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aN

QUARTERLY JOURNAL,
et ilk SCIENCE, LITERATURE,

ae NATURAL HISTORY, AND THE FINE ARTS.

28) No. XI,

OCTOBER, 1835.

Pe ec onton:
- SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO,,
STATIONERS’ HALL, COURT;
Se CURRY, Joun., & CO., DUBLIN ;

BARLOW, KNOTT, ‘WRIGHTSON AND WEBB, LANGBRIDGE, DRAKE, BIRMING-
' HAM} GRAPEL, LIVERPOOL ; BANCKS AND CO., MANCHESTER; WHEELER,
DEIGHTON, STRATFORD, RIDGE, HUNT, WOODFORD, EATON, WORCESTER 3
JEW AND BRYANT, GLOUCESTER; WILLIAMS, H. DAVIS, BETTISON,
_ CHELTENHAM 3 BDDOWES, SHREWSBURY ; SHARPE, WARWICK; W. PARKE,

. WOLVERHAMPTON 5 AND ALL BOOKSELLERS IN TOWN AND COUNTRY.

Prick Four SHILLINGS.

Sess

ie ra
0

THE ANALYST;

QUARTERLY JOURNAL,

OF

SCIENCE, LITERATURE,

NATURAL HISTORY, AND THE FINE ARTS.

VOL. III.

London ;
SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO.
CURRY, Jun. & CO., DUBLIN; BARLOW, BIRMINGHAM.

1836.

= *

EDUCATION.

Tue attention of the Nobility and Gentry is directed to an
Establishment under the superintendence of a Gentleman,
who has distinguished himself in the Literary world, con-
ducted on a system, and comprising a course of education
suited to Youths destined to fill the higher departments of
life—the Church, the Law, the Army and Navy, and Mer-
cantile Offices,

_A public announcement precludes enlargement on this
system, yet the following exposition may not be altogether
useless :—

The importance of Classical Learning requires no enforce-.

ment—it must ever form the basis of a liberal education.
But it is universally admitted, that a shorter period than is
usually consumed might suffice for its attamment. It may
therefore be necessary cursorily to observe, that the best
treatises, both English and Foreign, on the most effectual
mode of teaching the classics have been consulted, with a
view of forming a system by which a competent knowledge
of Greek and Latin may be acquired in the shortest possible
time. The success which has attended the labours of the
Principal and his Assistants in this department, and of which
very satisfactory evidence can be adduced, will give attes-
tation to the excellency of the Classical Laauction afforded
in this Establishment. bd Ue Rey.

a . Sh? be eae
Rt v As Be

2

But not inferior to the Classics, and by some of the most
able writers on Instruction deemed of greater moment in an
education available to general purposes, is a comprehensive
and practical knowledge of Modern Languages. At a period
when the intercourse between the nations of Europe has
augmented to an astonishing degree, and when the extraor-
dinary improvements in Mechanics promise to render still
more rapid the communications between distant countries,
and consequently to increase Commerce, the love of Travel,
and the knowledge of Foreign Literature and Science, a com-
petent acquaintance with more than one continental language
is indispensable to persons aspiring to a liberal education.
_ Besides the instruction given in the French and Italian lan-
guages, a more than usual attention is paid to the cultivation
of the German, which contains works of the rarest merit in
every department of Science and Literature. In historical and
philological works, of every description, the Germans have
excelled all other nations, and the labours of a ‘Niebuhr,
Wachsmuth, and Heeren, in Classic investigations, and of
a Klaproth, Van Hammer, and Schlegel in Oriental Literature,
(not to dwell on the distinguished merits of a Klopstock,
Lessing, Winkelman, Wieland, Burger, Goethe, Johannes
Muller, Herder, and Schiller,) have given a new impetus
to these pursuits at our Universities, and thus rendered
absolutely requisite a knowledge of the German to the suc-
cessful study, not merely of the Greek and Roman writers,
but of every other branch of human learning. The Principal of
this Establishment having taken a degree at a German Uni-
versity, and travelled much, is enabled to give and super-
intend instruction in these departments of education, with
no inconsiderable advantage to his Pupils.

To an extensive study of ancient and modern languages,
that of History, Chronology, and Geography is added. The
dry and uninteresting mode in which these subjects are

3

usually taught is avoided, by imparting the knowledge of
them through the medium of lectures, by which the atten-
tion of the Pupil is kept alive, and the Lecturer is enabled
to elucidate his subject more amply by dwelling on kindred
branches of knowledge. Although controversial history is
no less to be avoided than controversial religion, yet as in
no well regulated school the Pupil is left without instruction
in the duties and principles of the Christian religion, so the
Principal of this Establishment conceives it his duty not to
leave .the youths entrusted to his care subject to become in
after life a prey to every wind of political doctrine, but so to ex-
pound in his historical lectures the nature and principles of
government and the duties and rights of subjects, that they
may be fortified against the reception of those extravagant
and erroneous notions of ancient liberty, which, by easy
transitions, lead to the Jacobinical Republicanism of modern
times.
rd

Desirous to render his system such as to facilitate to his
Pupils the attainment of academical honours or professional
distinction, the higher branches of Mathematics are taught
by an eminent Master on the plan pursued in the French
schools, which has been found highly conducive to rapidity
of acquirement ; and Weekly Lectures are given on Natural
Philosophy and Chemistry.

But as, inorder to produce all the benefit and happiness to
mankind of which they are susceptible, Science and Literature
should be united to religion, and all our knowledge should
be made subservient to the glory of that Being in whom we
live and move, the most anxious care is employed by the
Principal to enforce, both by example and precept, the obli-
gations of morality and religion. Without pretending to be
a Seminary of Theology, it may be affirmed with truth, that
few institutions will be found to afford sounder instruction

4

in religion than this. Regular lectures on the evidences of
Christianity are delivered to those of riper age, whilst to all
are expounded the Scriptures and the Catechism ; so that
every Pupil will have an opportunity of acquiring that com-
prehensive view of the Christian Scheme, which, with the
blessing of God, will preserve him from the poison of infi-
delity, and keep him when he is old in the path in which he
should walk.

Regulations have been adopted to stimulate the Pupils to
the acquisition of knowledge and the observance of discipline,
by which corporal and humiliating punishments are rendered
wholly unnecessary, and which, appealing to the moral senti-
ments alone, are calculated to call theminto beneficial action.

The domestic arrangements are superintended by the lady —
of the Principal and a Matron. Of the House, which is si-
tuated in one of the midland counties, it will be sufficient to
say, that it has very lately been erected with a view to a
school, and comprises, as to locality and internal arrange-
ments, whatever is calculated to afford comfort and pleasure.

Terms, 100 Guineas per annum. No extra charges, ex-
cept for Printed Books and the usual accomplishments of
Drawing, Dancing, and Fencing. |

References, to Dignitaries of the Church, Noblemen, and.
Members of Parliament.—For Cards of Address, apply to
G. Knox, Esq. 13, Henrietta-Street, Cavendish-Square.

(62 fo) 9UDLBLIBL STIUBL PY/2 4 9779008 Mau ®/'11G] 4 11ISSO4

**)

THE ANALYST.

REMARKS UPON BISHOP BURNETT'S HISTORY
OF HIS OWN TIME.

Lorp Dartmouth, in his Notes upon the best known and most
popular of Bishop Burnett’s works, the History of his own Time,
has made this unqualified declaration,—a declaration in accordance
with the rest of the calumnies against our author, whether avowed
or anonymous: “I wrote” says his Lordship, “ in the first volume
of this book, that I did not believe the Bishop designedly published
anything he believed to be false ; therefore, think myself obliged to
write in this, that I am fully satisfied that he published many
things that he knew to be so:” and at the close of the work, where
Burnett “ prays God that his History may be read with the same
eandour and sincerity which he had written it,” his malignant cen-
surer adds, “ thus piously ends the most partial, malicious heap of
scandal and misrepresentation that was ever collected for the laud-
able design of giving a false impression of persons and things to all
future ages.” However, a more liberal and enlightened commen-
tator has justly refuted this sweeping accusation. ‘ His History,”
observes Dr. Routh, “ is one which will never lose its importance,
but will continue to furnish materials for other historians, and to
be read by those who wish to derive their knowledge of facts from
the first sources of information. The accuracy of his narration has
often been attacked with vehemence, and often, it must be con-
fessed, with success; but not so often as to overthrow the general
credit of his work. On the contrary, it has, in many instances,

October, 1835,.—vou. U1. NO. XIII. B.

2 REMARKS UPON BISHOP BURNETT'S

been defended ; and time has already evinced the truth of certain
records which rested on his single authority.”*

Now it will be readily admitted by all, that he who volunta-
rily takes upon himself to record the transactions of his own time
for the instruction of posterity, engages in an office, not only of
grave responsibility, but, perhaps, as thankless as can possibly be
imagined : for, however severely he may be trained in the school of
discretion, he will be sure to give offence to those of his contempo-
raries who, according to certain rooted and pre-conceived opinions,
think that their own good actions cannot be too highly magnified,
or their own faults too lightly censured. Unquestionably, no
man is called upon to transmit to future ages the virtues or vices of
his contemporaries. But if, for the benefit of his country, he will
impose upon himself this task, he must know no middle line be-
tween right and wrong—he must shun all casuistry—he must show
himself immeasurably superior to those who, actuated by a morbid
love of popularity, make it their chief aim and intent to place the
actions of their contemporaries in a flattering point of view; and
whose pens, therefore, are ever silent when an honest declaration of
opinion, and a fearless testimony to important but disagreeable
truths may be required. Equal freedom and justice, then, must be
used in speaking of the living as well as of the dead, if any one
writer wish to render his work subservient toa great moral pur-
pose, and to be known in after ages as the steady friend of human
improvement and the true lover of his country. Nothing, there-
fore, can be more just than the remark, that impartiality is the
most difficult of all virtues. To keep our faculties unbiassed, and
not to suffer them to embrace one side or other of a question, ap-
pears so impracticable, that few writers have acquired sufficient
strength of mind to display this rare independence. It is, indeed,
as uncommon to find two cases in which the combination of cireum-

* Preface, p. 1., Oxford Edit. of Burnett’s History of his own 'Time.—It
reflects great credit ape the wisdom and liberality of an University so often
and loudly reproached for its high principles of toryism in church and state,
that the work of a whig Bishop should have issued, a century after his death,
from the Clarendon Press. this surely must be regarded, by moderate men
of all parties, as an pies. ohn sign of the commencement of truer and just-
er notions respecting the author and his book; and should teach carping
critics to set a higher value upon the excellences of both.

HISTORY OF HIS OWN TIME. 3

stances is exactly similar, as it is for men not to fall into opposite
extremes in speaking of the same persons and the same actions.—
And it is also a failing no less common to every class of political
reasoners, when they engage in the discussion of practical subjects
of great interest, to deliver their opinions with an earnestness and
passion which, to him who takes only an ordinary concern in such
discussions, must pass for heat and personality. I would not, of
éourse, be understood to apply these observations to the justifica-
tion of any history deformed by violence and exaggeration. But
when particular objects and particular. occurrences come to be
viewed through the magnifying glasses of party, it is matter even
of vulgar remark, that it is difficult to distinguish between favour-
ing and lying.

Had Burnett, then, in the History of his own Time, acknow-
ledged no influence but what the strictest impartiality could avow,
——had he always sought to disentangle truth from error, instead of
permitting himself, according to the uncharitable criticisms of his
opponents, to write upon the faith of popular rumour and prejudice,
from the very peculiar circumstances of the times in which he lived
and wrote, not to be occasionally mistaken would have been diffi-
cult, not to have offended, impossible ; since he had events to record
in which many a leading character was a problem.

It will, indeed, ever be remembered, by those who do not studi-
ously seek to disparage the justness of our Author’s conclusions,
that his narrative treats of those periods of our country in which
the human mind was deeply and roughly stirred—in which all the
combustible elements of character were in’ full play and develop-
ment. Plots, conspiracies, hair-breadth escapes, the purse, the axe,
and the dagger, held sway in high places. There was a mighty
fermentation throughout the political world. All was enterprise,
boldness, and activity. The more attractive prizes in the lottery
of life were beginning to be brought within the reach of a larger
portion of the community. Accordingly we find that the questions
which then pervaded and agitated the breasts of the many, were
liberty of conscience, the limits of obedience, the rights of resist-
ance, and the corruption of the Romish Church. In this state of
things, when the discordant parts of society had not yet amalga-

B2

4 REMARKS UPON BISHOP BURNETT'S

mated, but existing in a somewhat chaotic disorder, produced those
various jarrings which nourish the fiercest and most unbridled pas.
sions—when the national mind seemed to have obtained only a
glimpse of the glorious race which, by means of a free press, it was
destined hereafter to ran—and when the affairs of courts, the in-
trigues of cabinets, and the influence of secret negociations in the re-~
lative situation of kingdoms, were considered as mysteries, not al-
ways to be unfolded even to those who lived in intimacy with the
eonductors of such operations ; it were the height of malice and slan-
der to impute toa premeditated perversion of truth, the errors of him ~
who told the story of such a period. When, indeed, we think of
the large field Burnett has traversed, and of the difficulties with
which he had to contend, we must allow that these circumstances,
if all candour had not been banished from his adversaries, should
have put to silence their misrepresentations of his honest and en.
lightened labours, and have changed their railings against his occa-
sional mistakes and wrong conclusions, into a conyiction of the ge.
neral fairness of his statements, and of his accuracy, and the extent
_ of his information.

In treating of a period such as I have just described, it cannot
fail to occur to every reflecting reader, as a natural and obvious
consideration, that with Burnett’s temperament, his passions were
sure to be warmly actuated, and his prejudices to be strongly inter-
ested in the events he had to: relate. These feelings, therefore,
must be duly weighed. We must take the chaff with the wheat,
we must suffer the tares to grow up with the rich grain, until the
harvest of time shall have enabled us to separate them. From the
following sentence it is evident that our historian judged himself as
severely as his neighbours ; and, therefore, if the mistakes of con-
duct into which his impetuosity of temper betrayed him cannot be
defended by this explanation, the manliness and sincerity with
which he avows them ought to render him, in other respects, wor-
thy of public confidence. “I find,” says he, “that the long expe-
rience I have had of the baseness, the malice, and the falsehood of
mankind, has inclined me to be apt to think generally the worst
both of men and parties: and, indeed, the peevishness, the ill-na-
ture, and the ambition of many clergymen, has sharpened my spi-

HISTORY OF HIS OWN TIME. — 5

rits too much against them: so I warn my reader to take all I say,
on these heads, with some grains of allowance, though I have
watched over myself and my pen so carefully, that I hope there is
no great occasion for this apology.”

When a writer frequently repeats this sentiment “ that a lie in
history is a much greater sin than a lie in common discourse,” there
is a strong presumption that he will feel more powerfully urged to
the observance of this moral distinction than if he had never pro-
fessed to recognize it. Under the influence of this persuasion, we
may expect to find in Burnett many inconsistencies less real than
apparent. The first question, in short, which a conscientious man,
in such cases, will ask himself, is, whether a writer, of common
honesty, would so far degrade himself as intentionally to misre-
present truths to serve his party, or, for its sake, vituperate charac~
ters with a venom only to be surpassed by his ignorance P—and if
he is satisfied that he would not, he will consider it no false or stu-
pid reasoning, that most of the seeming inconsistencies which occur
in the History of his own Time, may be fairly accounted for by the
different aspects which the same object presented to the author at
different periods: and that he, whose character was one intense
glow, in the ardour of composition might have related certain sto-
ries and sayings, received from a second or third hand, which, on
that account alone, a more cautious and regulated mind would have:
discarded. But as it is not to be supposed that the same man sees
all that is done, or hears all that is said, during his own life-
time, it follows, as a necessary consequence, that the evidence of
others, even reported through two or three informants, must fre-
quently be the basis upon which he has to rest some of his positive
conclusions ;—while it is equally obvious that when the original
story is not wholly true, it must still suffer more and more by suc-
cessive transmissions. And thus may our historian, even when
borrowing his account from eye-witnesses or contemporary narrators,
or grounding his belief upon the general notoriety of facts, have
identified himself completely with their prejudices and passions,
though endowed with a moral sense as keen and apprehensive as
any of his readers. When Burnett, therefore, is accused so vio.
lently, by Bevil Higgons, of swallowing the grossest and most im.

6 REMARKS UPON BISHUP BURNETT'S

probable stories, and of making malleable to his wish the most
stubborn facts, and of uttering those untruths which he would haye
shrunk from publishing in his life-time, it must strike every unbi-
assed person, that his accuser was bound, in strict justice, to shew—
where publie opinion could not be adduced on the evidence of pub-
lic opinion—where that which is referable to oral testimony could.
not be supported by oral testimony—and, in like manner, historical
proof by historical proofs. Fondly credulous, as the Bishop is stated:
by the foregoing writer, to have been, it should be remenibered,
to the eternal honour of his heart and head, that he was incredulous
upon a subject, where almost all were believers. He was among
the first, strongly anti-papistical as he confessedly was, to offend
the principles, and to shock the prejudices of the public, by avowing
his disbelief of the existence of the Popish Plot. At this distract-
ing period of our domestic history, when the high and the low were
infected with one common panic and one common delusion, he
nobly, but vainly, attempted to save one of its victims: and in the
yery height of this epidemical phrenzy, when it was even dangerous.
to express, either to Whig or Tory, any doubts of the reality of -
this conspiracy, he had the courage to tell the House of Commons,
that it was unlawful to inflict punishment upon the Roman Catho-
lics on account of conscientious dissent. In reference, again, to the
accusation made by Higgons, and his other opponents, that he gives
a most welcome reception to so many hearsay stories, built on a
wondrous slender foundation, and does not balance and compare
contrary statements and sentiments, J run little risk of contra-
diction in affirming that, to his ardent temperament, strong feel-
ings, and lively fancy, and, more especially, to the extreme ra-
pidity with which he committed his thoughts to paper, may be
chiefly ascribed his hasty and not altogether consistent opinions.—
Such, I venture to pronounce, will be the uniform judgment of
those, who are not disposed to impeach our author’s candour and
good faith because he cannot always follow the right track through
the variety of his details and expositions.

