England; that he had seen the same people both in Persia and Russia, and that in Persia they spoke Hindoostanee the same as here. In Russia he had had no opportunity of ascertaining this fact; but in Persia, by Sir Gore Ousley's desire, he had spoken with some of the wandering tribes, and found that they understood and could answer him. I told him of Lord Teignmouth's conversation in Hindoostanee with the old gypsy on Northwood, and he said that in Persia it was not every gypsy who spoke it, only old people. He said they were so like each other in all the countries where he had seen them, that they could not be mistaken, though in Persia they were of much better caste, and much richer than here, or in England, or Russia. But he added, "I suppose in Russia, probability is indeed that Persia, not India, has been the original centre of this nomadic population.-Bishop Heber's Travels in India. NEW INVENTIONS. "Two New Inventions, by either of which, it is presumed, a man of enterprise might speedily accumulate a princely fortune," have been offered to us through a printed paper, the contents of which, (as we are not likely to attain the desired fortunate end) we liberally communicate to the world at large. The first invention is "A Method of Instantaneous Communication, over land, by day or night, between any Towns, at whatever Distance." The instrument, it seems, consists of two small boxes, connected with each other by rods of a peculiar kind, (not electric, magnetic, or galvanic) and so constructed, that the precise words of any piece of reading or writing may be communicated from box to box; and that any conversation may be held on any subject, and in any language, with the utmost facility and correctness !! The second offer is, "The Secret of constructing a New Machine of very great Power, called the Hydrodynamic Engine, for suddenly producing immense Pressure, which Pressure may either be continued, or instantly removed, at option."-"By it (says the inventor) a small quantity of liquid is made to exert an astonishing force, which is easily manageable, and perfectly free from danger. This force (being intermittent if required) can impart motion to every species of machinery, at an expense the most trifling. Fire is not employed, nor is any more liquid requisite than that used at first, -and yet the power can be increased to equal the strength of any number of horses. The sum expected for each secret is five hundred pounds down, and five thousand pounds more within twelve months after the purchaser takes out his patent. It appears by no means improbable, that existing circumstances may lead to the final liberation of the Mediterranean from the ravages of the Algerines and other barbarous nations of Africa. The combined squadrons of the three great maritime powers of Europe having completed their object as regarded Greece, may perhaps do that which Pompey formerly accomplished with a much less imposing force, and against much more numerous enemies. There is nothing at present to prevent the founding of European colonies on the coasts of Africa, and in Mount Atlas, in order to drive the barba rians back into the deserts of the interior, which alone they ought to be permitted to inhabit. The trade of the Mediterranean might then be carried to the greatest possible height; the ancient Libya, the kingdom of Massinissa, the territory of Carthage, &c. would resume their fertility, and the celebrated cities of former times would rise again out of their ruins. These immense benefits, for which Africa would one day be as grateful as Europe, would cost the European powers much less than a single campaign of the wars which they make upon one another! COLERIDGE AND THE MALMSEY. Mr. Rogers, whose taste in cookery is as exquisite as his taste in poetry, and whose wine is not better or more sparkling than his conversation (at least, if he talks as well now as he did eight years ago,) invited Coleridge one day to dinner, and observing that the latter seemed particularly fond of some delicious Malmsey, said, "I'm glad to see, Mr. Coleridge, that you like that wine, for it is a favourite wine of my own; and I should like to think with you even about that!" "Indeed, Mr. Rogers," replied the future author of the Dissertation on the Logos; " Indeed, I never tasted better currant wine in all my life!!" At this frightful mistake, Mr. Rogers looked (as indeed he generally does,) more dead than alive. STUDY OF NATURE. If we look with wonder upon the great remains of human works, such as the columns of Palmyra, broken in the midst of the desert, the temples of Pæstum, beautiful in the decay of