some species breed here, especially the wild-duck and wood-pigeon; that the redwings and fieldfares are the most regular and uniform in their appearance and disappearance, and most probably never risk the trial of incubation here, or at least not in the part of Gloucestershire where Dr. Jenner resided; that they quit the country temporarily, in severe and longcontinued frost, through want of food, and return to it again at the approach of more temperate weather; that the arrival of water-birds forbodes the approach of in tense frost, and the usual return of the water-birds a thaw; that the examinations of the latter prove them to have taken long flights before their return, and sets the fact of temporary migration beyond the reach of doubt. The paper concludes with some additional particulars respecting the different sizes of the genera tive organs of migratory birds, as they appear at different seasons of the year. MERMAID. The Drogheda Journal states that three persons, whose names it gives, saw on the 18th ult. a in the sea, which answered the decreature scription given of Mermaids, having the human form from the waist upwards; long arms, long hair, and a fish's tail. They do not mention the looking-glass! HONOUR. A rich man being asked to pay a debt of a hundred pounds, contracted by his son, who had fled from his creditor, replied, "I have sworn by my honour, and by all that is most sacred, never to pay one of my son's debts; and I should be wanting to my honour if I were to break my word.” NEWSPAPER ACCURACY. The following appeared in a Sunday newspaper of the 29th ult. : Suicide.-On Friday evening a poor woman was put into St. Giles's watch-house for being disorderly in the street, and shortly after hung herself, and was not discovered till quite dead. She was taken to Marlborough-street police office on Wednesday last on a similar charge!! WOLVES IN HARNESS. A singular equipage has been seen for the last six months in the streets of Munich. It is a calash drawn by two enormous wolves, which M. W. K. formerly a merchant of St. Petersburgh, found very young in a wood near Wilna, and has so well tamed Pour a little phosphorated ether on a lump of sugar, and drop it into a glass of tepid water. In a dark place the surface of the water will become very soon luminous, and if it be movbeautiful and brilliant undulations of ed by blowing gently with the mouth, the surface will be visible, exhibiting Those who cannot see the ocean in a the appearance of liquid combustion. flame may adopt this feeble mode of imitating it, and it will give them a faint idea of a phenomenon which has called forth the admiration of all who have ever seen it, and which has been recorded by Lord Byron in noble poetry. SIR HUMPHREY DAVY has arrived at his house in Grosvenor street, from Denmark, after a stormy passage across the North Seas, in the Comet steam-boat. Sir Humphrey has been engaged, during the months of July and Au gust, in pursuing various philosophical researches along the coast of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, for which the Admiralty granted him the use of the Comet steam-boat. He has ascertained, we understand, that his principle of preserving the copper-sheathing of ships by the contact of 1-200th of iron, succeeds perfectly in the most rapid sailing and in the roughest sea. During this expedition, Dr. Piarks has connected, by chronometrical observations, the triangulation of Denmark and Hanover with that of England; and, by the desire of the Admiralty, various points of longitude have been determined by their chronometers, of great importance to navigation: amongst others, that of the Naze of Norway. DAVID'S LAST PICTURE. When David was on the eve of departing from Paris into exile, he is said to have told his pupils that he was about to alter send them from the Netherlands,—the and improve his style, and that he would country which he had chosen for his future they were only heaps of rubbish, he began to doubt whether the granite spread over the surface of the globe had been formed and crystallized in a primitive sea, which (says he) nobody had seen. Accordingly, after he had obtained the certainly of the contrary, he formally denies this fact, and does not hesitate to assert, that the granite came, as it is, from the atmosphere, with the other substances to which it is sometimes united, and by which it is also often surrounded. This terrible shower of mountains-arising from the progress of a planetary body violently struck by a comet, or caused by the explosion of the central volcano of that planet-poured at once upon the nucleus of ours, about which M. Chabrier does not trouble himself, the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Andes, &c. and all such beds of primitive rocks. These substances in combustion, falling on the tufted forests of the earth, reduced them to pitcoal!! residence,—a specimen of colouring, which many other geological theories, has been should be far superior to any thing which produced by a desire to explain a particu. he had heretofore produced. In the pre- lar phenomenon, apparently irreconcileable sent picture, David has fulfilled his promise with any other geological hypothesis. M. with a vigour of execution that could Chabrier, convinced that the aforesaid scarcely have been expected in youth it- blocks of granite did not come from the self. On this piece he has devoted his Hartz Mountains or from Sweden, conwhole time during his exile at Brussels. cludes that they must be aerolites!! HavThe following description will enable your ing subsequently ascertained, by a scrupureaders to form some idea of the composi- lous examination of the mountains, that tion of this piéce :-Mars having returned fatigued from the field of battle, has seated himself on a couch, from which Venus has apparently partly risen, in order to make room for him. The latter has one hand resting on the former, and is with the other