As to the charge made by Higgons against the Bishop, that he
was afraid to publish his History in his life-time ; this explanation
can alone be given. Kings, statesmen, warriors, courtiers, lawyers,

HISTORY OF HIS OWN TIME. 7

divines, and poets were alternately the subject of his invectives.—
These, whenever they abandoned their public duties, he lashed
without measure or mercy. To have fulminated against these
great monopolizers of fame and fortune was quite sufficient for the
public good, without further courting their indignation, by expos-
ing his person as well as reputation to their assaults; since some
of them, experience had taught him to believe, might not be con-
-tent to confine those assaults to the pen, but be eager to extend
them to another mode of revenge,—the motive justifying the
means. Iam not here disposed to deny, that some considerations
of delicacy towards the feelings of his more immediate contempora-
ries might have had their share in influencing him to forbid
the presentation of his History to the public eye within ten years
after his decease. The principal reason, however, which led him to
make it a posthumous publication, was, unquestionably, the well-
founded conviction that it was the recklessness of romantic and
quixotic rashness, almost approaching to insanity, to brave the oblo-
quy to which he knew that he should be exposed, for having stood.
forward as the bold and uncompromising censor of the faults and
vices of public men—for endeavouring, as far as possible,

“That no rich or noble knave
Should walk the earth in credit to his grave.”

With respect to the oversights and mistakes, which occur in some
of the dates in this History, and the inference from them, that
the facts, therefore, are not to be depended upon ; several examples
may be found to justify the assertion, that it was not then the
fashion to be remarkable for exactness in point of time, and that
many violent anachronisms abound among memoir-writers, both
French and English, against whom, as relators of events, no suspi-
cion could be entertained as to their accuracy or fidelity. Indeed,
it would have been considered, by the generality of readers, as a,
greater piece of injustice to accuse Burnett of falsifying facts, from
the want of chronological precision, than, in our days, to call Abbé
Raynal’s celebrated work on the Indies a novel founded on fact,
because, after the example uf antiquity he has omitted his authori-
ties. To the foregoing circumstances may be attributed, I think,
our author’s failure in rigid adherence to dates; or else to the com-

\
8 REMARKS UPON BISHOP BURNETT'S

mendable attempt, in disregard of the lapse of time, to exhibit his
views in nearer and more admirable perspective, and to form them
into groups at once pleasing and important. But the judgment
can often recommend a perfection, to which the hand can seldom at-
tain. And Burnett, in seeking to combine causes and consequences
in one regular order of succession, has not always so accomplished
his task, as to detach them entirely from the rubbish of littleness
and insignificance. His fulness and circumstantiality are sometimes
painfully tiresome, from his making subordinate particulars the
constituent parts of his history. The severe critic would, perhaps,
Yeduce to a single book, what is dilated into two by the eXcursive-
ness of the Bishop's pencil.

But if we are to listen to his calumniators, his literary sins, how-
ever great, must not be named in the same page with his moral
delinquencies. We are told by the bitterest of them all, Higgons,
that nothing can equal his insincerity, but his malice,—that in his
description of persons, “he has so outraged virtue and innocence,
as to forfeit that respect which is due to his character, and even to
extinguish that tenderness which, in good-nature and charity, we
owe to others ;” in short, if we are to confide in his representations,
we are to regard Burnett as possessing a heart vitiated, corrupted,
gangrened to the very core. The portraits drawn by party preju-_
dice, no doubt, are often like objects seen at a great distance, or at
twilight ; being neither in shape, size, nor colour, such as they
really exist. Of all this, no man was more thoroughly aware than
the Historian of his own Time. Yet it cannot be denied that, in
delineating the character of some of those who have passed before
him on the stage of public life, he has painted as much under the
influence of this feeling as from actual observation. I would ad-
duce the names of Archbishop Sancroft, Sir William Temple, Sir
Cloudesley Shovel, and Sir George Rook. There is a dash of the -
abusive, in particular against the two last, that, if I might say so,
appears blended with almost personal spite against them: while he
has endowed, at the same time, a few characters with every species
of moral and intellectual excellence, as if he had been writing epi-
taphs instead of history.

It must likewise be confessed, that he has sometimes, “ bared the

HISTORY OF HIS OWN TIME. 9g

mean heart which lurks beneath the star,” in such a manner as to
leave it doubtful whether public good or private pique had the chief
share in the exposure. Through the whole of his life Burnett was
a keen partizan, or, as he has been designated, a christian whig.
On party topics, therefore, he had an utter contempt for neutrality
and indecision. Where are those delicate and dignified antipathies,
which would lead him to think it ignoble to repeat his blow if he
missed his aim? His object was to strike hard and in the right
place ; no matter how clumsy the stroke, provided it brought down
his antagonist. Nevertheless, where his vituperations are fiercest,
he, somehow contrives to make it appear that they spring from the
movements of a generous and indignant spirit; and that he is em-
ployed in what he thinks a work of just and manly castigation—
Many, indeed, are the passages in this memorable book, which indi-
cate a strong belief that a new era of historical liberality was com-
-mencing, which might dare to seize the truth under whatever
form, and bring it forward to the view. In speaking, therefore, of
that great Revolution which threw off a line of kings for their
tyranny, and adopted a new line for their religion, he has not hesi-
tated to display, in their true colours, the conduct, feelings, and
views of that party who, in secretly abetting the house of Stuart,
sought to revive at the same time, thosé antiquated and hateful
maxims, which taught monarchs to forget that the prosperity and
liberty of their subjects were the surest basis of their own greatness.
While, then, it is quite apparent to which side Burnett’s political
feelings carried him, it never with any truth or justice can be said,
that he evinces the sad prostitution of mind implied in the con-
dition of a devoted party-man ; which leads such a puppet to refer
to mean and interested motives the conduct of every opponent. On
the contrary, a sense of truth and justice has often forced him to
condemn his political friends, and to approve the proceedings of
their adversaries; besides which, of every opinion pronounced by
our author, he fairly states the grounds, and the reader is thus
enabled to judge whether prejudice or sound reasoning were most
conspicuous in his preferences and disgusts, his resentments and his
friendships. The delineation of the character of King William
may be evidenced in verification of these remarks.

10 REMARKS UPON BISHOP BURNETT'S

Notwithstanding, however, the accusations brought against Bur-
nett of his wish to vilify and blacken the character of his royal
benefactor, we still feel a love of truth predominant in him which
must ever entitle him to public confidence. He may have fallen
into some incongruities,—some absurdities,—and some ridiculous
stories in describing the politics, the hopes, the fears, the quarrels,
and the errors, of the court and country party: but there is in every
thing he says, both of friend and foe, a certain fearlessness and
open-heartedness of manner, which cannot fail of powerfully im-
pressing this on the reader’s mind, that he is listening to the story
of an honest as well as able man ;—though one by no means exempt
from the common delusions of self-love and self-deceit, and though,
also, occasionally seduced, by his political bias, into expressions con-
cerning the personage and actions he is tracing, from which it
would have been more laudable to abstain ; the same bias having
induced him to give undue weight to some circumstances and to
overlook others, as they agree well or ill with his system. ‘‘ Some-
times,” says Noble, “he disguised real excellences only because
they were opposite in sentiments to the mode he had adopted.”

Nor can we deny that there is an act of truth and candour
in his descriptions of the adverse political leaders, which inclines us
strongly to believe, that not only is he correct in the more pro-
minent lineaments, but that he has contemplated them with that
discriminating and divining eye, which had looked, as it were.
into their most hidden thoughts. So graphic are his portraits
that two or three lines are sufficient to mark the whole man. They,
indeed, who do not take their idea of Burnett from the abuse of
professed enemies, will give their cordial assent to the assertion,
that his general opinions are sound, intelligent, and enlightened ;
and that several of his remarks not only discover a manly strength
of intellect, but a habit of assigning grounds for the conclusions
which he formed not usual when he lived and wrote ; and evidently
shew, that he was capable of appreciating, in a considerable degree,
the influence which the great events of his age must exercise upon
future generations.. Giving him, however, this high praise, that he
occasionally fell into a train of thinking, which proved: his antici-
pation of the sentiments of a more experienced and impartial pos-

HISTORY OF HIS OWN TIME. ll

terity, it must, at the same time, be admitted that he was by no
means exempt from an imperfection common to those who write the
history of their own times—I mean that he was too much occupied
with the designs of the statesmen and courtiers, to whom he was
politically attached, to attend sufficiently to the immediate influence
of those designs upon the national mind, and the tendency to ad-
vance or retard it. Nevertheless, from the habit he had acquired
of analyzing, with the most piercing sagacity, the characters of
those remarkable persons with whom he had come in contact in the
course of his Jong career, and of studying their strongest and pro-
foundest passions, under the conviction that a knowledge of these
would develope that which is so difficult to comprehend,—the ma-
chinery of a court; and from being influenced by no squeamish
feelings, in boldly and unsparingly testifying against the faults and
corruptions of public men ; certain it is, that, from these combined
circumstances, he was often enabled to place an obscure and com-
plicated subject in a correct and distinct point of view.

He acknowledges, however, with the greatest frankness, his nar-
rative of English affairs to be imperfect and out of order ; but, at
the same time, trusting to the lights he had to guide him, chal-
lenges for his statements the fullest belief, though given on the
mere strength of bare assertion. For a wise man, the Bishop was,
unquestionably, too much governed by his passions; and these some-
times led him, in his reflections upon great questions of domestic
policy, and upon the changes and revolutions of the ministry at
home, to speak of those who were opposed to him, with a deep
irony, and bitter malevolence, which trespass equally against can-
dour, and the rules of fair and honourable controversy. But with
respect to his account of the affairs of Scotland, certainly among
the most interesting and curious portions of the work, though his
ill_judging critics have, with singularly bad taste, characterized it
among the dullest and most wearisome, the gallery of portraits
there exhibited, is finished with scrupulous accuracy. In his de-
lineation, also, of the leading Presbyterians and Episcopalians we
meet with an impartiality which the prejudices of education and
profession can scarcely be perceived to warp: thus reflecting the
highest credit upon his independence as a politician, and his tolerant ~

32 REMARKS UPON BISHOP BURNETT'S

principles as a churchman. The discontent and impatience, the
loud and angry clamours, which spread and multiplied under the
Scottish government in the reigns of the two last Stuarts, and
which converted the whole country into a field of blood,—the
levity, caprice, and tyranny, which prevailed in the councils of Mid-
dleton, Sharp, and especially Lauderdale, the heroic and courageous
sufferings of the Covenanters, and the fanaticism and sanguinary
spirit to which they gave birth, are all powerfully painted. Nor
does he ever stand forth more conspicuously a true, devoted, and
indefatigable servant of his country, than when, in his descriptions
of these distracting periods of Scottish history, he labours to impress
the ruling authorities with the criminality of obstinately maintain-
ing thosé abuses whick are hateful to the people, and with the im-
perious necessity existing, in times of general discontent, to execute
the law of the land with steady hands, accompanied by a spirit of
conciliation.

We are, sometimes, betrayed into dangerous prejudices by a prin-
ciple of association, rather than by decision of judgment. Unless
Burnett, however, can make a steady appeal to facts, no such
apology can be offered for the severe strictures he has passed
upon the great majority of his profession. The case. indeed, must
be very clear, strong, and important, which could justify a divine,
and especially a bishop, in putting forth such a sentiment as the
following: —‘ That he was always inclined to think ill of church-
men till he saw cause to think otherwise:”—a dictum much more
offensive to clerical ears, than that well-known sarcasm pronounced
by Lord Clarendon, “ that clergymen understand the least, and take
the worst measure of human affairs, of all mankind who can read
or write.”

Now to suppose, as some have done, that Burnett railed against
the priesthood because he hated it, is unworthy of any serious no-
tice ; especially when his unceasing, and, at last, successful efforts
to employ those funds for the benefit of the inferior clergy which
Charles II. had lavished among his mistresses and natural children,
must ever be regarded as a striking proof of his zeal for the interest
of his order, as well as of his own earnest feelings in behalf of mo-
ral and religious truth. ' Whoever has examined the subject in

HISTORY OF HIS OWN TIME: 18

question without bias or prejudice, must concede that though, from
the Restoration to the Accession of the house of Hanover, the An-
glican Church could exhibit some instances of the most commanding
talents, and of the most primitive virtues—men who were the pil-
lars of fire which brighten the darkness of the night, and make
straight the paths of the wilderness,—yet that the zeal of many of
its ministers slackened to a degree which justifies us in affirming,
that they proved unfaithful to their trust. These nodded beside
the altar, while rash and presumptuous hands were heaping unhal-
lowed fuel upon it, under the plausible pretence that the sacred
flame was extinet. By their culpable supineness and indifference,
a hideous breach was thus made in the fortress of our faith, by in-
fidels, and scorners, which had nearly enabled them to shake its
very foundations. The excellent Leighton spoke of the church as
a fair carcase, without a spirit—the best constituted in the world,
but one of the most corrupt in administration. And when Burnett
represents the clergy, in his time, as ‘ having less authority, and
being more under contempt, than any other church in Europe,”—
not that he affirms their lives were scandalous, but that “ their
conduct was negligent ;’ and whem he adds “ that they would
never regain the influence which they had lost, till they lived
better, and laboured more,” we must come to one or other of these
conclusions—either, that he who penned these sentiments in utter
disregard of some of the dearest interests of mankind entertained
the unnatural wish of lowering the consequence of the order to
which he belonged—that he had a secret gratification in making it
the specific ground of his revilings; or that, perceiving in the con-
stitution of the church the elements of all that is good and great—
as bearing, most vitally and essentially, on the best interests of the
commonwealth—he felt that it would be a betrayal of his duty, as
one of the governors of that church, not to do his utmost to urge on
that moral and religious change which should demonstrate to the
public at large, that the church, however she appeared to languish
and decay, might soon, by the confederated zeal of a renovated
clergy, be raised from the ground on which she lay, and shake off
the dust by which her original lustre had been so long obscured.—
Such, then, as think Burnett capable of libelling the clergy, the

14 REMARKS UPON BISHOP BURNETT'S

guides and comforters of the people, will not hesitate to pronounce’
that he was despicable as an ecclesiastic, and hateful as a man—
While those who are not of this opinion will, iike myself, trace the’
principles of that conduct which has been the theme of such copious:
invectives;—which has heaped on his name, for an hundred years,:
the charges of spleen; malice, and ingratitude—to an overpowering
zeal, and to a fixed determination of maintaiming the cause of reli-
gion and virtue, through good report and evil report, and of hold-
ing nothing so high in policy, as the conscientious discharge of his
christian duties. :

The truth is, that Burnett had evidently formed to himself a
very lofty standard of attainable perfection in the discharge of his
episcopal functions; and he seems never to have remitted his exer-
tions to elevate and conform himself to it in every particular.
Others of his contemporaries may have brought more precious con-
tributions to sacred literature,—may have fought the’ battles of
orthodoxy better than he,—may have been surrounded with proud-
er triumphs of authorship,—but his name, associated with the
strict and undeviating performance of the primitive and essential
duties of his office, will go down to posterity in one of the most
glorious pages of ecclesiastical history. I am not afraid, in this
respect, to link his claims with those of any one who has worn the’
mitre since the Reformation.

Thus strongly led to invest the Prelacy with that deep and aw-
ful responsibility, that nothing in the concerns of earthliness could
be compared to it, he yearned for the amendment of the parochial
clergy ; connecting with their exertions, the renovation of the land.
But in bending the whole force of his mind to produce the appa»
ratus of a preaching, pious, and popular ministry, the proper object
and end of the national church, we are not to be surprised, that he
should have given as much offence as if he had been attempting
some violent reform—as if he had stepped out beyond the direct
and conscientious line of his duty. To the superficial eye, a fervent
attachment to an institution appears, indeed, perfectly incompatible
with a keen and: painful sense of its defects. And Burnett at one
time, for assuming the intrepidity of a prophet of old, and denounc~
ing, in the ears of royalty itself, all: the profligacies which disgraced

HISTORY OF HIS OWN TIME. 15

and deformed it, and at another, for telling the clergy of their
faults, has passed with many, for an enemy to the established
authorities of the country; whereas, those who love truth more
than party, may very confidently affirm, that a real and honest
principle of Christianity lay at the root of these reproofs, and that
it was he, and such as he, who, in the day of national calamity and
‘danger, would be found to diffuse over the whole sphere of his
influence, the virtues of order, peace, and loyalty.
It was one of Burnett’s favourite sayings, that a bishop in his
diocese should be the leader of no particular class of persons,
but the head and father of his people. How far his conduct rose
into a consistent exemplification of this wise remark, may be de-
duced from the general spirit and tenor of his episcopal proceedings.
Counting it for an undeniable fact, that the pastoral clergy were
the instrumental cause of all the vital and substantial christianity
in the land,—the very fountain heads of national morality,—he
spared no pains to acquire a thorough knowledge of the habits,
intellect, condition and general circumstances of every clerical indi-
vidual in his diocese. Family alliances, property, and wide-spread-
ing connexions had no share in his patronage, unless the possessors
of them were respectable for their learning, exemplary for their
lives, or useful for their ministry. Nor did he keep a scowling
front, or view with emotions bordering on exclusion or bigotry,
such of his clergy as happened to differ with him on speculative
_ points of religion, or upon grounds merely political, like the Non-
jurors; but sought to throw all their differences into the back
ground, and only to bring forward those great and substantial
points of agreement which might bind them together by a strong
feeling of brotherhood. Even to those, too, who were of uncon-.
firmed character or of lax morality, he assumed not a repulsive and
hostile aspect, or rebuked their offences in an intolerant tone, as if
he were unconscious of his own imperfections ; but diffused such
gentleness into his judgments, as made it difficult for them to with-
stand his honest, benignant, and persevering kindness. Yet while
acting with all the courtesy of a gentleman, the dignity of a bishop,
and the charity of a christian,—and at all times encouraging and
heartening the deserving in their career by his cheering smiles of

16 REMARKS UPON BISHOP BURNETT'S

approbation, and by his animated expressions of applause,—has this
estimable prelate been represented, by the turbulence of faction and
profligacy of party in his own days, as the secret despiser of the
majesty of the throne and the sanctity of the altar. Time, bow-
ever, is most disinterested, and, to vindicate what there has beer
said amiss, has come with healing on his wings. Dipping his pen
in the colours of truth, he has painted Burnett for the contempla-
tion of a more impartial posterity, as a patriot who understood and
venerated the real principles by which different parts of the consti-
tution were adjusted,—as a churchman who lifted up his protesting
voice against unworthy appointments by lay as well as ecclesiastical
patrons,—who hated nepotism, pluralities, and sinecures in cathe.
drals,—who declared, that, were he to raise fortunes for his chil-
dren out of the income of his bishopric, he should consider himself
guilty of the greatest crime,—and, lastly, who shrunk not from
avowing, that, to suffer himself to be converted into a ministerial
tool, was to lower himself from the pure and lofty sphere in which
alone he ought to breathe and act. Whatever judgment may be
passed on the other parts of this History, and though it may still be
with some a fixed article of literary faith, that the author’s personal
character was a compound of spleen, malice, and ingratitude, these
memorable words will be: read and remembered with warm appro«
bation by every right-fecling and sound-thinking christian. ‘ The
more abstracted that bishops live from the world, from courts, from
eabals, and from parties, they will have the more quiet within them-
selves, and they will, in conclusion, be more respected by all, espe-
cially if an integrity and a just freedom appear among them in the
House of Lords, where they will be much observed; and judgments
will be made of them there that will follow them home to their
dioceses. Nothing will alienate the nation more from them, than
their becoming tools to a court, giving up the liberties of their
country, and advancing arbitrary designs.”