twenty centuries, or the mutilated fragments of Greek sculpture in the Acropolis of Athens, or in our own Museum, as proofs of the genius of artists, and power and riches of nations now past away; with how much deeper a feeling of admiration must we consider those grand monuments of nature, which mark the revolutions of the globe; continents broken into islands; one land pro duced, another destroyed; the bottom of the ocean become a fertile soil; whole races of animals extinct, and the bones and exuviæ of one class covered with the remains of another; and upon these graves of past generations-the marble or rocky tombs, as it were, of a former animated world-new generations rising, and order and harmony established, and a system of life and beauty produced, as it were, out of chaos and death; proving the infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, of the Great Cause of all Being! THE OLIVE-tree. There are on the southern borders of the Crimea two varieties of the olive-tree, which have become iudigenous there. The one is pyramidal, and the fruit is perfectly oval; the branches of the other are pendent, and its fruit large, heart-shaped, and abundant. These valuable trees have resisted the injuries of centuries, and of successive nations of barbarians. In 1812, an imperial garden was formed at Nikita (Russia), into which the cultivation of these useful trees was introduced by means of cuttings or slips, which no extremity of cold has hitherto affected, although some olive-trees brought from France perished in the same garden in the winter of 1825-6. INJURIOUS EFFECTS OF COAL TAR ON FRUIT-TREES. This application, which has been occasionally recommended for the destruction of caterpillars and other insects, has been found totally to destroy the life of the trees to which it has been applied. The bark appears as though burned by the caustic property of the tar, or the pores are so obstructed that its ordinary functions are destroyed, and the transmission of the nourishment to the branches of the tree prevented; the stem ceases to grow, and the contraction becomes so great, that in many instances the wind has blown the heads of the trees off at the part where the coal tar has been most freely applied. VITRIFIED SAND TUBES.. When thunder-bolts fall upon a sandy soil, their intense heat changes the sand through which they pass into a tube of glass. Several tubes thus produced, one of which was nineteen feet long, have just been presented to the French Academy of Sciences, by M. Arago. These curiosities were collected in Germany by M. Fielder, a young Germau naturalist. MADAME DAMOUROUX. Mademoiselle Cinti (Madame Damouroux)_received 25,000 francs from the French, and 10,000 francs from the Italian opera. The directors of the French opera, fearing her voice might be injured by too much fatigue, insisted on her giving up the Italian opera, and refused to allow her any indemnity. On this, the fair warbler took the huff, and set off to her husband at Brussels. She had been there only a few days, when a deputation from the managers was sent after her. She now resolved to make her own terms: and to induce her to come back, the opera engaged to give her 40,000 francs instead of 25,000, and 200 every night she performed; and this without singing at the Italian opera. She is decidedly the best French singer on the stage she knows all the resources of her art, and manages them so admirably, that they seem the inspirations of nature, to which an elegance of manner and her personal charms greatly contribute. She wished to get an engagement at the opera for her husband; but in this she did not succeed. M. BORY DE SAINT-VINCENT. M. de Saint Vincent has, after repeated trials, discovered that the inclosing of wine in bottles, by parchment, or a portion of common bladder, instead of corks, has the effect of rendering its flavour, in a few weeks, equal to that of the oldest wines; from such covering possessing the property of only allowing the aqueous exhalations to escape, but being wholly impenetrable to the spirit or body of the wine. His reasoning on the subject is curious, as it appears just, but too extended to permit our trespassing so far on the time of our readers as to give it. A LONG TEXT. A clergyman was once going to preach upon the text of the Samaritan woman, and after reading it, he said, "Do not wonder, my beloved, that the text is so long, for it is a woman that speaks." NEW WORKS. Gomez Arias, a Spanish Romance, 3 vols.-The Head Piece and Helmet, or Phrenology opposed to Scripture.-A Hundred Years Hence.Macauley's Medical Dictionary. Rae Wilson's Travels in Russia, 2 vols.