have wished; and this neat description of it, embellished with thirtytwo Plates, will diffuse its celebrity through every portion of the United Empire. 58. Scenes in Europe, for the Amusement and Instruction of little Tarry-at-home Travellers. By the Rev. Isaac Taylor. 12mo, pp. 93. Harris. IN LXXXIV pretty delineations, accompanied by short and appropriate descriptions, the scenery and the customs of Europe are exhibited to the Tarry-at-homeTravellers. The "Swiss Peasants" shall be a specimen: "Switzerland consists of a cluster of mountains, called the Alps; some of them very high, covering the North of Italy, towards Germany and France. Mountains of course have vallies between them. These vallies afford rich produce to cultivation; and these mountains give pasture to cattle in time of peace, and, what is perhaps more important, afford to the inhabitants shelter and fastnesses for defence, in time of war: which has made it impossible to subdue them. All people inhabiting mountains are more or less free, on. this account. Less liable to be disturbed, they have a noble simplicity of character. Peace, and rural competence, with the frankness which liberty and independence give, mark the Swiss; and form a charm which greatly interests the strangers who visit them. "Rural scenery, and natural pleasures, usually have powerful and lasting influence on the heart. The Swiss are so much attached to their native country, that a certain song, called Ranz des Vaches, sung by the cowherds, affects them so when in a foreign land, that they must return home, or they pine away and die. It is thus: "Oh when shall I return one day, To all I love, though far away, Our brooks so clear, Our hamlets dear, And sweeter still than mount or dell, Beneath the elm, in verdant mead, And cattle stray; And smiles my lovely shepherdess." "The Avalanche, or Mountain Snowball. The tops of the Alpine mountains In the pride of Science, the Hero of the Tale presumes to take upon himself the structure of a human being; in which, though he in some degree is supposed to have succeeded, he forfeits every comfort of life, and finally even life itself. "The event," we are told, "has been supposed, by Dr. Darwin, and some of the physiological writers of Germany, as not of impossible occurrence. I shall not be supposed as according the remotest degree of serious faith to such an imagination; yet, in assuming it as the basis of a work of fancy, I have not considered myself as merely weaving a series of supernatural terrors. The event on which the interest of the story depends is exempt from the disadvantages of a mere tale of spectres or enchantment. It was recommended by the novelty of the situations which it developes; and, however impossible as a physical fact, affords a point of view to the imagination for the delineating of human passions more comprehensive and commanding than any which the ordinary relations of existing events can yield. The story was begun in the majestic region where the scene is principally laid, and in society which cannot cease to be regretted. I passed the summer of 1816 in the environs of Geneva. The season was cold and rainy, and in the evenings we crowded around a blazing wood fire, and occasionally amused ourselves with some German stories of ghosts, which happened to fall into our hands. These tales excited in us a playful desire of imitation. Two other friends (a tåle from the pen of one of whom would be far more acceptable to the publick than any thing I can ever hope to produce) and myself agreed to write each a story, founded on some supernatural occurrence. The weather, however, suddenly became serene; and my two friends left me on a journey among the Alps, and lost, in the magnificent scenes which they present, all memory of their ghostly visions. The following tale is the only one which has been completed." If we mistake not, this friend was a Noble Poet. 60. The Oxford University Calendar. 1818. Corrected to Dec. 31, 1817; sm. 8vo, pp. 304. Rivingtons. THIS useful Publication, though it has not the name of an Editor, is evidently the work of no ordinary Compiler and cannot fail of being acceptable not only to every one in any degree connected with the University of Oxford, but also to all who are interested in the History of those who have adorned their country by literary talents. The dates here furnished to the Biographer are eminently useful; and the lists of all that could be wished for are copious and accurate. To those who may occasionally wish to visit the Bodleian Library, either from curiosity or to obtain information, the following article may be important: "The Library is open, between LadyDay and Michaelmas, from nine in the morning till four in the afternoon: between Michaelmas and Lady-Day, from ten in the morning till three in the afternoon. "It is closed on all Sundays, FastDays, and State Holidays; also, from Christmas Eve to the first of January, inclusively; on the Feast of Epiphany; from Good Friday to Easter Tuesday, inclusively; on the Ascension-Day; WhitMonday and Whit-Tuesday; on the days of Encœnia and Commemoration; seven days immediately following the first of September; and eight days preceding the Visitation of the Library, which takes place on the 8th of November. "On all other Holidays the Library is opened immediately after the University Sermon." We have made this extract, as we know that persons have frequently gone from London and other distant places, at the time when the Library has been closed, and consequently have been grievously disappointed. The list of books printed, at the Clarendon Press from 1759 to 1817, is an article of considerable interest. "The Clarendon Printing-House was built in 1712, out of the profits arising from the sale of the History of the Rebellion, the copy-right of which was given to the University by Edward Hyde, Ear! of Clarendon, the Chancellor. Since the year 1758 it has been under the management of Delegates, who are nominated by the Vice-Chancellor and Proctors, and approved by Convocation." 