It was as natural, however, for those who had hearts as unchari-
table as their intellects were narrow, to ascribe these constitutional:
admonitions to the influence of bad passions and to factious purposes,
as for common and every day minds to impute his interference in
state matters solely to a sordid love of avarice, and to views of per-

HISTORY OF HIS OWN TIMEy 1?

sonal aggrandisement ; though certainly, of all studied historical
misrepresentations, that may be pronounced among the chiefest,
which affixes the character of cold, calculating, mercenary self-inte-
rest to the name of Burnett,—which makes place and emolument _
the reigning idols of his soul. Any candid and competent inquirer
into the leading events of Burnett’s life, must, indeed, regard this
‘accusation with the deepest contempt. For can he be charged with
a mean and interested struggle for wealth and patronage, who re-
fused the Archbishopric of Glasgow, and the See of Chichester,
disdaining to league himself with a government which, with all
the ostentation of loyalty, by manifesting the most bare-faced aban-
donment of public principle for the sake of private advantage,
sapped the very foundation on which loyalty is reared? Nor should
his readiness, afterwards, to accept the lucrative Bishoprie of Dur.
ham tempt us to doubt that the praise due to him for the foregoing
refusals is beyond his deserts; though satire, which holds nothing
in reverence, attributes his seeking the last rich prize to the un-
principled desire of raising fortunes for his illegitimate children.
“It is not wonderful, therefore, after this preposterous assertion,
to find the impugners of this honest, and generally useful, friend of
his country, so often apostrophized by them with the scurrilous
epithets of state intriguer, factious intermeddler, and pamphleteer-.
ing bishop. ups
Now, early conscious of the might that lay within him—for even
those who hated him most allowed him to be possessed of a compre-
hensive understanding—well acquainted with the opinions and sen-
timents of the best authors—with the maxims of the most profound
statesmen—and with the character, views, and resources, of other
European nations, besides his own—upon these grounds alone, he
was naturally disposed to try his strength in political as well
as spiritual warfare. Burnett seems to have entered into the secu-
lar politics of the day, as much under the influence of an imperious
sense of duty as if some superior being had the items of his poli.
tical as well as moral and religious’ existence. It was this well.
placed confidence, therefore, in his mental powers—and not the
wish to amass or aggrandize—it was this anxious concern for the
liberties of his country, which led him to mix so much in the
commerce of the world, and to take such a deep interest and regard
October, 1835.—vow. 111. NO. XIII. Cc.

18 REMARKS ON BISHOP BURNETT'S

in civil affairs. The ambition he had, no doubt, in common with
other men of great and commanding intellect, of wishing to raise
himself “to high places.” But it was the honourable and holy
ambition of connecting his own with the promotion of the public
welfare,—conceiving, and, in my mind, rightly conceiving, that
neither his christian vocation nor episcopal office forbad, but, om
the contrary, justified and required his political exertions in behalf
of a country, which he had ever loved with a patriot’s spirit. Yet,
for urging his principles and maxims with so much energy and
truth—for displaying the most praiseworthy feelings, he has been
ridiculed, scorned, and cursed, by many a renegade Whig, and ul-
tra Tory. Undoubtedly it would have been out of place for the
servant of the altar, if Jacobitism had then been what it now is,
merely a name. But every one who is acquainted with the history
and transactions of this period, well knows that this was not the
case. At the time of the Revolution, a strong Jacobite party ex-
isted in the cabinet itself. And not only in the reign of William
the Third, but of Anne, and George the First, the accession of 2
popish king, especially as foreign powers were then favourable to it,
was an event not entertained by the chimerical apprehensions of
Burnett alone, but was contemplated as something more than barely
possible, by some of the leaders in the conflicting parties of the state.
But here arise two interesting questions, which, at the first
glance, it may appear difficult to answer in a satisfactory manner.
Why a man, who was thus forward to assist the progress of just and
liberal views among his fellow citizens—whose predominant pas-
sions were for religion and liberty, in the cause of which he had
laboured, sorrowed, rejoiced, prayed, and to which he dedicated his
whole life, should be so insufficiently appreciated by those who wit-
nessed these his great merits, as to create in them a dislike bordering
on aversion? And why a divine of his eminence, should be irrecon-
cileably repugnant to those, between whose political sentiments and
his own opinions there existed the closest bond of union? It may
be answered to the first question, that Burnett, as a Scotchman,
was hateful to his countrymen, from his decided attachment to the
Church of England; the members of which, on the other hand,
could not resist the belief from his supposed bigotted nationality,
that he sympathized too warmly with the presbyterians, and there-

HISTORY OF HIS OWN TIME. 19

fore it passed into a settled conviction in the minds of many, that
he was hostile to that hierarchy and parochial clergy, which it was
his single object to render the blessing and glory of the land. But
if they had been called upon to state the grounds of their suspicion
and mistrust, strong as they were, they must have been content to
rest them upon his occasional advocacy of the cause of the dissenters,
though he never upheld: it in such a manner as to impeach the recti-+
tude of his doings, as an ecclesiastical ruler ; for I am not prepared
to allow this invidious remark of Noble, “that he was in profession
a prelate,in sentiment a dissenter.” Now why he should have ren-
dered himself obnoxious to those with whom, upon all questions of
great public importance he generally sided, may certainly be
thought a strange and almost incredible anomaly in politics. The
explanation of this phenomenon is to be found in certain peculiari-
ties in the character of Burnett.
_ Holding the same language with the Whigs respecting the Bri-
tish constitution, and by no means averse to the name and functions
of a party-man, his mind was of too firm, uncompromising, and
conscientious a cast, to make that sacrifice of private judgment,
which the principle of party requires. Upon points where the
object. evidently sought was not so much the general good, as the
gratification of private views, passions, and resentments, he was
bold to shake off this thraldom,—to call things and persons by
their right names—and to show himself as honest in the practice
as in the theory of his politics, by speaking as vehemently and
bluntly to his friends, as to his antagonists. Fearing the face of
no man, he scorned to bend to their prejudices, or to lean to their
particular interests or considerations. There was a magnanimity of
principle which made knaves feel as knaves—and fools as fools.—
Here, then, shone forth, in Burnett, the primitive simplicity of the
christian minister.. And this it was which caused so many of his
political associates to be backward in their commendation of his
high moral and intellectual endowments. In this way only, can
the two foregoing, questions admit of an easy and ready solution.—
This will afford the clue 1o the labyrinth in which he fell short. of
popularity with that party, with whom it was reasonable to con-
clude, that he would have been most popular.

All this being thus explained,—for without the foregoing com-

c2

20. REMARKS ON BISHOP BURNETT'S

ment, the sentiments expressed towards him by many of the Whigs,
both in church and state, would be wholly unaccountable—it
will be matter of astonishment to none of my readers, that
some of that party should be forward in their attacks upon his
History. Cunningham, as well as Lord Dartmouth, in his
personal aversion to the author, is even disposed to rank his occa-
sional egotism among the cardinal offences of this performance :
when others, whose judgments are unwarped, will be almost in-
clined to regard his being so full of self-importance, as a circum-
stance rather pleasing than otherwise,—to consider it as the natural
and becoming egotism of a man who hopes to give a proof of his:
sincerity, when he talks as familiarly about himself as about other
men. Self-love, perhaps, is never less unamiable and useless to so-
ciety, than where it shews itself with frankness and good-nature ;
and it is only intolerable when it is displayed under affectation of
concealment. The Bishop’s egotism is, therefore, agreeable, as
being without affectation. He does not write of himself for want
of other materials for writing, but because some circumstance that
has happened to himself is the best possible illustration of the sub-
ject ; and he is not the man, through fastidious delicacy, to shrink
from giving this best possible illustration. He likes himself and his:
subject too well. Those, however, who are “ made of sterner stuff,”
will turn, with a sort of inward disdain, from these self-references,
and regard them as the folly of a diseased and egotistic mind. But
in the severity of their censures against Burnett, for always talking
of himself, they quite overlook the value of the lesson which, in so
doing, he imparts to his readers. They do not feel that, in making’
us intimate with himself, he, also, makes us intimate with ourselves;
that, in this exposure of his own weaknesses, he teaches us to ob-
serve those by which we are ourselves enfeebled ; and thus unmasks,
as it were, for examination, the secret infirmity of our own bosoms.
Those, therefore, who follow the courses of his mind, like the
courses of his upright life, with sympathy and approbation, can read,
with a good-natured smile, his recountings of his early importance
in the world—can regard, as pardonable vanity, his self-commenda-
tions—his depicturings of his influence, talents, and celebrity—nay,
can even go the length of thinking that the following remarks upon
being called, when a stripling, to act a conspicuous part on the the-

HISTORY OF HIS OWN TIME. 91

atre of public fame, not only contributes to render his book more
instructive, but more interesting. ‘ They (alluding to the minis-
ters who tyrannized over Scotland, in the reign of strumpets and
Charles II.), had such an imagination of some service I might do
them, that they treated me with a very particular freedom and con-
fidence. But I had drunk in the principles of moderation so early,
that though I was entirely episcopal, yet I would not engage with
a body of men that seemed to have the principles and tempers of
inquisitors in them, and to have no regard to religion in any of
their proceedings.”

Two years afterwards, “it was thought,” he says, “ that Lord
Lauderdale was preparing me, as one who was known to have been
always episcopal, to be set up against Sharp (the Archbishop) and
his set of men, who were much hated by one side, and not loved
nor trusted by the other.”

In 1762, he describes himself as eager to forsake the court alto-
gether, yet suffering himself to be wrought on by the persuasions
of others who remained there. ‘“ Many found I did good offices.—
I got some to be considered and advanced that had no other way of
access. But that which made it more necessary was, that I saw
Sharp and his creatures were making their court with the most ab-
fect flattery. Leighton went seldom to them, though he was al-
ways treated by them with great indulgence; so it was necessary
for me to be about them and keep them right, otherwise all our de-
signs were lost without recovery.”

‘The next instance of self idolatry is still perhaps more amusing
and more characteristic of the man and of his book. “While I
was at the court, (of France) which was only for four or five days,
one of the king’s coaches was sent to wait on me, and the king
ordered me to be well-treated by all about him; which, upon that,
was done with a great profusion of extraordinary respects: at which
all people stood amazed. Some thought it was to encourage the

side against the court, by this treatment of one then in disgrace ;
others, more probably, thought that the king, hearing I was a
writer of history, had a mind to engage me to write on his side. I
was told a pension would be offered me: but I made no steps to-
wards it; for though I was offered an audience with the king, I
excused it. After a few months’ stay, I returned, and found both

92 REMARKS ON BISHOP BURNETT'S

the king and the duke were highly offended with the reception I
met with in France. They did not know what to make of it, and
fancied there was something hid under it.”

If we are to be influenced by. the vulgar sneers at Burnett’s
patriotism, we are to convert his honesty in telling the nation all
its faults, into a secret pleasure in railing against its most revered
institutions. Undoubtedly, he who should expose these faults, runs
the risk of being treated as the enemy of his country, by those
whose national partialities are so excessive that they will even mag-
nify defects into excellences. Js it not, however, unreasonable to
suppose, that a man can pour forth the most virtuous anxieties for
the public good, and not at the same time be warmly attached to
the constitution? It is impossible, indeed, I think, for any unpre-
judiced person to read the memorable address that concludes the
Bishop’s posthumous labours, without perceiving, that upon no
human heart did the claims of, his country ever fall more deep and
irresistible. To the very last, he never slumbered nor slept upon
his post; but laboured to improve mankind, by teaching and de-
claring what he deemed to be the truth. The warm, the ennobling
strain of patriotism which breathes throughout this appeal, the art-
less but soleran pathos which marks some of its passages, the un.
worldly purity and simplicity, the strength of reason, the ardent
love of religious liberty and justice which pervade its pages, should
have taught his enemies to respect a name which all upright men
must revere. As the flowers send up their.sweetest odours at the
close of day, as the sun appears with the greatest beauty at its
going down, all the virtues and graces of this excellent prelate
come before us in this final address with the most pleasing remem-
brance. The most careless of readers will peruse it with the deep-
est conviction of all the sentiments having proceeded from the au-
thor’s heart ; while written, as it is, at an advanced period of life,
it has all the determination of age and decision of principle; and I
am bold enough to add, that if all which Burnett had given to the
public, were comprised in this brief paper—such are the lights
which shine unclouded in it,—such are the pearls of rare price to
be picked out of it,—it alone would have entitled his memory to be
contemplated with the highest veneration. His statesman-like
remarks upon episcopal, ecclesiastical, parliamentary, and aristo-

HISTORY OF HIS OWN TIME: 93

cratical abuses,—upon a radical reformation of the people by educa-
tion and a good judicature,—his further observations upon the
employment of able men in diplomacy,—and of the best means of a
sovereign’s obtaining the noblest reward of his labours, the love and
esteem of his subjects,—have been the themes of panegyric among
all competent judges. Ata period, too, when the science of political
" economy was little known or attended to, the suggestions of Burnett,
respecting that most important branch—the bettering the condition
of the poor,—evince a sagacity and sound sense very surprising in
their start before the public mind, if we consider the direct contrary
notions so current with the best and wisest statesmen of his day :
“The other matter that must take its rise in the House of Com.
mons is about the poor, and should be much laid to heart. It may
be thought @ strange notion from a bishop to wish that the act for
charging every parish to maintain their own poor, were well re.
_ wiewed, if not quite taken away ; this seems to encourage idle and
lazy people in their sloth, when they know they must be maintained.
I know no other place in the world, where such a law was ever
made. Scotland is much the poorest part of the island; yet the
poor there are maintained by the voluntary charities of the people.”

Strong claims, however, as the History of his own Time possesses
to our attention, from having been written, according to a2 former
observation, at a most interesting period, in which the author was
not merely a spectator, but often an actor in some of the most im-
portant and striking scenes described in it; yet, as a piece of com-
position, it must be confessed, that it will stand very low in the
estimation of those who are fond of pretty conceits and laborious
efforts after fine writing. Swift, who hated Burnett, if it were
only because the consistency of his political attachment reminded
him of the baseness and profligacy of his own apostacy, has been
scurrilous to the last degree respecting the style of his performance.
Unquestionably, it has too great a profusion of low, familiar and
colloquial forms of expression,—though graphic and acute, the man-
ner is too often garrulous and vulgar. The sterling weight, how-
ever, of most of his observations, and the masterly boldness which
often sketches a portrait in a single line, will more than compen-
sate for the want of polished sentences and figurative modes of
speech. Things, not words—the matter, not the manner of the

24 REMARKS ON BISHOP BURNETT'S

book, were what Burnett principally regarded. He thinks, and
therefore makes his readers think—i. e. reflect; since, according to
a striking aphorism of his model and master, Archbishop Leighton,
“he only thinks who reflects.”

In this, as in most of his other productions, Burnett appears to
have left his sentences just as the fervid heat of his imagination
struck them out. The duties of his life were too multifarious to
allow time to give to all his opinions a comely and suitable cover-
ing ; much less to be studious of “ taffeta phrases, or silken terms
precise.” He said what he had to say in long or short sentences,
with little or no regard to the turn of a phrase, to the music of a
eadence ; not hesitating, in his dramatic narrative, to use any image -
or expression, however coarse or homely, provided it conveyed his
meaning with liveliness and force. ‘There were no strainings for
false and meretricious ornaments, for mawkish sentiments, extrava-
gant and sparkling conceits, nor any attempts to hide a want of
meaning under the semblance of a stern and pompous wordi-
ness. Impartial criticism may assert that the work bears all the
traces of a rugged and careless composition ; but, at the same time,
it will not deny that this defect is amply atoned for by the warm,
native, and ever-varying graces of a spontaneous effusion. It is a
question, if Burnett’s language, from its idiomatical strength, did
not shew that the author had drawn more freely of the pure well
of English than many of the wits of the Augustan period,—as the
reign of Queen Anne has been designated. At least, in comparing
his cast of phraseology, especially in his sermons, with that of seve-
rel of his own countrymen of recent celebrity, he does not, like
them, from the dread of falling into scotticisms, lose much of that
which Dr. Johnson has denominated, genuine anglicism.

Swift pretends to discover, in almost every line of the Bishop’s
work, striking instances of error, ignorance, partiality, fraud, and
misrepresentation: while, according to his judgment, from the
coarseness and vulgarity of its style, it is, as a composition, beneath
criticism. But, after a repeated, after a serious, and, I hope, after
an impartial perusal of this work, I speak, I am persuaded, the lan-
guage of sound criticism, when I assert, that the Memoirs of the
reign of Queen Anne, which Swift himself designates as his mas-
ter-piece, and which, without doubt, he meant to be one of those

~

HISTORY OF HIS OWN TIME. 25

~ eternal possessions that great minds generate and perfect in retire-
ment, will be utterly forgotten, or if remembered, will—from its
tame, monotonous, and colourless style—its wilful perversions and
malevolent misrepresentations—its accumulated mass of personal
abuse and intolerant zeal,—its insolent dogmatism and absurd pre-
tensions to the dignified form of history,—be only cited as a per-
formance deserving the most just contempt from friends* as well
as enemies; while, on the other hand, the History of his own
_ Time, frum its masculine and energetic style,—the perspicuity and
acumen of its observations—the breathing vitality of its portraits—
the honesty of its opinions—the bold spirit of its criticism upon the
public men of the day—and the profound knowledge of the tran-
sactions recorded—will transmit the name of Burnett to future
generations, as one of the most instructive and most amusing of
memoir writers.