-Wanostrocht's Livre des Enfans.-Poetry of the Anti-Jacobin. Sixth Edition.-Jones's Sermons for Family Reading.-Consistency, by Charlotte Elizabeth, author of "Osric," &c.-Davis's Hints to Hearers. -Levizac's French and English Dictionary, by Gros.-Fuller's Gospel its own Witness, a new edition, with his Life.-Memoirs of the Rev. John Townsend.-Dodd's Connoisseur's Repertory, vol. 3.-Reading and Spelling, for the use of the Schools of the New Jerusalem Church.—The Woodlands, a Treatise on Planting, by W. Cobbett. In the Press. Mr. Lockhart has nearly completed his "Life of Robert Burns," for "Constable's Miscellany," which will appear on the 12th of April; and in order to gratify those who are already in possession of the best editions of the Poet's Works, a small impression, beautifully printed by Ballantyne, on 8vo. will be ready at the same time. Both editions will be embellished with a full-length portrait of Burns, engraved by Millar after Naysmith. Mr. Rickards has a work now in the press, which will be published in Parts, under the general title of "India," and will contain, with other matter, a Treatise on the Castes of India; the simplicity and immutability of Hindoo habits; Sketch of the state and condition of the Natives under former Governments; the Revenue Systems of India under the Company's Government, as tending to perpetrate the degraded condition of the Natives; the Company's trade; Suggestions for a Reform of the Administration, &c. No. I. of a New Magazine, to be called "The Gentleman's Magazine of Fashions, Fancy Costumes, and the Regimentals of the Army," will appear on the first of May. The whole of the Embellishments will be beautifully coloured. The Second Series of "The Romance of History" is in a state of forwardness:-to comprise Tales illustrative of the Romantic Annals of France, from the reign of Charlemagne to that of Louis XIV. inclusive. "Observations on Geographical Projections," with a description of a Georama, by Mr. Delanglard, Member of the Geographical Society of Paris, and Inventor and Constructor of the Georama there. OF THE ENGLISH MAGAZINES. NO. 5.] BOSTON, JUNE 1, 1828. [VOL. 9, N. s. WE JUNE. O JUNE! prime season of the annual round, Though hot thy suns-they luscious fruits mature, ELCOME once more to sweet browned. Yet it is almost startling to those who regret the speed of time, and especially of those Who like the soil, who like the element skies, Who like the verdant hills, and flowery plains, to behold how far the season has advanced. But with this we must be sensibly struck, if we give a retrospective glance to the days when, in our walks, we hailed with delight the first faint announcements of a new spring, the first snatch of milder air, the first peep of green, the first flowers which dared the unsettled elements-the snow-drop, violets, primroses, and then a thousand beautiful and short-lived blooms. They are gone! The light tints of young foliage, so pure, so tender, so spiritual, are vanished. What the poet applied to the end of summer, is realized now: It is the season when the green delight Of leafy luxury begins to fade, And leaves are changing hourly on the sight. A duller and darker uniformity of green has spread over the hedges; and we behold, in the forest trees, the farewell traces of spring. They, indeed, exhibit a beautiful variety. 21 ATHENEUM, VOL. 9, 2d series. The oak has "spread its amber leaves out in the sunny sheen ;" the ash has unfolded its more cerulean drapery; the maple, beech, and sycamore are clad in most delicate vestures; and livened by young shoots and cones even the dark perennial firs are enof lighter green. Our admiration of the foliage of trees would rise much higher, did we give it a more particular attention. The leaves of the horsechesnut are superb. Passing through a wood we broke off one without thinking of what we were doing; but being immediately struck with its size and beauty, we found on trial, that it measured no less than one yard and three quarters round, and the leaf and footstalk three quarters of a yard in length, presenting a natural handScreen of unrivalled elegance of shape. It is now, too, that many of the forest trees put forth their blossoms. The chesnut in the earliest period of the month, is a glorious object, laden with "ten thousand waxen, pyramidal flowers." Then come the less conspicuous, but yet beautiful developements of other giants of the wood.' The sycamore, the maple, and the hornbeam are affluent with their pale yellow florets, quickly followed by winged seeds; the ash shows its bunches of green keys; and, lastly, the lime bursts into one |