61. A Treatise on the Science of Shipbuilding; with Observations on the British Navy; the extraordinary Decay of the Men of War; and on the Causes, Effects, and Prevention, of the Dry Rot: also, on the Growth and Management of Timber Trees; the whole, with a View to improve the Construction and Durability of Ships, By Isaac Blackburn, Ship-builder, Plymouth. 4to, pp. 184. Asperne. THIS is an excellent practical companion to Mr. Derrick's "Memoirs of the Rise and Progress of the Royal Navy," noticed in our vol. LXXVI. pp. 650, 894, 1145. "It has been long observed, and with much surprise, how greatly the ships of our enemies have excelled our own in point of sailing. A review of the wars since the French revolution of 1789, will strongly confirm this observation. Great Britain, exalted by her commerce and the prowess of her Navy, to the sovereignty of the seas, endures the mortifying disgrace of being behind most of the maritime Powers in Europe, and that of America, in the science of ship-building, or the theory of the formation of the bodies of ships. This is, indeed, so notorious, that, in a debate on the subject in the House of Lords, on the 21st of Feb. 1815, it was, on all hands, admitted to be the fact; and even the First Lord of the Admiralty did not scruple to declare, that the French, and even the Russian and Danish Ship-builders, were found more capable of uniting the theory of naval architecture with the practice than the English Ship-builder. "This is a disgrace, in which our Theorists and our practical Ship builders are alike involved. One of its causes is, that the theoretical works on the subject to be intelligible to the simple practiare written in terms so abstruse, as not tioner; - he cannot obtain from those works that knowledge of the Laws of the resistance and restitution of water, which is indispensably necessary to qualify him for. for his profession. The Art labours under another disadvantage: there are no fixed principles laid down; theory, experiment, and practice, being all at variance. Mathematicians themselves maintain opposite opinions, and even experiments are found not to coincide. Prac tice, having thus been guided almost exclusively by experience, has made but slow advances towards improvement in the art of ship-building. There exists, moreover, in this country, a want of cordiality between the Theorist and the practical Ship-builder; the former is too little esteemed by the latter, from his having no fixed principles; and the latter is treated with indifference by the former for his ignorance in science and both, groping in the dark, acquire no confidence in each other. "The subject is much more difficult than it is generally considered. To be thoroughly acquainted with that which is already known, it is necessary that an individual be at once a good Mathematician, a practical Ship-builder, and an experienced Seaman; and until a knowledge of these several branches be united in one person, and that he, moreover, possess great parts and sound judgment, the science will hardly emerge from its present obscurity. "What is submitted in this treatise are practical inferences drawn by the writer, from experiments made in this and other countries on floating bodies; from the opinions of different theorists; and from his own observations and experience. The writer is apprehensive, that much of what he advances may not be free from error. He considers the Science to be yet extremely imperfect, and involved in much obscurity. His object is rather to render the subject familiar, by giving a more general notion of it, than to exhibit a perfect treatise. If by his endeavours, any additional light should be thrown upon the Science, and the art of ship-building receive any degree of improvement, his object would be attained. So much does the welfare of this country depend on the efficiency of its Navy, that the most humble attempt towards that object needs no other apology." The Author's motives are highly commendable. He appears to understand the subject; and we doubt not but his suggestions will receive every proper degree of attention. 