BG:
Great Malvern, September 10, 1835.

_* Ifthe Dean had not been so peremptorily opinionative, so desperately
pertinacious in this matter, he would, it is tobe presumed, have listened to
the advice of Pope and Bolingbroke, whose penetration, taste, larger views in
history, and great talents for composition, alike led them to oppose the pub-
lication of this wretchedly stupid work. Never was a truer criticism pro-
nounced upon it than in the following remarks of Horace Walpole. ‘ There
is just published Swift’s history of the four last years of Queen Anne. Pope
and Lord Bolingbroke always told him it would disgrace him, and persuaded
him to burn it. Disgrace him, indeed, it does; being a weak libel, ill-writ-
ten for style, uninformed, and adopting the most errand mob stories. He
makes the Duke of Marlborough a coward, Prince Eugene an assassin, my
father remarkable for nothing but impudence, and would make my Lord
Somers anything but the most amiable character in the world, if, unfortu-
nately, he did not praise him while he tries to abuse.” —Leiters to Sir Horace
Manan, vol. iii, p. 317 —318. ,

[Our thanks are due to the learned writer for this admirable article, as
also for six So interesting papers in former numbers of “ The Analyst ;”
more especially that on Charles II, which was executed in so masterly a
style as to obtain the unqualified approbation of one of the most accurate
thinkers upon all curious matters of Fistory. The subject here alluded to
was so full of perplexities that it quite baffled the sound and vigorous under-
standing of the Edinburgh Reviewer. The importance, indeed, of a paper
which clears up difficulties embarrassing to many a statesman of the present
days cannot be too highly appreciated by the student of English History.

D. |

Peete BTV Ky,

26

REMARKS CONDUCIVE TO THE IMPROVEMENT
OF ORNITHOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE.

In a former paper, (vol. ii, p. 305),-I pointed out some very
glaring errors in the nomenclature adopted by Selby in his British
Ornithology. I shall now do what I conceive will be of still greater
utility, and what I have often been asked to do,—give a list of the
birds of Britain; each species denoted by its proper generic and spe-
cific appellation. But before commencing the list, I shall make a few
remarks on the subject, which appear to be peculiarly called for,
when there are writers who openly maintain that the names in use,
whether right or wrong, ought to be continued, simply because they
are in use,—writers, too, who do not simply adopt the vulgar names
from mere thoughtlessness, or from thinking the subject beneath
their attention, but who, having considered the subject, actually
defend what they themselves confess to be erroneous, because it
would give too much érouble to learn what is right!

I do not here mean to refute any of Mr. Strickland’s arguments
for his vulgar names; but one assertion I cannot let pass unnoticed,
namely, that the newly-introduced English names are certain never
to be universally adopted. Let Mr. Strickland turn to the ornitho-
logical works of the time of Willoughby or of Edwards, and. com-
pare the English names therein used with those of Selby or Mudie;
or let him compare the French names used by Buffon, with those of
Vieillot or Temminck. In Willoughby’s work he will find Water
Hen, Water Ouzel, Solan Goose, Sea Lark, Greenland Dove, Land
Hen, and many other equally ridiculous and erroneous names,
which, in Selby’s work, are designated as follows: Gallinule, Dip-
per, Gannet, Plover, Rotch, and Crake, and by these names they
are now universally known, except by those, indeed, who “ don’t
know a rose from a cabbage.”

Boswell, in his life of Johnson, speaking of orthography, says,
that Johnson very strongly expressed his disapprobation at the prac-
tice, which was then creeping in, of omitting the & at the end of
such words as public, music, &c. ; and Boswell adds, that he really
hopes that so great an authority will have the effect of stop-

REMARKS CONDUCIVE TO THE IMPROVEMENT, &c. 27

ing the innovation. But it didnot. From the alteration of a let-
ter to the alteration of the laws of the land, reform will take place,
however great the authority which opposes it,—hand joined in hand |
would in vain attempt to stem the tide of improvement. Wilson
‘effected some beneficial changes in names, such as Orchard Oriole
instead of Bastard Oriole. I will quote some of his comments on
this name :—* I cannot but take notice of the name which natural-
ists have bestowed on this bird, and which is certainly remarkable.
Specific names, to be perfect, ought to express some peculiarity,
common to no other of the genus,.and should, at least, be consistent
with truth; but in the case now before us, the name has no one
merit of the former, nor even that of the latter, to recommend it,
ani ought, henceforth, to be rejected as highly improper and calcu-
lated, like that of Goatsucker, [properly Nightjar, Vociferator, N.
Wood], and many others equally ridiculous, to perpetuate that
error from which it originated.” It is to be wished that Wilson
had always acted on the same liberal and fearless principle ; but, in
several instances, as in that of the Aquila leucocephala, he has al-
lowed baneful custom to overcome his reason: he asserts the specific
name, Bald, to be “equally improper and absurd; and yet says,
* the appellation, however, being now almost universal, is retained
in the following pages.” But Audubon, instead of yielding to
what he knew to be wrong, corrects the error, and calls the bird,
« White-headed Eagle.” Even Audubon is not entirely free
from the charge of following in the sheep-track, as it were, as
may be seen by the following passage ;—“‘ But names already given
and received, whether apt or inapt, I am told, must not be meddled
with. To this law I humbly submit, and so proceed, contenting
myself with feeling assured that many names given to birds might,
with much benefit to the student of nature, become subjects of
reform.”* TI should hardly have thought that a writer of so strong
a mind as Audubon, would, merely because he had been told so and
so, have sacrificed to authority what he knew to be for the good of
the ornithological student. However, the greatest minds have their

failings.

_ * Ornithological Biography, vol. i., p. 394.

28 REMARKS CONDUCIVE TO THE IMPROVEMENT

I shall here make a short quotation in point, from the writings
of Charles L. Bonaparte, who has generally correct views on the
subject: —‘* According to Buffon and Vieillot, this bird is a perma-
nent resident in the West Indies, where, as they state, the name is
sometimes applied to it of Fausse Linotte. We, however, can per-
ceive scarcely any resemblance, except in its dull state of plumage
to a similar state of the Redpoll Finch, (Redpoll Linnet, Linaria
rubra, Will.). The name of Bimbelé, by which it is known among
the negroes of those countries, is derived from the recollection of an
African bird, to which, probably, the resemblance is not more evi-
dent. Unfortunately, this propensity of limited minds, to refer
new objects, however distinct, to those with which they are
acquainted, seems to have prevailed throughout the world, and is
found exemplified no where more absurdly than in the Anglo-
Americal names of plants and animals.”+ This case is exactly simi-
lar to that before brought forward of House Sparrow and Hedge
Dunnoc. The West Indians would call the Palm Warbler a Lin-
net, and Mr. Strickland would call the Hedge Dunnoe a Sparrow.
However, in every successive work on the subject, there is an im-
provement ; and it is much to be hoped that, as sound principles
are acquired, exactitude will be proportionately attained.

I shall now give a list of the Birds of Britain, as divided by Vi
gors into five orders,—Raptores, Insessores, Rasores, Grallatores,
and Natatores.

ORDER I.

Raprores, VIGoRSs.

Family I1.—Vulturide.
Genus, Neophron, (Sav.), Neofron.
White-headed Neofron Neophron leucocephalus.
‘Family III.—Falconide.
Section, Aquilina. Genus, Aquila, (Antig.), Eagle.

Golden Eagle Aquila aurea ( Will.)
Genus, Ossifraga, (W.), Ossifrage.
Cinereous Ossifrage Ossifraga albicilla ( W.)

+ Art. Palm Warbler, Sylvia palmarum. : ?

' OF ORNITHOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE. 29

Genus, Pandion, (Sav.), Ospray.
White-headed Ospray,* Pandion leucocephalus, (W.)

Section, Accipina. Genus, Astur, (Bechst.), Gossuc.
Rock Gossuc . Astur palumbarius, (Bee.)
Genus, Accipiter, (Auct.), Hawk.
Sparrow Hawk Accipiter nisus, (W.)
Section, Falconina. Genus, Falco, (Zin.), Falcon.
Jer-Falcon _ Falco rusticolus, (Gm.)
Peregrine Falcon F. peregrinus, (Lin.)
Hobby Falcon F. arboreus, (W.)
Red-footed Falcon F. rufipes, (Bech.)
Kestril Falcon F. tinnunculus, (Lin.)
Merlin Falcon F. zsalon, (Tem)
Section, Buteonina. Genus, Buteo, (Bech.), Buzzard.
Variegated Buzzard B. variegatus, (W.)
Rough-legged Buzzard B. lagopus, (F/em.)
’ Genus, Pernis, (Cuv.), Pern.
Honey Pern P. apivorus, (Cuv.)
Genus, Circus, (Bech.), Harrier.
Marsh Harrier C. rufus, (Bris.)
Hen Harrier C. cyaneus, (Flem.)
- Ash-coloured Harrier C. cineraceus, (Shaw)
Section, Milvina. Genus, Milvus (Auct.), Kite.
Gliding Kite M. regalis, (Bris.)
Genus, Elanus, (Sav.), Forktail.

White-headed Forktail Elanus nauclarus, (W-)
Family IV.—Strigide.
Genus, Bubo, (Cuv.), Toad-eater.

Yellow-legged Toad-eater Bubo flavipes, (W.)
Genus, Asio, (Antig.), Madje.

Heath Madge Asio ulula, (NW. Wood)

Long-eared Madge Asio arborea, (W.)
Genus, Scops,; (Sav.), Scops.

Tree Scops _ Scops zorca (W.)

Genus, Nyctea, (Dumer.), Snowflake. .

Gray Snowflake Nyctea cinerea, (Steph.)
Genus, Strix, (Antig.), Owl.

Barn Owl Strix flammea (Lin.)

* It is curious that the four first birds of the British Fauna are among those prohibited in the
Old Testamert: ‘the Eagle, and the Ossifrage, and the Ospray, and the Vulture shall not be
eaten” ‘We presume,” with Wilson, “that this prohibition was religiously observed, so far,
at least, as it related to the Vulture, from whose flesh there arises such an unsavory odour, that
we = if all the sweetening processes ever invented could render it palatable to Jew, Pagan,
or Christian.

REMARKS CONDUCIVE

TO THE IMPROVEMENT

Genus, Surnia, (Steph.), Surn.

Ivy Surn

Surnia stridula, (Steph.)

Genus, Noctua, (Cuv.), Nightling.

White-breasted Nightling
Sparrow Nightling

Noctua funerea, (W.)
Noctua passerina, (Selby)*

ORDER II.

InsEssores, ViGorRs.

Yellow-throated Bee-eater
Garrulous Roller
Chimney Swallow
Window Swallow
Bank Swallow

Wall Swift

Alpine Swift

‘Fern Nightjar
Minnow Kingfisher
Spotted Flycatcher
Pied Flycatcher
Cinereous Shrike
Red-backed Shrike
Wood Shrike |
Missel Thrush
Field Thrush
Garden Thrush
Red-winged Thrush
Yellow-billed Ouzel
Ringed Ouzel
Rivulet Dipper
Garden Oriole
Fallow Wheat-ear
Whin Chat

Stone Chat

Robin Redbreast
Tree Redstart _
Tithys Redstart

* In the four remaining Orders, I shall not
present aim is more Nomenclature than Classi

Merops chrysocephalus, (Lath.)
Coracias garrula, (Lin.)
Hirundo rustica, (Lin.)
Hirundo urbica, (Lin.)
Hirundo riparia, (Aldr.)
Cypselus murarius, (T'em.)
Cypselus alpinus, (7Z'em.)
Vociferator melolontha, (W.)}
Alcedo ispida, (ZLin.)
Muscicapa grisola, (Lin.)
Muscicapa luctuosa, (T'em.)
Lanius excubitor, (Lin.)
Lanius colluris, (Lin.)
Lanius rutilus, ( Lath.)
‘Turdus viscivorus, (Lin.)
Turdus pilaris, ( Wil.)
Turdus hortensis, (W.}
Turdus iliacus, ( Wii/.)
Merula vulgaris, ( Will.)
Merula torquata, ( Will.)
Cinclus lutans, (W.)
Oriolus galbula, (Zin.)
Saxicola cinerea, (W.)
Rubetra migratoria, (Blyth)
Rubetra rubicola, (Blyth)
Rubecula familiaris, (Blyth)
Ruticilla arborea, (W.)
Ruticilla tithys, (W.)

give the Tribes, Families, and Sections, as my
ca

tion,

OF ORNITHOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE. 3

Blue-throated Fantail
Sibilous Brakehopper
Sedge Reedling
Marsh Reedling
Brake Nightingale
Black-capt Fauvet
Garden Fauvet

White-throated Fauvet

Garulous Fauvet
Furze Red-eye
Hedge Warbler
Wood Warbler*
Yellow Warbler
Gold-crested Kinglet
Fire-crested Kinglet
Garden Tit

Blue Tit

Marsh Tit
Coal Tit

Crested Tit
Ringing Longtail
Bearded Pinnoe
Hedge Dunnoc
Alpine Stare

Pied Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Yellow Oatear
Rock Pipit
Meadow Pipit
Tree Pipit

Tawny Lavrock
Hawthorn Waxwing
Sky Lark

Wood Lark
Snowy Longspur
Lapland Longspur
Corn Bunting *
Yellow Bunting
Reed Bunting

Pandicilla suecica, (Blyth)
Locustella sibilatrix, (W.)
Salicaria phragmitis, (Selby)
Salicaria arundinacea, (Selby)
Philomela luscinia, (Sw.)
Ficedula atricapilla, (Blyth)
Ficedula hortensis, (Blyth)
Ficedula cinerea, (Blyth)
Ficedula garrula, (Blyth)
Melizophilus provincialis, (Leach)
Sylvia hippolais, (Lath.)
Silvia sibilatrix, (Bechst.)
Silvia trechilus, (Lath.)
Regulus auricapillus, (Selby)
Regulus ignicapillus, (Mudie)
Parus hortensis, (W.)

Parus czeruleus, (Wiil.)
Parus palustris, (Wiil.)
Parus ater, ( Wiil.)

Parus cristatus, (Aldr.)
Afedula sonans, ( W.)
Calamophilus biarmicus, (Leach)
Accentor modularis, (Cuv.)
Curruca alpina, (W.)
Motacilla maculosa, (W.)
Motacilla cinerea, (Wiil.)
Budytes verna, (Cuv.)
Anthus rupestris, (2Vils.)
Anthus pratensis, (Bechst.) _
Anthus arboreus, (Bechst.)
Anthus fuscus, (Vieid/.)
Bombycilla crateegus, (W.)
Alauda-arvensis, (Lin.)
Alauda arborea, (Lin.)
Plectrophanes nivalis, (Mey.)
Plectrophanes lapponica, (Selby)
Emberiza miliaria, ( Lin.)
Emberiza citrinella, (Lin.)
Emberiza scheeniculus, (Lin.)

* Selby has most erroneously called this bird “ Wood Wren;”? which name belongs to an

American bird described by the eloquent and enterprising Audobon, in his graphic work, Orni-
thological Biography, vol. ii, p. 452.

32

REMARKS CONDUCIVE TO THE IMPROVEMENT

Cirl Bunting
Ortolan Bunting
House Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
Chaff t'inch*
Mountain Finch
Alder Siskin
Gold-winged Siskin
Brown Linnet
Mountain Linnet
Catkin Redpoll
Haw Grosbeak
Green Grosbeak
Pippin Crossbill
Pine Crossbill
Pine Thickbill
Hedge Coalhood
Spotted Starling

Rose-colored Pastor’

Raven Crow
Carrion Crow
Hooded Crow

Rook Crow

Daw Crow
Garrulous Pie
Blue-winged Jay
Red-legged Chough
Spotted Nutcracker
Black Woodpecker

Spotted Woodpecker

Barred Woodpecker
Green Popin
Emmet Wryneck
Gray Nuthatch
Familiar Creeper
Ivy Wren

Marsh Hoopoo

Ash-coloured Cucoo+

Emberiza cirlus, (Lin.)
Emberiza hortulana, (Lin.)
Passer domesticus, ( Addr.)
Passer arboreus, (Biyth.)
Fringilla spiza, (Rennie)
Fringilla montana, ( Will.)
Carduelis spinus, (Steph.)
Carduelis elegans, (Steph.)
Linaria canabina, (Sw.)
Linaria montana, (Witil.)
Rubricapilla alnus, (W-)
Coccothraustes crateegus, ( Blyth).
Coccothraustes chloris, (Flem.)
Crucirostra malu
Crucirostra pinetorum, (Meyer)
Densirostra enucleator, (W.)
Pyrhula modularis, (W.)
Sturnus varius, (Mey.)
Pastor roseus, (T'em.)
Corvus corax, (Lin.)

Corvus corone, (Liz.)
Corvus cornix, (Lin.):
Corvus nudirostris, (Palmer)
Corvus monedula, (Lin.)
Pica melanoleuca, (Vieill.)
Garrulus glandarius, (Selby)
Fregilus graculus, (Cuv.)
Nucifraga punctata, (W.)
Picus martius, (ZLin.)

Picus maculosus, (W.)

Picus virgatus, (W.)
Chrysoptilus. viridis, (Sw.).
Torquilla striata, (W.)

Sitta ceesia, (Mey.)

Certhia familiaris, (Lin.)
Anorthura troglodytes, (W.)
Upupa epops, (Lin.)
Cuculus canorus,.( Lin.)

* Mr. Blyth thinks the Grosbeaks Ygemat gery! to be the typical form of the Fringillide: ;
others, the Siskins, (Carduelis): but I agree with Selby, in thinking the Chaff Finch and Moun-

tain Finch to be the types of the
+I have given my reason for t

vol, viii. p, 256,

1
hinking that the k should be omitted in Cucco, Mag. Nat, Hist.