about to place a garland of flowers on the head of Mars, on condition that he forsakes for the future the pursuit of arms. Mars is with his left hand resigning his sword, as a token of assent to this proposition; and with the other, which is hanging over the head of the couch, holding a spear. Two of the Graces are taking hold of his helmet and shield, and the third presenting him with nectar. Cupid is seated at his feet busily employed in unloosing one of his sandals. The disposition of the whole scene is admirably conceived, though the arrangement is, in my opinion, rather too studied. The drawing is as chaste as it is beautiful; and the colouring, in variety, richness, and truth of tone, is truly admirable, and far superior in brilliance to any of his former productions. The head, body, and in short the whole person of Mars, are possessed of great beauties; but the Venus, though the back is beautiful and the feet admirable, is possessed of no portion of that melting voluptuousness, which usually belongs to the Venus of Greece and Rome; for, instead of that, we find nothing but anxiety and dejection. Nor are the features of the Graces more agreeable; and the figure of Love is both misplaced and badly embodied. But in spite of these observations, I must acknowledge that, taking into consideration the great age of the artist, and the novelty of the style of the present undertaking to him, that it is a great work, and will always be admired, as a splendid specimen of colouring. This is said to be the last picture which David intends to undertake. NEW SYSTEM OF GEOLOGY!! A Frenchman, of the name of Chabrier, has published a Dissertation on the Universal Deluge. M. Chabrier's occupations obliging him, it appears, to travel frequently, especially in the north of Germany, he was extremely puzzled by the blocks of granite (frequently of vast size,) which are scattered in profusion on both sides of the Elbe, in the territories of Bremen and Hamburg, Mecklenburg, Pomerania, &c.; all which countries are very remote from the granite mountains. The results of his long and arduous meditations are here given to the public in the form of a theory, which, like This, he farther maintains, was undoubtedly the planet which had for its satellites the four little moons, Ceres, Pallas, Vesta, and Juno, which irrefragably prove the former existence of that unfortunate planet. But even this monstrous shower of mountains is not enough for M. Chabrier: it was accompanied, he says, by all the waters of the planet, which, falling in cataracts, submerged the earth and deluged its inhabitants; but the rain of waters preceded that of the solids, and the latter came very opportunely to confine the waters in part, and to form our present continents and mountains, but for which, Noah would not have found a resting-place. We must refer our readers to the work itself for the series of proofs and reasonings adduced by the author, which will we dare say convince them that M. Chabrier's system is extremely probable, and that bears all the marks of reality in the simple and easy explanation of all the facts. Thus, for instance, the fossil trees and fish, the petrified human skeleton of Guadaloupe, are remains of the vegetable and animal kingdoms of the destroyed planet, the fragments of which we tread under foot. But an idea which is certainly new, and deserving of the most serious attention, according to M. Chabrier, is, that some of the human creatures of this planet, notwithstanding their rough usage, may have survived this fall: and it is thus he accounts for the difference of races characterized by Blumenbach, Cuvier, &c. Thus the Negroes, the Americans, or the Malays, are probably descendants of the inhabitants of another world, which was annihilated to punish our first parents. NEW WORKS. Fielding's Select Proverbs of all Nations, 16mo. 5s-Curr's Account of Van-Diemen's Land, 12mo. 58. bds.-Outline of a New Theory of the Earth, 8vo. 2s.-MalteBrun's System of Geography, vol. v. part i. 78. 6d. Cooper's Surgical Lectures, by Tyrrell, voi. i. 8vo. 10s. 6d.--Advice on Diet and Regimen, 8vo. 2s.-Morning Meditations, by the Author of 'The Retro spect,' &c. 12mo. 4s.Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, vol. x. (new Series) royal 8vo. 11. 1ls. 6d. A work is announced, bearing the curious title of "Revelations of the Dead Alive," said to be from the pen of a dramatic writer. "The Political and Military Life of Prince Eugene Beauharnois," in one small volume, is among the recent Parisian publications. THE JOURNAL OF LIFE. I LOVE to gaze at the midnight hour, Around my heart were entwining: To see the moon, like a beacon fair, When the clouds sail swiftly by; Ah! then I think on my boyhood's day, I lov'd to look at the silvery light Of the sparkling gem at the Pole; I lov'd to picture each well known sign, And watch to see them more brightly shine, But I trusted the ocean, and wander'd afar, The beautiful Cross of the South; And I thought of how many lay dead on the plain, Who saw it the night before Whose eyes would never behold it again, Then I thought on the fate of the coming day When the burning troops would engage: Stream'd on the field of gore ;- "Hark! bark! to the shout and the deathful shriek, The clang of the ringing steel, The bitter groan when the heart-strings break, The muskets' murdering peal ; And see, where the glittering bayonets meet, On! on! brave lads, for our foes retreat→→→ And thus is the vision of glory's dream And wounds and death are the warrior's theme, Yet I followed the phantom far and near, Through the world I continued to roam→→ Till I prov'd man's ambition was false and vain, But, ah! how chang'd was each form and mein- And dark and drear was each youthful scene To the village and rural cot; But here, where the days of my childhood flew, There were strangers who knew me not. In the regions of death, and there alone, Yet still I gaze at the midnight hour, An