62. Remarks on the Medical Care of Parochial Poor, with a few Observations on the Improvement of PoorHouses, and on the necessity of establishing Small Infirmaries in Populous 7 Towns. By John C. Yeatman, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, &c. &c. 8vo. pp. 33, Longman and Co. AFTER many cogent arguments in favour of the benevolent plan recommended by Mr. Yeatman, he observes that "A list of towns having a population of from 5 to 12,000, surrounded by a populous neighbourhood, may be easily cited where those highly useful establishments would prove an honour and an ornament. Huddersfield, Doncaster,Salisbury, Taunton, Bridgwater, and many others, have at different periods seen and appreciated their vast utility. And here, without launching out into high-sounding praises of the good conferred on mankind by infirmaries, and without harrowing up the feelings of humanity by depicting the wretched condition of thousands of poor, even in this happy country, languishing under disease, and sometimes withered by the breath of contagion, I conclude this small pamphlet ; sincerely hoping that, in a time of general peace, and in this age of charity and of coming prosperity, the sick pauper will not be suf fered to remain without adequate assistance, either in the hovel of a country hamlet, within the wretched walls of a poor-house, or amidst the crowded tenements of a manufacturing town." 63. An Essay on the Disorders of Old EVERY man who is old enough to be his own Physician will readily concur with this ingenious Author in the principal features of his learned "Essay;" and the younger part of his Readers may receive from it both amusement and instruction. 64. Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent, during the years 17991804. By Alexander de Humboldt, and Aimé Bonpland. Written in French by Alexander de Humboldt, and translated into English by Helen Maria Williams. Longman and Co. MR. HUMBOLDT is one of the few travellers imbued with the spirit of discovery; a man of science, singularly exact in his observations, yet eminently alive to the pleasures of the imagination. A philosopher in the spirit of analysis pervading his reflexions; a poet in the energy of his conceptions, and the intensity of his his feelings, when he surrenders him self to the emotions produced by beauty or sublimity in the contemplation of Nature. The present volume is rich, not only in description, but in general and local information respecting the constitution of Colonial society, the religious establishments subsisting in the Indian villages, the relative condition of the mixed casts, the principles and practice of Colonial policy. Many little anecdotes are interspersed, which interest our sympathies in favour of the Writer. The following passage affords a specimen of his fine talent for that pe culiar kind of description in which the dignity of intellect is combined with the grace of fancy and the attraction of sentiment: "We quitted the borders of Cumana as if we had long been their inhabitants : this was the first land we had touched under a zone towards which my wishes had been turned from my earliest youth. There is something so great, so powerful, in the impression made by Nature in the climate of the Indies, that, after an abode of a few months, we seemed to have lived there during a long succession of years. In Europe the inhabitant of the North and of the Plains feels an almost similar emotion when he quits, even after a short abode, the shores of the Bay of Naples-the delicious country between Tivoli and the Lake of Nemi, or the wild and solemn scenery of the higher Alps and the Pyrenees. Yet every where under the temperate zone the effects of the physiognomy of the vegetables afford little contrast; the firs and the oaks that crown the Mountains of Sweden have a certain family air with those which vegetate in the fine climates of Greece and Italy. Between the Tropics, on the contrary, in the lower regions of both Indies every thing in nature appears new and marvellous. In the open plains, and amid the gloom of forests, almost all remembrances of Europe are effaced; for it is the vegetation that determines the character of a landscape, and acts upon our imagination by its mass, the contrast of its forms, and the glow of its colours. In proportion as impressions are powerful and new, they weaken antecedent impressions, and their strength gives them the appearance of duration. I appeal to those who, more sensible of the beauties of Nature than of the charms of social life, have long resided in the Torrid Zone; how dear, how memorable during life, is the land where GENT MAG. April, 1818. they first disembarked; a vague desire to re-visit that spot roots itself, in their minds, to the most advanced age. Cumana and its dusty soil are still more frequently present to my imagination than all the wonders of the Cordilleras ; beneath the fine sky of the South, the light and the magic of the ethereal hues embellish a land almost destitute of vegetation. The sun does not merely enlighten; it colours the objects, and wraps them in a thin vapour, which, without changing the transparency of the air, renders its tints more harmonious, softens the effects of the light, and diffuses over Nature that calm which is reflected in our souls. To explain this vivid impression, which the aspect of the scenery in the two Indies produces, even on coasts where there is little wood, it will be sufficient to recollect that the beauty of the sky augments from Naples towards the Equator, almost as much as from Provence towards the South of Italy." 