OF ORNITHOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE. 33

ORDER IIE.

Rasores,—I.via.

Ringed Dove
Wood Pigeon
Rock Pigeon
Turtle Dove
Wood Grous
Black Lyurus
Red Ptarmigan
White Ptarmigan
Rock Ptarmigan
Cinereous Partridge
Common Red-leg
Common Quail
Bearded Bustard’
Field Busturnel

Columba palumbus, (Zin.)
Columba arborea, (VV. Wood)
Columba livia, (Lin.)
Columbra turtur, (Boje)
Tetrao arborea, (W.)
Lyurus tetrix, (Sw.)
Lagopus britannicus, (W.)
Lagopus mutus, (Leach)
Lagopus rupestris, (Awct.):
Perdix cinerea, ( Will.)
Rufipes vulgaris, (Blyth)
Coturnix vulgaris, (Auct.)
Otis tarda, (Lin.) ;
Tetrix campestris, (Leach)

BirDs NOT sTRICTLY BRIrTIsH.°

Wax-billed Finch
Java Finch
Amadivat Finch’
Canary Finch ~
Cardinal Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Painted Bunting
Passenger Pigeon
Cream-coloured Dove
Collared Dove
Wood Pheasant
Virginian Partridge
Common Fowl
Bantam Fowl
Pearled Pintado
Common Turkey
Greén-breasted Pavo

Fringilla astrilda’
Fringilla orycivora
Fringilla amandava
Fringilla canaria
Coccothraustes cardinalis
Coccothraustes czerulea
Emberiza ciris

Columba migratoria
Peristera iidica™
Peristera risoria
Phasianus colchicus”
Perdix. virginiana
Gallus variabilis

Gallus pusillus”

Pintado nurnida, (Leach)
Meleagris sylvestris
Pavo ceruleus.

The orders Grallatores and Natatores I must leave for another”

opportunity. The foregoing list is far from being so exact as I
could have wished, and the specific names do not, in all cases, agree
with the excellent rule laid down by Wilson, namely, of expressing
some peculiarity common to no other of the genus. This, indeed,
in several cases would be almost impossible ; as in the case of the
October, 1835,—vou. III. NO. XIII. D.

34 REMARKS CONDUCIVE TO THE IMPROVEMENT &c.

dipper (cinclus). Speaking of two species of this genus, Bonaparte
says :—‘ The two species are so much alike in size, shape, and even
colour, as to defy the attempts of the most determined system-maker
to separate them into different groups.” And thus (especially as
the localities and habits of all the members of this interesting genus
are so similar) it would be very difficult to hit on an appropriate
specific name, either in vernacular or scientific nomenclature.—
** Aquatica” does not distinguish the species, in the present system,
though in that of Willoughby it answered the purpose very well:
he calls the bird ‘‘ Merula aquatica, Water Ouzel.” Nor is the term
Europea, applied by Stephens, unobjectionable ; being, as Mr. N.
Wood candidly owns, rather vague. (Vide Analyst, vol. ii, p. 421).
And here I cannot but acknowledge the very handsome manner in
which that intelligent writer has mentioned my paper on Nomen.
clature, which appeared in vol. ii., p. 305, of “ The Analyst,”
and which was, by some mistake of the printer, signed “ N. F.”
Instead of adhering to his own name, after being convinced of
its impropriety, as, I am sorry to find, several writers do, he
at once—although the objection was slight—gave up his. own
name and adopted the improved one. This is the conduct of one
in earnest in his search after truth. The same writer’ says (vol. ii,
p- 239) :—*‘ I am extremely happy in being able to mention Tem-
minck and Stephens amungst those writers on Ornithology who have
attended to this important part of nomenclature. Even these have
not always suceeeded, but they have got the principle, and that is
more than half way towards being right.” I agree in thinking
Temminck and Stephens, on the whole, good nomenclators, but both
have erred in many instances, of which, by way of illustration, I
will give examples: Temminck includes the Eagles, Buzzards,
Harriers, Hawks, &c. in the genus Falco ; but instead of applying
one French generic name, (Faucon) as he has done in his genus
Silvia, he gives no less than six! The two Kinglets he includes in
the genus Silvia ; but instead of applying the name Becfin (as
through the rest of the genus) he calls them Roitelet-—which
would be the proper name in the system of Selby. The genus Gal-
linula he calls Poule-d’eau, instead of Gallinule, as Vieillot has very
properly done. There are several more errors of this kind, but the
nomenclature is generally correct, and, compared with that of Buf-

THE SINNER’S AGONY. 35

fon, it is perfection. There are, likewise, flaws in Stephens’s no-
menclature: for instance, the Sylvia cinerea is properly called
White-throated Warbler, but his Silvia Silviella (Ficedula garrula,
of the foregoing list) he calls Lesser White-throat, thus changing
the generic name. The genus Rotch (Mergulus) he has called Sea
Dove, and the genus Daption (Daption) he has called Sea Pintado.
I must now conclude these remarks, entreating my readers to give
the subject the consideration which I conceive it so justly merits.

S. D. We

THE SINNER’S AGONY.

% A wounded spirit who can bear.”—Psa Ls.

Way should I fear to die?
Can the unquiet earth,
With its false hollow mirth,

Its sickening pleasures and dull load of car e;
Cling to this weary heart,
That I should grieve to part

From such as these ?— er no, it is not there,—

Not there the thorn that rankles in my breast,

And will not give me rest.

Why should I fear to die?
Is it to leave behind
The beautiful, the kind,

Bright forms affection’s golden chain uniteth ;
To quit the tranquil home,
Beneath whose hallowed dome

Is centred all in which my soul delighteth ?

Ah! no not this the pang that rends my breast,

And will not give me rest.

Why do I fear to die?
Shrinks back my soul with dread
From that cold narrow bed,

Man’s long last home,—where silence ever broodeth,—~
Where darkness over all
Extends her gloomy pa

And but the worm its slimy form intrudeth?

Not this the dull despair,—the heavy woe,—

That brings my spirit low.

Must I not fear to die ?
Evil and few have been
My days, in this world’s scene,—
In pleasure’ s flowery path my ateus have trod;
Too fondly then I deemed
This life was all it seemed,
And in the pride of youth forgot my God:
He leaves me now,—he will not hear my prayer,——-
He leaves me to despair. M.

p2

36

REMARKS on tut PRACTICABILITY or NAVIGATING
THE RIVER HUALLAGA,

WITH NOTES ON THE PRODUCTIONS, AND OF PART OF MAYNAS, PERU,

BY A. MATHEWS, A. L. s.,
NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTOR AT LIMA:*

On leaving Lima, it was my intention to make some stay at each
of the Pueblost on the banks of the river Huallaga ; but was pre-
vented, in consequence of having been detained in the Quebradat
of Chinchao longer than I expected: nevertheless, I saw sufficient
during my journey from the point from which I started, or embark-
ed, (Juana del Rio) to the port of Shipaja, to recommend this part
of Peru to the especial notice and care of the Supreme Govern-
ment.

The true character of the River Huallaga is, as yet, but imper-
fectly known ; and it is generally supposed, in Lima, that it might
be navigated by steam vessels with facility. Though this is the
general opinion, it has been formed without a true knowledge of
the difficulties which a steam vessel would have to encounter, espe-
cially in the ascent. bag

From Juana del Rio’ to Uchiza there are but two malpasos$ of
any importance: when the river is full they may be passed with
ease; but when the river is at its lowest, the angle or bend, in
which the deep part is situated, is so sharp, and the current comes
with so much force against the precipice of rocks, which are partly
undermined, that a small vessel would have great difficulty in stem-
ing the current. From thence to a short distance below Tocache,
the river is broad, the current less strong, with many large islands ;

* The Editor is indebted to J. C. Loudon, Esq., for the following interest-
ing communication.

+ Small villages.

+ Deep vallies, formed by the streams or torrents descending from the
Cordilleras of the Andes, are all termed Quebradas. It is a better term than
any we have; our term, ravine, does not convey a sufficient idea of the size
of these places.

§ Bad passes, or rapids.

REMARKS ON THE PRACTICABILITY, &c. 37

and though in most parts of sufficient depth of water for any sized
vessel, the course of the river is constantly changing, where the
banks are low, from the great number of large trees that are con-
tinually falling on its banks, and shifting their position when an
increase of the waters takes place. From below Tocache to Sion
are a succession of malpasos, not less than eight, many of which,
from the rapid descent of the river and its numerous and sudden
turns, are dangerous: but it is below the Port of Valle that the
principal impediment is situated, at a pass called Savaliyacu. The
hills are here high on both sides, forming rocky precipices, and nar-
rowing the river to about fifty yards. Several yards from the east
bank of the river is a half-sunken large rock, against which the
whole force of the river is precipitated, and from which it passes in
an oblique direction to the opposite side. The fall is so great that
it is evident to the naked eye. A vessel ascending this point, in
the act of maneuvering to escape the rocks on either side, would be
liable to be brought broadside to the stream, and consequently
exposed to instant destruction. From this to Lupuna and Shipaja,
the river is wide and of easy navigation.

The soil on the banks of the river is fertile, and the climate
favourable. Uchiza, Tocache, Sion, Valle, and Lupuna are delight-
fully situated ; but it is to be regretted that the present population
is much less than that given by the Rev. P. F. Manuel Sobreviela,
in the Mer. Per., 9th October, for the year 1791. Having been
now some time without the guidance or care of either mission-
ary or curate, the natives are in a state of disorder and idleness;
spending the greater part of their time in preparing masata and in
drunkenness. :

On landing at Shipaja I made direct for Tarapoto, by way of
Juan Guerra, a distance of six to eight leagues of one level plain,
covered with immense trees. During a stay of four weeks in Tara-
poto, I had an opportunity of observing most of the productions and_
capabilities of the situation. From the P. F. Eusebio Arias* I

* This gentleman kindly presented me with a manuscript grammar and
vocabulary of the language of Maynas; and a vocabulary of the Panes or
Setivos, a nation or tribe of the river Neayali: these cannot fail of being both
interesting and useful.

38 REMARKS ON THE PRACTICABILITY

received the greatest kindness and hospitality, and also much valua-
ble information, which a residence of twenty-eight years had ena-
bled him to acquire. 1 |

‘Tarapoto aud Cumbasa are situated in a large plain, with the
river Mayo (or, as it is generally called, Mayobamba) on the south,
and a range of high hills on the north, extending from the Hual-
laga to the westward of Lamas, where they form the north bank of
the above river, and thus continue their course, with some slight
variation, to the source of the river in the Cordilleras of Chacha.
poyas. In the immediate neighbourhood of Tarapoto and Cumbasa,
the soil is sandy and partially covered with shrubs and small trees,
with abundance of good pasture throughout the year. At short
distances commence the montana real,* in which are situated the
chacrasf and labranzas,t which with little labour produce rich crops.

The principal productions are plantains, maize, yuccas, aracachas,
rice, sugar, tobacco, cotton, frigoles, and mane; the fruits, pinas
sapote, caimeto, oranges, lemons, limes, paltas,t granadillas,|| tum-
bo,|| and cashew. The manufactures are ecotton-thread, tucuyos,
Jonas, and hats. The natural productions of the woods are bees’.
wax, myrtle-wax, balsam of copaiva, vanilla, acerte-de-Maria, cara-
na, or leche caspi,§ copal, estorach, and sarsaparilla, besides various
medicinal plants, which ‘require only to be proved by experienced
and practical men to ‘become valuable additions to our Materia Me-
dica; and also many plants whose leaves or roots yield valuable and
rich dyes of various colours,’and some of them permanent’ even
without chemical aid. —

Besides the above, the woods abound in red-deer, huanganas or ja-
vali,** rabbits, pangis,tt+ pavos,}} managaracas,|||| &c., not mention-
ing the numerous small species of the feathered tribe of the most beau-
tiful colours; and the rivers abound with innumerable kinds of fish.

* The forests.

+ Cultivated grounds.

+ The Alligator Pear, Laurus Persia.

|| Two species of Pasiflora.

§ Caragna Leche caspi, Milk of the tree. The word caspi signifies tree or
wood, in the language of the Incas.

“* A species of Pecary.

++ A fine bird, nearly as large as a turkey, related to the Curasa.

tt A small species of turkey. :

|||] About the size of the English Pheasant, but not so handsome.

OF NAVIGATING THE RIVER HUALLAGA. 39

The average height of the thermometer seldom exceeds (in the
shade) 86°, and rarely lower than 80°; and the climate is generally
healthy, and free from those universal plagues of tropical climates,
the sanchudas* and musquitos. |

The city of Lamas, which is distant nearly six leagues from
Tarapoto, is situated on an irregular hill, and scattered over a large
surface. The thermometer indicates a lower temperature than that
at Tarapoto. The eontinual light breezes which are felt, render it
far more pleasant, and cattle thrive much better than in Tara-
poto; being less subject to the ravages of the fly, (a species of
cestres) and tabanus, called by the natives subyacuros, which
- deposit their eggs beneath the skin and cause considerable wounds,
from the effects of which the animal becomes lean and sickly. The
chacras are situated, for the most part, at some distance from the
city, and on the sides of the quabradas, and produce the same as at
Tarapoto. On the tops and sides of the hills are large pajonales,t
which produce abundance of pasture during the whole year. There
is also a vein of quicksilver here, and several kinds of earth, which,
with but little labour in preparing them, are used to paint the
interior of the houses.

From Lamas to Mayobamba the road is a continued succession of
ascent and descent, with considerable windings. On leaving La-
mas, the descent is continued to the river at San Miguel, and from
thence the ascent continues to Tabalosa. From Tabalosa the road
winds some distance along the sides of the hills, and then ascends a
high range which runs N. W. From the summit of one of these
hills is a fine view, embracing the whole of the valley to the bor-
ders of the Huallaga, and the course of the Mayo: at a short dis-
tance farther on is the Patrero and Campana, the. summits of the
range, containing some leagues of open pajonales of excellent pas-
ture, with Montana at their base. From these heights there is also
an extensive view of the valley towards Sapo-Soa; at their base runs
the source of the River Sisa, which joins the Huallaga, but not as
represented in the Map of the Pampa Sacramente, published by M.
Chaumette-Des-Fosses, where it has been placed on the opposite

* Tipuli. ++ Open spaces clear of wood,

40 REMARKS ON THE PRACTICABILITY

side of the Huallaga. It is a pity that this situation, so well
adapted for the establishment of a small pueblo for the breeding
and care of cattle, should be neglected. From thence to Mayo-
bamba the greater part of the road is unusually bad, and so soft
that the mud is generally knee-deep; and but few tambos or ran-
chos,* to shelter the traveller during the night from the heavy rains
so frequent in these parts. |

The city of Mayobamba possesses one of the finest temperatures
in Peru ; the thermometer indicates but little change, and is some-
what lower than that of Tarapotu. The city itself is situated on an
elevated plain, about a league long, and from a quarter to half a
league in width, of a dry, sandy, loamy soil: from whatever direction
you approach the city it is necessary to ascend. During the rainy
season the water from the adjoining hills settles on the surrounding
levels, and at times causes some slight tertianas, but they are not
common. “The river, which is a few quadras from the town, comes
~ from the N. W. and W. N. W., and parallel with the range of
hills on the north. From about three leagues below the town it is
navigable for eight dayst towards its source, and on its banks are si-
tuated the chacras and labrancas. The produce and manufactures
here are the same as those of Tarapoto, with the exception of co-
paiva and wax, which are less abundant. On the borders of the
river is abundance of sarsaparilla, and the palm which is used in
the manufacture of hats. At a short distance there are mineral
springs so strongly impregnated with sulphur that the leaves and
branches of trees which fall on the margin, shortly become encrusted
with pure sulphur. There is, also, a rich vein of salt situated only
a few leagues from the city, in the range of hills which are on the
north bank of the river. This range is a continuance of the range
east of the river Huallaga, from Juana del Rio to the south of
Chasuta, where it thence turns westward, and is an almost uninter-
rupted line of mineral salt. The first mines or works are situated
between ‘Uchiza and Tocache ; and the rivers known by the names
of Salinas fall from these hills, very much impregnated with salt.—

* Small huts, built for the convenience of travellers.
+ About three leagues is the general distance per day in ascending against
the current. ‘ ’

OF NAVIGATING THE RIVER HUALLAGA. 4]

At Pilluana, where the hills close upon the river Huallaga, the salt
is exposed to view in large veins generally mixed with red sandy
earth ; though there are some flakes or veins of white, and chrystal-
lized salt running through the mass: the same occurs again near
Chasuta. In the road from Lamas to Mayobamba many of the
streams which fall from the hills are strongly impregnated with salt ;
and one of the largest is known by the name of Cache.gacu (Salt
River). This mineral production is an article of some importance
to the people of Maynas; it is taken to the rivers Pastazo and Napo,
and, with the poisons for the Pucuna,* is exchanged for gold-dust.

The valley of Mayobamba is of considerable length and width,
bounded on each side by hills running nearly W. and N. W. Be-
tween Mayobamba and Rioja are two large rivers from the S. W.,
which, during the rainy season, bring down an immense body of
water from the Cordilleras, which separate this part of Maynas
from Chachapoyas. }

Rioja, formerly called Santa Toribio, is a large pueblo about
eight leagues from Mayobamba by the road ; in its neighbourhood
is a large extent of rich pasture, or pajonales, abounding in red
deer. The produce here is the same as Mayobamba.

But with all these advantages the people of Maynas complain
ef great poverty. Since the contribution has been taken off, the
natives have become, if possible, still more idle. The climate is
such that clothing is only a secondary consideration ; if a few plan-
tains and yuccas are sown, it is all that he requires, the Morite fur-
nishes him with the rest; he has, therefore, no inducement to work.
His house costs him nothing, and as long ashe can procure Masatat
or Huarapa,{ which he manufactures without expense, he is in a

* A long tube, which the Indians use for shooting birds, &c., by blowing
through it a small arrow tipped with poison, which they use with great pre-
+ The Masata is prepared as follows: a quantity of roots of the Yuca are
washed, peeled, and boiled, then pounded on a large wooden dish or trough,
the person at work at the same time masticating his mouthful of the root,
and squirting it among the mass. When all pounded, it is mixed with water
and put into earthen pots; on the third day it begins to ferment, and is then
intoxicating. "When wanted for a journey, the mass is merely rolled up in

plantain leaves, and a small quantity mixed with water in their mate or tu-
tuma, the shell of calabash. When they wish to make use of it, the fibre and

large re of the Yuca are squeezed out with the hand. The drink is thick
and white like milk, and when slightly fermented has a subacid taste.
$ The expressed juice of Sugar-cane boiled with water and fermented.