O. S-r. FRANK CLERMONT inherited an estate of twenty thousand a year; having, besides, fifty thousand pounds in the funds which were left to him by a great uncle. The ready money was disposed of before he was of age, and ten years after his income was reduced to five thousand per annum. He could not make it less, one-fourth of his property being so entailed that it was virtually impossible for him to get rid of it. He nevertheless considered himself to be reduced to absolute beggary, and became more discontented, perhaps, than if he had been without the common means of subsistence. He is persecuted by duns from morning till night. His equipage is shabby, and he is looked upon in his own circle as a ruined man, and of course treated as one. By his friends, who have not entirely forsaken him, he is usually invited to help off with the fragments of feasts which have the day before been given to his former titled companions; and his own entertainments are attended by those only with whom a short time ago he would have deemed it a degradation to associate. At first he thought of retrieving his circumstances by marriage, and commenced fortune hunter; but being unsuccessful in an overture which he made to a lady whose reputed fortune was two hundred thousand pounds, he gave up the pursuit in despair, and has since taken so immoderately to drink, that he is fast hurrying himself to the grave; so that, literally, he 37 ATHENEUM VOL. 2. 2d series. may be said to be dying of want, though he is in the receipt of five thousand a year! P-began the world without a shilling; but by unceasing industry, by watching for and taking advantage of every opportunity by which money was to be made, and, when made, by using it most parsimoniously, he has at last succeeded in realizing a plum: the ultimatum of his worldly desire, the object which he had in view from boyhood-the hopes of attaining which caused his most arduous exertions to be "Labor absque labore." He never even allowed himself the indulgence of a hackney coach, or ride on horseback, till he was worth £50,000; but soon after this sum was realized, his ideas became more expanded, and he absolutely began to think that he could afford to marry a widow with ten thousand pounds, towards whom he had long felt rather tenderly. He made the state of his heart known, and as the lady deemed it a prudent connexion too, there was not much hesitation on her part. Never were a couple united whose ideas were more entirely alike. Wealth was the grand object which they both kept constantly in view, nor did they cease living with their ancient parsimony till the plum was attained: but as soon as it was, they lanched out, and now they sport one of the most splendid equipages in the city. Their entertainments are first-rate in their line. They have an elegant country villa at Richmond, and in fact revel in all the luxuries of wealth, and are regarded by every one as people of consequence; yet I will venture to say that they spend within two-thirds of an income which is not more ample than Frank Clermont's, who finds the whole of his to be insufficieent to procure him the common necessaries of life. What constitutes wealth? is not an unamusing speculation-perhaps no two people have ideas alike on the subject. A poor man, who is obliged to support a wife and a large family on a pound a week, imagines that a hundred a year would procure every luxthat his heart could desire; while a hundred a year with gentility attached to it, is considered to be a most miserable pittance. ury Yet there are those who can be 66 Passing rich with forty pounds a year," or even less; but then they possess that "wealth of the mind," that true independence, which makes riches or poverty alike a matter of indifference to them. Mr. -, a man of profound erudition, was lately employed by some literary friend to write a work of great research, which was likely to occupy him at least for a year. As he was completely without resources of his own, they asked him what remuneration he would require for so much time and labour. He replied, that half a guinea a week would amply supply all his wants! And I have somewhere read of another man of learning, though I cannot vouch for the fact, who supported himself comfortably on a halfpenny a day! But I fear few are capable of arriving at sucli an enviable state of refinement. Though had realized a million long before he died, he was often heard to say that he should not consider himself to be a rich man till he had doubled his capital; but yet, where his own interest was not concerned, his ideas of "What constitutes wealth" were narrow enough: he thought, for instance, that he amply provided for his four maiden sisters by leaving them five hundred pounds each; and even inserted in his will, that if they were not able to live on this sum, they were not fit to live at all, and that more would only leave them a prey to fortune hunters. Many a rich man deems a guinea, dealt from "his pocket's avaricious nook," to be an inexhaustible sum. L- who can command many thousands a year, lately visited an old school-fellow on the brink of ruin, from recent extensive losses in trade. All his latent feelings of sympathy were roused by witnessing the sufferings of his old friend, (who till within the last month had been a rich man ;) and in the most soothing_tone he offered assistance. Poor B.'s countenance beamed with gratitude. He saw himself at once saved from bankruptcy, and again established with credit, by a prospect of such seasonable help. But what was his astonishment, when he beheld a purse drawn forth, and a guinea, one guinea, tendered to his acceptance ! SONNET,-WRITTEN AT A CONCERT. As music sheds its wild resistless charm, And the soft soul beams melting in her eye, As the glad flute is heard, or trumpet's wild alarm. 'Tis better here to mark each bosom swell * It is a part of the Moslem's creed, that women are destitute of souls. |