65. Observations, Moral, Literary, and Antiquarian, made during a Tour through the Pyrenees, South of France, Switzerland, the whole of Italy, and the Netherlands, in 1814 and 1816. By John Milford, jun. late of St. John's College, Cambridge. MR. Milford possesses the first requisite of a companionable traveller, that of being always alive to the impressions of the moment: bis perceptions are quick, his observations commonly just, bis descriptions lively, his reflections judicious, and sometimes impressive. To an interesting object he becomes all eye, all ear, all soul. To justify this opinion we give the following extract, in which he describes his pilgrimage to the tomb of Virgil, a subject certainly not new, but to which few Travellers have lent so much attraction. "I rose early one morning, and took an agreeable long walk, passing over the country where the Antient Romans had their villas. The whole is well wooded. The vines grow to a great height, and are entwined round forest trees, so that in summer there must be one continued arbour and delightful shade. The orange, fig, and other fruit trees, add much to the beauty of the scenery. Without meeting with any direct path, I rambled about the hills, and every now and then was fully repaid for the difficulty of the ascent by one of the finest sea views in nature. I passed through the Grotto of Pausilippo, which is an astonishingly bold and won derful derful work. Various are the conjectures respecting this immense vault, which is supposed to have been made previously to the time of the Romans, and is excavated through the mountains for a distance of 2316 feet; its' general height is 40 feet, its breadth 20. In the centre is a small chapel, dedicated to the Virgin; and on the top are two openings, which have been pierced through the mountains to admit the light from above: this, however, is not sufficient, and even with the help of lamps the vault is generally dark. On beholding the extent of this grand undertaking, one would almost imagine it to have been the work of ages. "On this mountain, which stands to the West of the City, are a number of villas belonging to the Neapolitans, delightfully situated, and surrounded by gardens, wherein vegetation appears more beautiful than elsewhere. I now reached the small building called 'the Tomb of Virgil,' situated in a quiet recess on the ridge of the same mountain of Pausilippo, and so perfectly hidden from human view that you do not perceive it till the very entrance. Little is to be seen in the interior of the building, which is of brick, and about 20 feet in length, and as many in height: you merely remark the niches in the wall, which formerly contained the urn and vases. The tomb is covered with turf, and on the top the trunk now alone remains of the famous laurel, which tradition said had sprung spontaneously, and would never wither. I cut off a morsel of the wood as a memento. This then is the tomb supposed to have contained the ashes of the immortal Poet. What pleasing sensations every one must feel on beholding it. The branches and leaves of the evergreens entirely cover this small pyramidal building, and add much to its romantic beauty. On a tablet fixed in the rock, close to the entrance, you will read the following lines : Qui cineres, tumuli hæc vestigia conditur olim Ille hoc qui cecinit Pascua Rura Duces. "After continuing my walk for some miles, I arrived at the Lake of Agnano, about half a mile in diameter, and situated in a valley entirely hemmed in by mountains: its situation is wildly beautiful, and well adapted for minds fond of contemplation. A French Author concludes his description of this Lake with the following sentence: will say to all melancholy and tender hearts who shall visit Naples, do not fail to go and sit down on the borders of the Lake Agnano.'—The surface of the Lake is covered with innumerable 1 wild fowl of various kinds, and the weather so delightful as to remind me of the approach of spring. The sea was most strikingly beautiful, the mountains which jut out into it occasionally forming, in appearance, a number of picturesque lakes; here is an island, and there a little village on the declivity of a hill. I experienced the most pleasing sensations on beholding all these lovely objects which surrounded the Lake of Agnano... After crossing the mountains covered with romantic woods, we arrived at an enchanting valley, in which the fig-tree, the vine, and poplar are most luxuriant. To complete the landscape, by the side of the scattered cottages you will observe the fragrant orange-tree. "I had been treading on classic ground during the whole of my walk. This is the country celebrated in the verses of the immortal Virgil; and in these delightful spots dwelt the Antient Romans." 66. Letters from the Abbé Edgeworth to his Friends. Written between the Years 1777 and 1807; with Memoirs of his Life, by the Rev. Thomas R. England. Longman and Co. French Revolution, so fertile in borIT is consolatory to reflect that the rors and in crimes, offers many sublime memorials of virtue and of piety. In that brief but eventful period we have seen equalled and surpassed whatever examples had been transmitted from Antiquity of disinterested benevolence, heroic fortitude, or inflexible magnanimity. Madame Elizabeth has been often compared to Regulus; but innumerable are the instances in which no comparison can be instituted, and no parallel produced. Christianity and improved civilization have called into existence virtues unknown to Greece or Rome; and experience has proved that the exercise of fortitude, or the display of heroism, is not necessarily impeded by the progress of elegance and refinement. The Abbé Edgeworth, so well known as the Confessor who attended Louis the Sixteenth in his last moments, had resided many years at Paris in the seminary of les Missions Etrangers, where he was casually re commended to Madame Elizabeth for her Confessor, and from that period was steadily attached to the Royal Family. His letters are highly interesting, and even instructive; since they exbibit, in trying situations, a cha |