Another drink, called Viente-quatro, (Twenty-four), which is made by mix-

42 REMARKS ON THE PRACTICABILITY, &c.

continued state of drunkenness. The few people of caste, or pos-
.sessors of Chacras, who are inclined or willing to advance in agri-
culture, are prevented by the bad customs which have been allowed
to prevail. It is with the greatest difficulty that labourers can be
procured, as the people say they are now free and are not obliged
to work. The consequence is that, frequently, work is left undone,
or the season is in part passed before the ground is prepared, or the
crops sown. Even when labourers are procured they receive two
reals, their meat or food, and a bottle of aguardiente* daily ; which
for the few hours’ work they perform, is an enormous imposition
and tax on the agriculturist. Bee’s wax, in the rough state, is
always at a dollar the pound, tucuyas at two reals the vara, and
lonas at one real the vara: neither of which, after paying all ex-
pences of freight, &c. to Chachapoyas or Caxamarca, realises more
than half. Even the hats which are sold at three and four dollars
in Mayobamba, are sold for much less in Chachapoyas.

The few who venture with sarsaparilla, tucuyas, hats, &c., to
Taba-tinga, fare but little better: though they get their own no-
minal value for their goods, it is in effects, and they are obliged to
take in return spirits, (gin) earthenware, iron, copper, and printed.
goods, &c., of the most ordinary class, all mixed together, many of
which remain on their hands for years. The sarsaparilla the Bra-:
zilian buys from them at six dollars the aroles of thirty-four pounds,
which he sells again at eighteen or twenty dollars in Para.

The produce of Maynas cannot, at any period, be expected to pay
by the way of Chachapoyas and Caxamarca to the coast, from the
length and badness of the roads. It is only by the river Amazons,
and with the assistance of steam vessels ascending to Yuminaguas,
that this part can be expected to improve. When that time comes
Maynas, whose population is rapidly increasing, will then be the
first and richest province of Peru. Though other provinces may
boast of their mines, she possesses an inexhaustible treasure in her
soil and forests ; and a cheap and expeditious mode of conveyance
by her rivers, which can never be equalled by any of the provinces
of the Cordillera.

ing the Huarapa and fermented Masata: this is very intoxicating, and at
the same time very pernicious. It receives its name from being drinkable
in twenty-four hours time.

* Common rum, from the juice of Sugar-cane.

43

APHORISMS ON THE FRONTAL SINUSES,
AND THE EXTENT OF

THEIR INTERFERENCE WITH PHRENOLOGICAL OBSERVATION.

Numerous and diversified inductions confirm the following
Aphorisms. This being certain, their general accuracy is asserted ;
and no one has aright to impugn these statements, who has not
devoted much time, labour, and expense, to a repetition of the in-
quiry on which they are founded.

I. Like all bones of the same kind, that portion of the skull which

includes the Frontal Sinuses varies in thickness. Such variation»
however, is neither so great nor so manifold as to prevent our dis-
tinguishing the general law of its development.
- Ii. When its organization has not been disturbed, the Frontal
bone, immediately above the nose, is nearly two lines in thickness,
by the tenth year of life; by the fifteenth, it is two lines and a half ;
by the twentieth, it is three lines almost ; by the fortieth, it is about
three lines and a half ; and by the fiftieth, it varies between three
and a half and four lines. And whether the bone retains its origi-
nal cellular structure, or has become hollow, this is the natural pro-
cess, and these are the ordinary degrees of its thickening, between
childhood and the adult age.

III.. Till late in life, the bone’s hollowness does not enlarge the

‘distance of its external surface from that of the healthy brain.—
Sometimes, after the tenth year, the space between the cranial plates
is greater when no cavity exists; at other times it is less, when a
cavity has supervened. Sometimes, a bony crest appears on the
superciliary arch : this crest occasionally contains cellular texture ,
but most commonly it:is hollow. It can be distinguished by expe-
rienced observers ; and, exclusively of this, the bone, whether hol-
low or solid, preserves the usual thickness.

IV. During the foetal and infantile states, the Frontal Cavities
do not exist. After the seventh year, they begin to be perceptible,
and continue to enlarge gradually till the latest stage of life. The

44 APHORISMS ON THE FRONTAL SINUSES.

common gradation of their growth is determinate, and the excep-
tions to it are not more numerous or important than those excep-
- tions which prove a general rule in any of the sciences or philoso-
phy. By the ¢enth year, their horizontal diameter is scarcely half
a line; by the fifteenth year, it seldom exceeds one line; by the
twentieth, it is rarely one line and a half; by the fortieth, it ap-
proaches occasionally to éwo lines; and after the fiftieth year of
man’s life, it is about two lines and a half in extent.

V. The Frontal Cavities result from a natural process; but the
causes of their formation, and its mode, remain among the deside-
rates of physiology. ‘They depend apparently on simple absorption
of the interosseous cellular texture ; and with the progress of this
absortion their dimensions increase. Not till life’s decline does the
internal plate of the bone recede inwards. It is quite improbable that
the external table of the skull ever advances: were such a process
certain, it would establish an anomaly from the regular order of
organization. ’

VI. The Frontal Sinuses may be wide, and their depth, never.
theless, not more than was that of the bone’s primitive cellular
Structure. Their horizontal diameter may be one line ; and, at the
same time, that of the frontal bone itself, naturally, not more than
two. Wherefore, the childish practice of poking these broad but
shallow holes, from underneath, with a bit of wire, can never re-
veal the true distance of the bone’s external surface from the brain.
Finally, here, the deepness of these cavities may be, and often is,
augmented by disease ; and they have this much to do with old age
that their greatest enlargement and old age are concomitant.

VII. Phrenologists admit that the Frontal Sinuses interfere with
those parts of the skull which indicate the relative proportions of
the organs of some of the perceptive intellectual faculties. This is
the course after which the growth of these cavities usually proceeds,
First of all, organic absorption gradually removes the cellular texture
from between the tables of the frontal bone where it covers the or-
gan of Individuality. Next, this absorption extends to the region of
Size ; then to that of Form; and then, in mature age, to that of
Weight and the lower angle of Locality. Rarely, indeed, does it pass
these limits of length and breadth, except in declining life and disease.

APHORISMS ON THE FRONTAL SINUSES. 45

Now these successive. formations follow not an increasing disparti-
tion of the bony plates themselves, but the removal only of their
intermediate cellular structure: consequently, the bone’s horizontal
diameter or thickness receives no addition from this process of na-
tural excavation. Since, therefore, the size of these cavities dues
not move the skull’s external surface to a greater than its original
distance from the brain, before the prime of life, it is manifest that,
until this period at soonest, phrenological observation on the frontal
regions may be conducted with all the acctiracy admissible by asub-
ject whereon vital action never ceases to operate. Hence, in fine,
although difficulties occur in examining the forehead, they never
supervene before the positive recession of the bone’s two constituent
plates from each other—not the extinction of its diploé—has given
the bone itself a growing degenerate thickness. The Frontal Si-
huses very seldom ascend a# inch within the bone; and through
the upper half of this space, their transverse diameter never exceeds
the thickness of the bone’s original cellular substance.

VIII. Such being the organization of the frontal bone generally,
and such the general development of its central cavities, it is obvious
that, in the young and healthy head, the distance of the bone’s ex-
ternal surface from the corresponding jeripheral surface of the brain,
may be generally ascertained ; and, consequently, that the existence
and functions of the organs of Individuality, Size, Form, Weight,
and Locality, can be discriminated till after the prime of life, by
the phrenological process of deriving the elements of positive and
negative evidence, from observation of the high and low develop-
ment of parts. Be it, therefore, remembered that phrenologists
have always and explicitly declared, that persons advanced in years,
or suffering from cerebral disease, do not constitute subjects of pre-
cise observation,—that the observations adduced by phrenologists in
support of their organic discriminations, have, in no one instance,
been made on such subjects,—and that, moreover, they have as ex-
plicitly declared their readiness, not only to rest the demonstration
of the frontal organs upon negative evidence, but even to admit a
fundamental defect in their system, on being shown one single ex-
ample of a young, healthy individual in whom a low development of
the organs of Individuality, Size, Form, Weight, and Locality, is

46 ON THE STUDY OF LATIN.

accompanied with the manifestation of a high endowment of these
intellectual faculties. Should it even, in fine, be conceded that the
difficulties which after mature age, occur in examining the forehead
were insurmountable, the fact would no more go to overturn the
system of phrenological organology, than the insurmountable diffi-
culties which still retain trisection of an angle, and quadrature of
the circle, among the desiderates of science, go to demolish the cer-

tain principles of geometry.
J: K.

ON THE STUDY OF LATIN, MORE ESPECIALLY AS
REGARDS THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.

A KNOWLEDGE of the ancient languages, especially of Latin, is
generally supposed to be necessary for those who are to enter the
medical profession.* For this notion we shall presently find that
there is little or no foundation. The advocates of a “ sound classi-
eal education,” as it is erroneously termed, are daily decreasing ;
another generation is springing up, unshackled by the antiquated
prejudices of their forefathers, and free to judge for themselves, and
decide on the side of reason. Indeed, such is the altered state of
public opinion, that it-is now scarcely possible to open any book on
education without finding a chapter dedicated to: exposing the folly
of the system which makes the dead languages the chief object of
education, and the absurdity of calling a man learned for his know-
ledge of words, no matter how ignorant he may be of matters of far
greater importance. In the minds of such persons the ancients. ex-
celled us in every particular. Orators! who have we now to be
compared to Demosthenes?t Physicians! where is the Galen of

* A “sound classical education”—I should call it a very unsound education
—is thought necessary for every gentleman ; I shall, however, chiefly confine
my remarks toa classical education as regards medical men, >

+ The task of Demosthenes was very easy; as he worked only upon the
animal passions of a nation of brutes, as Johnson calls them, —

ON THE STUDY OF LATIN. 47

‘modern times? Poets! who of the present puny race is to be com-
pared to Homer.or Virgil? Or who amongst our musicians would
dare to compete with Orpheus? whose bewitching strains caused
the very stones to move! As to the latter, there can be no doubt
but that, were he now to rise from the dead, he would be surpassed
by every common flute-player who earns a miserable pittance by
practising his craft in the streets. But let us now proceed to in-
vestigate the merits of a “ sound classical education” for the medi-
eal student.

The inaugural thesis, formerly required to be in Latin, is now
written in English, and the matter, not the language, is attended
to. As their could be no other object in making the students write
their essays in a dead language than to obtain a test of their know-
ledge of that language, it may fairly be inferred that it is not now
considered so necessary. It is, however, still supposed to be of great
use to those who are intended for the medical profession. One rea-
son alleged for ascribing to it this usefulness is, that these Janguages
enable the student to read the works of the learned among the an-
cients. But the moderns began where the ancients left off; the
first man who studied Galen knew as much of medicine as Galen
himself ; and, in fact, saying that a man must study Galen in order
to acquire a knowledge of medicine, is tantamount to admitting that
‘we know not so much of the subject as he did—a proposition absurd
in the extreme, but one which the advocates of the dead languages
force upon themselves by their senseless arguments. The use of
reading these ancient authors, even when translated, is to me far
from apparent ; for we have their experience added to our own.—
Why then go back for instruction to authors who, were they now
to rise from their graves, would be glad to receive instructions from
one possessed of what is now termed an ordinary knowledge of the
science. But to waste the best part of our life in obtaining this
now useless lumber, appears to me too absurd to be defended, except
by those whose minds are warped by prejudice or blinded by in-
terest. |

Another supposed use of Latin is, that the prescriptions are to be
written in that language. How often, however, it happens that
Physicians have not had the “ advantage of a sound classical educa-

48 ON THE STUDY OF LATIN.

tion,” and ‘hey find no difficulty in writing their prescriptions. As
well might it be supposed that the ancient languages are indispen-
sable to the Naturalist, because the scientific names of animals and
plants are in Latin. A man may be an excellent Naturalist—nay,
he is more likely to be so—and well qualified to give new names to
natural objects, without knowing a single word of Latin: So, in
the same manner, Physicians must, of course, know all the medical
terms which are in use; and what more does he want? The Latin
of prescriptions—which, after all consist of little else but terms—is
such as any one might write and any one understand: and, indeed,
were not this the case, how would it be possible for apothecaries’
boys to understand them? In some cases, however, where we
may suppose the Physician has wished to show the effects of his
** sound classical education,” the wrong medicine has been adminis-
tered, and the luckless patient pvisoned, by this absurd practice of
writing the prescriptions in a dead language. It appears to me that
instead of cloaking the prescriptions in such a dark veil of mystery,
they should be rendered as plain and intelligible as possible, espe-
cially when we consider the awful effects which may be—and not
unfrequently are—produced by a misinterpretation of the Physician’s
prescription, and when, moreover, we consider the description: of
persons employed to decipher them.

Another argument frequently brought forward in favor of the
classics is, that they are eminently useful as media for the corres-
pondence of scientific men of different nations. But would it not
be much easier, and far more useful, to learn the modern languages,
as French, German, and Italian, and especially the two first >—
French is better suited for science than almost any other language;
and-from its universality, and the facility with which it is acquired,
it is preferable to every other for the useful and pleasant intercourse
above alluded to. It may, however, be urged that Latin must
be learned in order to facilitate the acquisition of the modern lan.
guages. The fallacy of this argument is so evident that I consider
it quite unnecessary for me to offer any remarks on this subject. I
may, however, just state that Franklin advised a method of proceed-
ing diametrically opposed to this. He says that the pupil should
begin with Italian, then go to French, Spanish, German, &c., and

ON THE STUDY OF LATIN. 45°

lastly, when thus prepared, that he may, provided he has a turn for
it, proceed to Latin and Greek. This would, in my opinion, be a
sensible mode of going to work. One reason assigned why Latin is
necessary for the Physician—that the consultations of Physicians are
held in that language, is scarcely worth noticing. Moliere has suf-
ficiently ridiculed. this practice, which is now, I believe, luckily for
the poor patient, seldom or never adhered to. I will only remark
that the cousultations are held in another room from. that in which
the patient lies, and may, therefore, be in any language.

Having thus refuted each argument in particular which has been
brought in favor of the study of the classics, E will proceed to offer
a few general remarks on this “ most’ important branch of know-
ledge.” 7

It has lately been proposed, by an able Physician, that there
should be two classes or grades of Physicians—those of the one class,
who are the medical attendants of the higher ranks, are to have a
** sound classical education,” besides the knowledge of medicine
and the collateral sciences; those of the other class, who are in-
tended only for the poor, are to be excluded from the benedts of a
knowledge of the ancient languages, and are to be conversant only
wih Medicine, Surgery, Anatomy, and Chemistry ; and the modern
languages and Botany, where an opportunity occurs. Only Medi-
cine, Surgery, Anatomy, and Chemistry! If I were called upon to
decide which class of practitioners I thought would be likely to succeed
best in their profession—supposing them to be acquainted with French
and German, or, at least, the former, which almost any one may ac-
quire—I should, without hesitation; decide in favor of the latter ; as
they would be able to give undivided attention to their own science,
and to those collateral sciences which it is perfectly indispensable for
them to be acquainted with. To suppose that there is something in
the nature of Latin which renders it essentially necessary to the
student of medicine, is perfectly ridiculous—as well might you place
briers-and thorns in the path of the weary traveller making his way
through a forest, and tell him that you were smoothing his rvad, as
force the student of medicine to learn the dead languages in order to
facilitate the acquirement of medicine. As long as this prejudice
October, 1835,—vou. LI. NO. XIII. - E.

50 ON THE STUDY OF LATIN-

continues to exist, the science of medicine can make no rapid. pro-
gress, or, at all events, its progress will be greatly retarded. Surely
the study of medicine is sufficiently difficult without adding any
useless impediment to its acquisition. To suppose that rendering a
man a “ walking dictionary” can assist the acquirement of any sci-
ence, is an opinion that no one who has impartially investigated the
subject can possibly hold.

The days are, doubtless, fast approaching when what is now called
a * sound classical education”—rotten, I should be inclined to say—
will no longer be supposed to be indispensable for the Physician ;
and, in fact, we have already many signs of this. In the first
place, medical books are much less frequently written in Latin than
formerly, and neither lectures nor inaugural theses are any longer
delivered or written in that language. It is, also, now extremely
rare to see a work on Natural History in Latin, although, I am
sorry to say, that, in Transactions of Natural History Societies,
and in periodicals devoted to this delightful study, the scientific de-
scriptions of animals and plants are generally in the Latin tongue—
Latin it certainly is, but I would not vouch for the purity of the
language. Much complaint has been made, by classical scholars, of
the barbarous Latin used by Physicians and Naturalists; and stu-
dents of these sciences have equal right to complain of the contents
of so many useful and interesting books being sealed tothem, I
have lately seen, in the Derby Mercury, that Apothecaries’ boys
are now to have a “ sound classical education” beaten into them.—
Leave, then, to the Apothecary’s boy the ungainly task of poring
over the dusty records of by-gone ages, and let the Physician culti-
vate the far nobler and more useful studies of Science, Literature,
and the Fine Arts, and the modern Languages; which last are vas
luable only as media for obtaining knowledge, and must not be con~
founded with knowledge itself. ‘The Musician is, I believe, more
free from the supposed necessity of learning Greek and Latin, than
any other cultivator of art or science. It may, however, perhaps
be urged that it is impossible to have “ good taste,” even in Music,
without learning—or rather studying, for they are seldom learnt—~
the dead languages! Perhaps, also, some very useful remarks for

ON THE STUDY OF LATIN 51

modern composers might be found in the ancient atithors. Pity but
some precious relic of “ Airs and Canzonets, by Orpheus,” could bé
dug up; the stones might then once more be set a leaping, and we
might hear such music as the ancients heard. The compositions of
Gibbons, Bach, Handel, and Mozart, would then sink into insigni-
ficance ; nay, it is much to be doubted whether they would ever be
thought of more! I must now, however, hasten to the conclusion
of this article.

In perusing these remarks, the reader must not look to the signe-
ture, and exclaim “ Oh! it is written by nobody,” but must weigh
every argument for himself, rejecting those which he considers, on
mature consideration, to be erroneous. ‘To suppose that only what
is written by a well-known character is worth attending to, argues
but a small development of the organ of causality in him who holds
such an opinion: it is not the name of the writer, but the truth or
falsity of his arguments, that should be considered. Seeing that I
am a Phrenologist,—from one of my former papers in this Journal
and that I am against making’ Latin and Greek the most impor-
fant part of education, it may be supposed I advocate that sciences
because it is new (comparatively speaking), and object to the acqui-
sition of the dead languages because it is old; I would ask those who
are of this opinion to investigate impartially the merits of my argu-
ments, and should any of them be found defective, I shall be most
happy to answer such objections as may be brought against them,
through the medium of The Analyst, whose pages would readily be
opened, by its philosophic Editor, to all discussions on Science, Lite-
rature and the Fine Arts, provided they were perfectly free from acri-
mony and personal abuse,—-which can only be resorted to when every
other resource fails. In conclusion, I merely refer my readers, for
further observations on this subject, to the Phrenological Journal,
—an invaluable quarterly periodical—in many parts of which they
will find this subject ably discussed, and to the works of Mr. Combe,*
who, being himself a classical scholar, and engaged in one of thé

ry

oe Sesto of Piven "le Hicrhents 0 of Vironelants “ The Conati-
Ret of Man,” “ Outline "of Phrenology,” &¢., Sc.

gE 2

52 ON THE STUDY OF LATIN.

learned professions, is well fitted to judge of the utility of the clas-
sics. See, also, Simpson on National Education, the “ Bubbles
from the Brunnens of Nassau,” and Bulwer’s “ England and the
English.”
NEVILLE WOOD.
Foston Hall, Derbyshire,
Sept. 14, 1835.

_ [The following passages from the “ Popuidar Illustrations of Medi-
cine,” by Dr. Shirley Palmer, accord so closely with the valuable
observations of our correspondent, Mr. Wood, that we have been
induced to transcribe them :—

« It may even be questioned whether the literary acquirements of
early age are worth the sacrifice and the risk incurred in their pur-
suit. Many a weakly stripling has spent the brightest and most
joyous years of a precarious existence in irksome drudgery upon the
works of Homer and of Virgil, long ere his mind could comprehend
the majesty of the Greek, or be smitten with the splendour and ele-
gance of the Roman Poet. And what, after all, has he acquired
that can compensate for the lost opportunity of more fully evolving
his physical powers, and fortifying his constitution against the in-
roads of future disease? A knowledge of which, in riper age, a
few months’ application, under an enlightened system of instruction,
would have given him a far more perfect possession ; and in the at-
tainment of which a matured intelligence would then have afforded
the most exquisite gratification.

Still the young mind should not be suffered to run wild arias
culture or restriction. It must be employed ; or, like the stagnant
pond, it will generate weeds and impurity upon the surface. But
the occupation should be such as will combine amusement and active
exercise of the limbs with the acquisition of knowledge ; and expand
the germ of intellect without cramping, in their development, the
animal organs. Such are the principles upon which the education
of youth, and especially of the more highly intellectual and delicate,
should be conducted. For this purpose, Natural History offers a
field, as constantly accessible as boundless and delightful. Trained

ON THE STUDY OF LATIN. 53

to examine, and to discriminate with accuracy, the various produc-
tions of the world around, the mind possesses a source of occupation
and of light, of which no ordinary vicissitude can afterwards be-
reave it. The study of nature, indeed, is not less salutary in its
influence, than unchanging and inexhaustible in the recreation
which it affords. It purifies the mind from the dross of sensuality,
and raises it above the degradation of low and selfish pleasures.—
it calls forth a spirit of observation, and exercises a discipline, which
may become powerful instruments in facilitating the acquisitions of
future years. It gives zest to the enjoyments of prosperity and
meridian life, and solace and ornament to the season of adverse for-
tune and of decay: and, more than all, will, when profoundly con-
templated, inspire far deeper convictions of the Omnipotence of the
Deity, and the wonders of the glorious creation, than ever resulted
' from efforts of human eloquence the most fervid or sublime. And
the mind, having attained its full maturity of development and
power, will seize, with equal energy and success, all the various
branches of literature and science which may be requisite to satiate
the intellectual voracity, or essential to a vigorous prosecution of
the destined path in future life.”’]

SONNET.

Is thy brain giddy with the jarring noise

Of life’s rude intercourse ? Have crowded halls

Fevered thy blood, perturbed the equipoise

Of healthful spirits? Come, where Nature calls,

Come, where through fragrant limes the sunlight falls,

Playing with shadows by the quick leaves thrown,

Where the loud thrush scatters sweet madrigals

To cheer his nest-mate, and an under-tone

Of bees, the blossoms haunting, ministers sleep,

Or waking dreams,—the soul’s serenest calm:—

Or there with holy books thy vigils keep;

Or steep thy sense in Poetry’s rich balm,

The gracious truths of Wordsworth’s moral theme,
Or Spenser’s faery page, or Shakspeare’s summer dream.

d4

A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE CLIMATES OF
, GREAT MALVERN AND LONDON. )

In the second volume of “‘ The Analyst,” p. 215, is the commence~
ment of a paper on “A ComPARISON BETWEEN THE CLIMATES OF
Great Matvern anp Lonpon;” this paper includes the several
details of the temperature, atmospheric pressure, dew point, wind,
rain, &c., for each month during the summer and autumnal quar-
ters of the year 1834. The present communication embraces the
winter and spring of 1834 and 35, with a comparative summary of
the important meteorological phenomena for the year,—and is con-
cluded with such general remarks, as the comparison has suggested.
It will be seen, by referring to the former paper in “ The Analyst,”
that every attention has been paid to the excellence of the instru-
ments by which it has been carried on, and every care has been
taken to insure accuracy in the result.

TEMPERATURE.

In the month of December, 1834, the first month of the
winter quarter, the mean temperature of Malvern was 1°
higher than the mean temperature of London. The mean
maximum at Malvern was 45.8°, the mean minimum 39.6° ;
in London the mean maximum 45.6°, the mean minimum
38.1°. The maximum height of the thermometer during
the month was, in London, 54°, in Malvern, 55°; the mini-
mun in London, 29.2°; in Malvern, 32. The greatest range
during the month in London, 24.8°, at Malvern, 23.

In January, (1835), the second month of the winter quar-
ter, the mean temperature at Malvern was half a degree
lower than the mean temperature in London. The mean
maximum at Malvern was 42.19, the mean minimum, 35.1°;
the mean maximum in London, 43.1°, the mean minimum,
35.3°. In London the greatest height of the thermometer
was 49.7°, in Malvern, 52.5°; the minimum in London,
24.9°; in Malvern, 23.° The range of the thermometer in
London, during the month, 24.8°, in Malvern, 29.5°.

A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE CLIMATES &c. 55

in February, the last month of the winter quarter, the
mean temperature at Malvern was ji, of a degree higher than
the mean temperature in London. The mean maximum at
Malvern was 48.°, the mean minimum, 37.4° ; in London
the mean maximum, 47.7°, the mean minimum, 37.1.2. The
greatest height of the thermometer during the month, in
London was 53.2°, in Malvern, 525°; the minimum in
London, 27.9°, in Malvern, 28.5°. The maximum range in
the former place, 25.3°, in the latter, 24.°

For the winter quarter—

Mean temperature. Mean maxinium range.
BUI wee cnn tbetacs Ea RT onecrosnsionntiata cucwe$ 24.9°

From the foregoing statement we perceive that the generally
clouded state of the atmosphere, and the less altitude of the sun
during the winter, prevent that accumulation of temperature which
occurs in London, during the summer quarter especially, from the
copious and varied reflections of heat from the sun’s rays acting
upon the pavements, buildings, &c. of a large city; while, doubt-
less, the numerous gas-lights, and the columns of heated air issu-
ing from a vast accumulation of chimnies during the night, arrest
the depression of temperature which would otherwise ensue from
radiation. The former circumstance tends to equalise the condition
of the two places during the day ; and we find that, for the quarter
under consideration, the mean maximum for each month in either
place varies but little ; the latter observation would tend to in-
crease the mean minimum, and also the absolute minimum for each
month—i. e. to prevent the depression of the thermometer during
the night in London. Nevertheless, we see that, for the winter
quarter, the mean temperature of Malvern is as high as the mean
temperature of London.

In March, the first month of the spring quarter, the mean

_ temperature at Malvern was j, of a degree dower than the
mean temperature in London. The mean maximum at
Malvern was 47.9°, the mean minimum, 37.°; in’ London
the mean maximum was 48.3°, the mean minimum, 37.2°.

56 - A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE

The maximum height of the thermometer during the month
in London, 54.2°, in Malvern, 58 °;.the minimum in London,
32.7°, in Malvern, 31.°.. The greatest range in London,
21.5°, in Malvern, 27.°.

In April, the mean temperature at Malvern was 1.4° low-
er than the mean temperature in London. The mean maxi-
mum at Malvern was 52.9°, the mean minimum, 41.6°; in
London the mean maximum 55.8°, the mean minimum,42.4°.
The maximum of the thermometer during the month, in
London, 66.2°, the minimum, 30.°; the maximum in Mal.
vern, 62.°, the minimum, 28,°. The greatest range, in Lon-
don, 36.2° ; in Malvern 34.°

In May, the mean temperature at Malvern. was 4.° low.
er than the mean temperature in London. The mean maxi-
mum at Malvern was 58.2°, the mean minimum 45.°; in
London, the mean maximum, 62.5°, the mean minimum,
48°; The maximum of the thermometer during the month,
in London, was 72.8°, the minimum, 41.7°, the maximum
in Malvern was 66.°, and the minimum 37.° The greatest
range, in London, 31°; in Malvern, 29,°

Hence we have for the spring quarter—

In the month of April, the effect of the sun’s rays begin sensibly
to operate,—the mean temperature in London being 1.4° higher
than in Malvern, and this continues to increase throughout the
month of May.

ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE.

In December, the maximum of the barometer in London,
(corrected as before) was 30.576, the minimum 29.215;
the mean 30.265, and the range 1.361. In Malvern, the
maximum 30.043, the minimum 28.611; the mean 29.700,
and the range 1.432.

O©LIMATES OF GREAT MALVERN AND LONDON. 57

In January, the maximum in London, 30.759, the mini-
mum 29.031 ; the mean 30.048, and the range 1.728. In
Malvern, the maximum was 30.158, the minimum 238.359 ;
the mean 29.445, and the range 1.799.

In February, the last month of the winter quarter, the
maximum of the barometer in London was 30.417, the mi-
rnimum 29.178 ; the mean 29.797, and the range 1.239. In
Malvern, the maximum 29.876, the minimum 28. sey the
mean 29.159, and the range 1.350.

For the winter quarter—

Mean Height. Mean Range.
T.ondon......... RB ie get ats de eda Ved SE los asso 1.442
Meee Pere NES MBG 8 eA, 1.527

Having paid much attention to the barometer, both in Malvern
and at London, we may remark that on the morninG of the 26th
of January both instruments had fallen to the minimum of the
month ; but the barometer at Malvern was, for about two or three
hours, unusually depressed, being |in. below that in London, very
heavy rain falling at the time: whilst at the same hours in London
the weather was overcast, ligh! rain, and light clouds. In the ar-
TERNOON, the barometer at Malvern had risen .250 in., and that in
London .106: thus both, again, resuming their very nearly coinci-
dent indications. We may, also, observe that the dew-point, at
the same period, was 4° higher in Malvern than in London: tem-
perature the same.

In March, the first month of the spring quarter, the max.
imum of the barometer in London was 30.513, the minimum
28.797 ; and the mean 29.903, and the range 1.716. In
Malvern, the maximum was 29.913, the minimum 28.192;
the mean 29.274, and the range 1.721.

In April, the maximum of the barometer in London was
30.429, the minimum 29.475; the mean 30.077, and the
greatest range for the month, .954. In Malvern, the maxi-
mum 29.873, the minimum 28.965 ; the mean 29.526, and
the range .908.

In May, the last month of the spring quarter, the maxi-

58 A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE

mum of the barometer in London was 30.123, the minimum
29.427 ; the mean 29.813, and the range .696.. In Malvern,
the maximum was 29.590, the minimum 28.850 ; the mean

29.243, and the range .740.
Hence, for the spring quarter—
Mean Hage: Mean Range.
London......... SME a ssons tasantentat ines ienscane 1.122
Malvern........29. 348 BUS TeG A Mcdde tenes eT 1.123

In March, (on the 7th) the minimum occurred at Malvern at
9 a. m.; in London, not until 3 p.m. At the former place were
very heavy showers, with light wind ; at the latter, lightly overcast,
brisk wind. On the morning of the 8th they both again coincided.
From this it would appear that the great atmospheric oscillations
sometimes take five or six hours in their movement across the space
dividing Malvern and London.

DEW POINT.

In December, the maximum dew-point was, in London,
53°, in Malvern also 53°; the minimum in London 33°, in
Malvern, 32°; the mean in London 41.3, in Malvern 40°.

In January, the maximum in London 48°, in Malvern
48.5; the minimum in London 17°, in Malvern 21°; the
mean in the former place 35.6°, in the latter 36.1°.

In February, the maximum dew-point in London was 45°,
in Malvern 49° ; the minimum in London 22°, in Malvern
30° ; the mean in London 36.3°, in Malvern 38.6°.

For the winter quarter—
Mean Dew-Point.
37.7

m Ko oat i London. Malvern.
ean elasticity of the vapour in the
air (fi or the 2 on) eecece 0.260 se eetceos 0.264
Mean weight of vapour (in grains) in

a cubit foot of air (for the season) § “***** 3.975. AOS,

In March, the first month of the spring quarter, the maxi-

CLIMATES OF GREAT MALVERN AND LONDON. 59

mum dew-point in London was 42°, in Malvern 50° ; the
minimum in London 29°, in Malvern 30°; the mean in
London 36.5°, in Malvern 38.6°.

In April, the maximum dew-point in London was 51°, in
Malvern 54°; the mininum in London 26°, in Malvern 25° ;
the mean in London 41.3°, in Malvern 41.5.

In May, the maximum Dew-point in London was 56°, in
‘Malvern 54; the minimum in London 40, in Malvern 39° ;
the mean in the former place 48.3°, in the latter 46.2°,

For the spring quarter—
Mean Dew-Point.

Melvern.....é...,<. SS AE Pee ».42.1°
London. Malvern.

Mean elasticity of the vapour in the. __ 0.304........0.306

air (for the season)

Mean weight of vapour (in grains) in
S cuble toot of pir (ior fe ri sisi AB Raat sscc 3.466
WIND.*
DECEMBER. JANUARY. FEBRUARY.
Vapour. Dry. Vapour. Dry. Vapour. Dry.
. Bandoti..3i50i5097 ssn.. EER Ui teGisO ded: RR OVD: es eee ee ee
Malvern......... | Boast | ERR Re VAGUS Untied iia git See Bea 12

TOTAL FOR THE WINTER.
| Vapour. Dry. -
reat 2

TO i ce ce ek
NOW sition po srinechceasreonysa RB arhein 31
m1 MARCH, . APRIL. iy May.
apour. 'Y> apour. Dry. apour. Dry.
London....2.+++- 1D. ereeeeDQeevpeeree nese deve eyree LO. ce cerqreneeee AD a knerht’ 12
pe Rare: | SRR: |. SENIORS A Mae ciseene Ly BR AIR yi Neh 13

TOTAL FOR THE SPRING,

* These, and the tables of the wind previou detailed, we offer only as
approximations : for, with westerly winds especially, the difficulty of deter-
mining, at Malvern, whether it is a little to the north or south of the due
west point is almost insurmountable. In the former case, according to the
sub-division before indicated (p. 223, vol. ii, of “* The Analyst”) the current
would be classed in the Dry, in the latter, in the Vapour column.

60. A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE

MEAN TEMPERATURE AND MEAN DEW POINT
oF N. E. anv 8. W. winps, aT LONDON AND MALVERN, FOR THE WINTER
AND SPRING.

WINTER. Wind. Mean Temp. Mean Dew-Point.
eee at 9 a. m. at 9 a. m.

<snapengr sli ainariidde G6 BNMMels ceitadorcinnd «cinis esses 29 6

saree FREES s. ad iiss yoth tot "SRR Ree Miia satis 42.9
SeaRUOTOLNN Bios cive'vchsscune ad sbet c bo etter tee pas ee eR yo |

Malvern 3 oe og Pee Soa eRe 77 EEE a 44,

SPRING. Wind. Mean Temp. Mean pile
ae Spy TY, Wikeis Methven tikes s chhlie Seosntiey “chee liaeeic tga

jan BS RoW cccccctur,elan Speed eae oleae hap, Shp. 23 5
hue Babine Ne Be iocis desde onc tes RRR A

RR eg BAG ee ee 46.3
NUMBER OF DAYS ON WHICH RAIN OR SNOW FELL.

1834—35. December. J anuary. fae Total for the Winter.
8 13 34

Malvern............0 y Pees Ae a eR Pee. 2 AGE PONE 28

1835. March. 76 (at May Total me one Spring.
London.......... BB ecel esse yes cokmme nes cogseevecs BO sarin chce easseneares
por. Meenas | Somer newer * Sicp pe diuasew 16.5 sicunccoveuuueay eu 35

In attempting, therefore, to offer any sufficient reason for the
greater salubrity of one place compared with another,—as Malvern
with London, or with any other locality,—we are constrained to
look to different circumstances than those usually embraced in me-
teorological inquiries: neither the thermometer, barometer, nor hy-
grometer, furnishing us with materials sufficient for the purpose.

An investigation into the nature and consistence of the soil,—the -
conditions of its surface,—the circumstances attendant upon the ex-
halations arising therefrom,—and above all, the phenomena resulting
Jrom their precipitation,—conjoined with careful observations on the
daily temperature, pressure, motion, and vapour of the air,—will be
more likely to elucidate the object of such an inquiry than the
greatest attention bestowed on the latter mentioned points only.

In a district, therefore, where it is purposed to institute meteoro-
logical observations, it will be necessary to state whether the gene-
ral nature of the soil is clayey or sandy,—and this not only of the
immediate spot where they may be carried on, but for some miles

CLIMATES OF GREAT MALVERN AND LONDON. 61

round—whether the sub-soil is rocky, chalky, clay, or otherwise,—
whether the contiguous localities are well or ill drained,—and whe-
ther, with reference to the country around, it lies rather high or
low. The conditions of the surface of the district, and its neigh-
bourhood, should also be stated ; whether extensive tracts of mea-
dow land, or arable land, prevail,—much or little wood, water, &c.
With such additional information, meteorological observations would
be rendered trebly valuable. | i

The atmosphere often varies very much in transparency. Some-
times it is loaded with a light haze or mist, at others it is perfectly
clear, so that distant objects appear nearer; sometimes the haze or
mist is very great, and yet the air, as shewn by the hygrometer, is —
yery dry ; indeed, with our driest winds (N. E.), the haze is gene-
rally most prevalent: it must, therefore, at such times, be very dif-
ferent from any form of vapour. <A hazy state of the atmosphere,
such as that just noticed, is called, by the common people, a blight.
Whether it exerts any such effect upon the human frame, is a ques.
tion to be determined ; at all events, it should be clearly distin.
guished, by the meteorologist, from that thick and muddy appear-
ance which the air often assumes when its temperature is no greater
than the dew point, and which arises from the commencing precipi-
tation of vapour.

The more obvious effects resulting from the precipitation of va.
pour, diffused through the air by the heat of the sun, are rain, fogs,
and dew.

It is well known that aqueous vapour facilitates the vaporising
force of many substances, becoming, as it were, a carrying agent.—
A theory of meteoric stones has been founded on the supposition
that the earthy and metallic matter found in them had been raised
in vapour from similar matter upon the earth’s surface, which,
though extremely attenuated and dilute at first, gradually accumu.
lated, and, by some natural operation in the upper regions of the
_ atmosphere, became condensed, forming those extraordinary masses
of matter which occasionally fall to us from above. However this
may be, we cannot doubt that many noxious exhalations are carried
up by the aqueous vapours arising from the ground during the day,
but which are, in their ascent, so extremely attenuated and dilute

62 A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE

as not to affect, in any way, the senses or functions of the human
frame. Whether these noxious exhalations always descend when
the aqueous vapour which bears them upward is condensed, or whe-
ther, as in the just-mentioned theory of aérolites, they remain in
the upper regions some indefinite period, and gradually, by some
natural operation in the higher regions, accumulate, become con-
densed, and then again descend, (not to beat our brains out, as the
aérolite undoubtedly would, were we to encounter it, but sometimes
to fall with a hardly less fearful, though invisible, blow), is a ques-
tion not easy, perhaps, to determine. However difficult it may be
to admit this theory in the instance of meteoric stones, it is far from
being so with respect to malarious exhalations. ‘The experience we
have of them, in the production of various epidemical diseases’ inci-
dent to man, renders it highly probable that they do very often
descend in a noxious form, when the aqueous vapour with which
they are associated is condensed ; and we can believe that they may
sometimes remain and accumulate until some unknown operation in
the higher regions favours their descent—not, indeed, in a solid and
visible state, but in a sufficiently concentrated and invisibly cloud.
like form as to sweep successively over various parts of the earth’s
surface, occasioning the appearance of violent epidemic diseases.

We by no means intend to be understood as implying that the
evaporation taking place from every part of the surface of our globe
necessarily disentangles noxious exhalations frony their innocent re-
pose; but, only, that where the surface does contain any materials
for their formation, there the aqueous vapour promotes their disen-
gagement from the ground—is the agent through whose means
they escape—and associated with which they rise into the higher
regions. It must, therefore, be more especially important to con-
sider as closely as possible, the various forms and changes to which
this, the more tangible material, (if we may use the expression), is
subject.

It is with these views that the Trerrestrran Raprarion of
Caloric,—-a process which, with a still and clear atmosphere, speed-
ily reduces, at night, the temperature of various parts of the earth’s
surface and the superincumbent air,—becomes a highly important
object for’ consideration. Radiatiort is much modified by situation,

CLIMATES OF GREAT MALVERN AND LONDON. 63

and the nature of the surface exposed: all low, damp places—grass
and meadow-land—promote it in a peculiar degree; and the result-
ing visible forms of vapour, therefore, peculiarly affect such locali-
ties, which are really colder than more elevated places—light misty
fogs, producing a.sensation of chilliness, hang upon them at night
and early in the morning, and all the noxious influence cf malaria
is concentered there.

The fogs which form at night over valleys and low situations,
and heavy dew, are therefore objects which the meteorologist should
not fail to notice ; for they are caused by the precipitation of aque-
ous vapour: and it is more than probable, if this vapour has been
the carrying agent to any malaria, that its development, in a
deleterious form, at the same period commences.

The aqueous vapour always permeating the permanent elastic at-
mosphere, possesses the same mechanical properties as it would ex-
hibit in a separate state; the two fluids exercise only a certain
degree of opposition to each others motion. Vapour is constantly
tending towards the point where the elasticity is least, and its par-
ticles will very often be permeating the interstices of the perma-
nently elastic fluid, in a direction opposed to the wind. If the flow
of vapour is slow and steady, this motion, in totally opposite direc-
tions, may continue; if, on the other hand, in places not far re_
moved from each other, the temperature of the dew point, or, in
other words, the elasticity of the vapour, is very different, then its
sudden rush will carry the permanently elastic fluid with it, and the
wind will blow in the direction where the dew point, or the elasti-
city is least. Thus, during hot and very dry weather, when the
air is nearly calm, dark, heavy clouds sometimes form, and rain de-
scends in torrents ; immediately the wind springs up—for the elas-
ticity of the vapour evolved from the contact of the rain with the
dry and heated ground is much greater than that in the neighbour-
ing higher regions—and it rushes rapidly towards them, carrying
with it the permanently elastic fluid: so that the wind blows from
the point where the rain has fallen. But these are only very li-
mited phenomena—thunder-storms, and the direction they impress
upon the motions of the air, being very partial. What we wished
to remark upon, was, that a current of vapour and possibly, also, a

64 .A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE

current of malaria, may sometimes be moving in a direction different
from that in which the wind may happen to be blowing.

_ The following is a summary of the results of the foregoing com-
parison: whether they are applicable to a series of years must be
determined by a more extensive set of observations. We have little
doubt of their correctness, not only for the year which has passed in
review, but generally.

TEMPERATURE.

I.— During the summer the mean temperature of London is about
5° higher than at Malvern; an effect attributable partly
to the greater power and influence of the sun’s rays among
crowded buildings and paved streets than in the open coun-
try, and to the elevation of the latter place.

2.—In autumn the mean temperature of London is 23 higher
than at Malvern ;—attributable to the causes mentioned in 1.

3.—During the winter months the mean temperature of London
and Malvern varies only ? of a degree, and the difference
in the mean range of the thermometer during the season
is only about 4a degree. The sun’s rays are so feeble at
this season, and the maximum of the thermometer being
almost invariably due to clouds or warm vapours, the tem-
perature becomes more equalized,

4,—In spring the mean temperature of London is 2° higher than
at Malvern; the difference commencing in the month of
April, when the power of the sun’s rays is becoming deve-
loped, as stated in 1.

MEAN TEMPERATURE OF THE YEAR,

AS ASCERTAINED IN THE FOREGOING COMPARISON.

DONGOD .c.s0tecs sce ok ias veg Ast vbaiedl gay boa 52°
Great Malvern. .......-....sceeseeee b0000049.6

The mean temperature of London, derived from observations con-
tinued for three successive years, by Mr. Daniell, and embracing the
daily maxima and minima, is 49.5.

CLIMATES OF GREAT MALVERN AND LONDON. 65

The higher mean denoted in the above result, arises probably from
the mildness of the winter of 1834 and 35. Humboldt reckons the
mean temperature of winter in London at 39.6°, whereas, from the
foregoing data, it was 41°. Daniell makes it only 38°.

I have, on three several occasions, tried the temperature of a very
fine, deep, and copious spring in the village of Great Malvern, and
with the following results. In the first, temp. of the air 30° ; ther-
mometer, immersed to the bottom of the spring, 50°. In the second,
temp. of the air 56°, of the spring 50.5°. In the third trial, during
very hot and dry weather, the temperature of the air was 75°, and.
the water 52°.*

ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE.

1.—The fluctuations of the barometer at London and Great Mal-
vern are very nearly simultaneous, and the daily range is,
also, very nearly the same. :

2.—The mean range for the seasons was—

In London. | In Malvern.
. Summer........... .687in. Summer........... -727in.
PUD: oie 1.255in. Autumn.:.......... 1.242in.
Winter.....4..... .1,.442in. Winter? ace ee.s 1.527in.
BIEL sre snese suns 1,122in. SSRs eb de nics xo’ 1.123in.

* The temperature due to any given elevation may be found as follows.—
Reckoning the density of the air at the surface of a sphere as unit, the dif-
ference between the density of any given altitude and its reciprocal being
multiplied by 45, will express the mean diminution of temperature in de-

ees of Fahrenheit’s scale. Now the difference of density of the air at

alvern and London is .574 in. nearly, as shewn by the barometer.

Therefore y

30.000 : 29,426 : : 1.000 : .980
which is the density of the air of Malvern, the density at London being 1.
Therefore

980 : 1.000 : : 1.000 : 1.020 and
1.020 — ,980 = ,040 x 465 = 1.8°

the diminution of 04 sale due to the elevation of Malvern. It has just
been stated that Mr. Daniell makes the mean temperature of London, accord-
ing to his observations, 49.5: and this agrees to the decimal place with Mr.
Howard’s estimate. Humboldt states the mean temperature of London at
50.4; so that 52° is, doubtless, rather high. .

Now, considering the mean temperature of Malvern as 49.6, and adding to
it 1.8° the diminution due to elevation, the result is 51.4°. We conclude,

therefore, that there are no peculiar causes tending to depress the thermome-
ter in that locality.

October, 1835.—vou. 111. No. XIII. F.

66 A, COMPARISON BETWEEN THE

THE MEAN HEIGHT AND MEAN RANGE OF THE BARO-
METER FOR THE YEAR.

Mean height. Mean range.
MN Coon a icc agian was eae S Tui ons vine <0 1.127
Malverns: 2.00). cccccc cc u0d SOMOS ci Swiwis. we 1.155

Mr. Daniell, from an average of three years observations, makes
the mean height of the barometer in London 29.881. The mean of
twenty years, deduced by Mr. Howard, is 29.865.

In the second volume of “ The Analyst,” p. 218, it is stated that,
in consequence of the elevation of Great Malvern, it is necessary to
add about .570 in. to the barometrical heights observed there. If we
do this to the mean annual height just stated, it will appear that the
result deduced by the foregoing comparison, does not vary much
from that of Mr. Daniell, nor from Howard’s.

f

DEW POINT.

].—The mean dew point in London during the summer, is about
24° higher than the mean dew point, during the same sea-
son, at Malvern.

2.—The same observation applies to the autumnal quarter :—an
effect, doubtless, owing to the elevation of the latter locality,
and to its distance from any large expanse of water.

3.—During the winter months the mean dew point is % a degree
higher in Malvern than in London.

4.—In spring the mean dew point is the same in both places.

MEAN DEW POINT FOR THE YEAR,

AT 9 A. M.

From a mean of the daily maxima and minima, Mr. Daniell finds
the mean annual dew point at London 44.5°. It will be borne in
mind that the annual mean just stated in this communication, is
derived from daily observations at 9 a. m.

CLIMATES OF GREAT MALVERN AND LONDON. 67
WIND.

1.—N. E. and S. W. winds are each, during summer, about 4°
higher in temperature at London, than in Malvern. The
reasons for this are probably included in obs. for temp. 1.

During the same period the mean dew point with N. E.
winds is 2° higher in London than in Malvern, and 1°
higher with S. W.

2.—In autumn, the mean temperature of S. W. winds is the same

in both places ; but N. E. winds are 2° colder in Malvern.

At this season, with N. E. winds, the mean dew point is
24° higher in London; but with S. W. breezes there is
hardly any difference.

3.—During winter, the mean temperature of S. W. winds is also
very nearly the same in both places. N. E. winds are only
about half a degree warmer in London.

During this season, the mean dew-point with N, E. winds
_ is 1° lower at Malvern; but with S. W. winds it is 1°
higher than in London.

4.—In spring, the mean temperature of S. W. winds is about
half a degree higher in Malvern than in London; on the
other hand, N. E. winds have a mean temperature 24 high-
er in London than in Malvern.

At this season, the mean dew-point with N. E. winds is
3° higher in London than at Malvern ; whereas, with S. W.
winds, the mean dew-point is 3° higher in Malvern than
in London.

If we divide the w1nps into the two great currents before stated,

—vapour and dry,—the following is the result for the year :—

Vapour Winds. Dry Winds.
RMU Go 6s 6 noo s0icitins | PENA A care inet 145
SRIVORER 0355-5. chised MEBs cewsticd ba geent sae h46
RAIN.

London........ WS LS OS 129
Malvern......... SU eksac ka co till 131

F2 a

~

68 A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE

MALVERN has long been celebrated as a remarkably healthy spot :
and it is true that many persons experience a very great improve-
ment in their health when sojourning in it.

That its salubrity does not depend upon any of those meteorolo-
gical phenomena embraced in the foregoing comparison must be
sufficiently obvious, when we find so little difference 4 in them at the
two places, Malvern and London.

The greatest variation in the maximum of the thermometer at the
two places was during the month of June, when the difference was
10.°; in the minimum the greatest difference was in September, 6.°

In the maximum dew-point, the greatest difference was 7.°, and

_ in the minimum Og

Now, in the same place, the variations in the maximum tempera-
ture and dew-point are sometimes much greater in a comparison of
two successive days,—amounting to from 10, 15, or even so much
as 20 degrees in the former, and 10, 15, or 17 degrees in the latter;
so that, throughout the year, there is not any thing like so great a
difference, at any period, in the temperature either of the air or va-
pour, belween London and Malvern, as there ts sometimes at either
place between one day and another.

Nor do the other phenomena—atmospheric pressure, wind, or
rain—offer any materials to account for differences in the salubrity
of these or other moderately distant places. j

In concluding this communication, we would say a few words
upon the best method of keeping a useful Meteorological Register,
and upon the instruments used for the purpose. “ To persons ac-
tively engaged in the duties of a business or profession, and who can
be supposed to devote but little time to these pursuits, the following
is the mode we would recommend: at nine o'clock a. m., a little be-
fore or a little after, the first observation for the day is to be made;
and noted in any common quarto book kept for the purpose, in the
following manner—

Date. Barom. Therm. Hygr. Time. Wind. Weather.

1835 29.655 Fine.
July 25. 68 . 65 58 9, a. m. So. Clouds
Sun.
55 Night, minim., Fine
29.600 70 maxm. Fine,
69 60 she ll,p.m. S. W. Fine.

Light. Stars.

CLIMATES OF GREAT MALVERN AND LONDON. 69

At the same period, 9 a..m., the minimum of the preceding night,
{by a self-registering minimum thermometer) is noted and put. down ;
also the temperature of the dew-point, ascertained by Daniell’s
hygrometer. ‘This does not take more than five minutes. Again,
at eleven p. m., or just before going to bed, the observation is repeat-
ed; at this time noting the maximum (by a self-registering maxi-
mum thermometer) of the preceding day.

At each observation, the degree at which a thermometer (which

should always hang close to the barometer) stands must be recorded
and placed just below the barometric height, as shewn above, so
that the correction for temperature may at any time be made.—
Miscellaneous remarks can be scribbled down at the same time.—
In this way, all things necessary for the purposes of any comparison
are recorded, and ‘may be made available at any future period of —
leisure. At the evening observation, the dew-point is not essential,
and we have generally omitted it ; for the ascertaining it, is a little
experiment not readily performed by candle-light.
_ The Meteorological Table of the Royal Society is now published .
monthly in the Atheneum ; and a register kept in the way recom-
mended above, would enable any person to institute, with the great-
est correctness—by the assistance of Daniell’s Meteorological Essays
—a comparison on the following daily particulars: Barometer,
thermometer, and hygrometer at 9 a. m.; the height of the former
by aid of the temperature placed below the height at which it
stands, can be reduced to 32.° The maximum and minimum of
the 24 hours can also be compared, together with the state of the
wind and weather.

By devoting an hour of leisure to the purpose, the mean results
for each month may be deduced in the usual manner, and all neces-
sary correction duly estimated and applied.

‘With respect to the instruments which should be employed—

The Barometers commonly met with are by no means applicable
to observations pretending to any accuracy. In the shops of the
best manufacturers and opticians no two barometers agree: the
height of the mercury is never actually measured in them—-they
are graduated one from another, and their errors thus unavoidably
perpetuated. Few of them have any adjustment for the change of

70 A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE

level of the mercury in the cistern; no neutral point is marked
upon them, nor is the diameter of the bore of the tube ascertained ;
and in some the capacity of the cisterns is perpetually changing
from the stretching of a leathern bag.

We have endeavoured, as far as possible, to obviate these diffi-
culties in the following manner—

Ist. Procure one or two of the best barometer tubes, and a suffici-
ency of clean mercury ; take care that the interior of the tube is
quite clean and dry ; heat it gradually before the fire ;—strain the
mercury through a fine clean and dry silk handkerchief, and then
heat it quite hot, or what is better, just allow it to boil; when
cool enough, strain it again through the silk handkerchief into a
dry warm 2oz. glass apothecary’s measure: 2ndly, then fill the
warm dry tube with it; whatever air-bubbles are seen, may be
easily removed by passing the largest up and down the tube.—
Again, 3rdly, fill the tube quite full, and placing the finger firmly
over the bore, plunge it into a cup of clean warm mercury ; on re-
moving the finger, the mercury falls a certain distance from the —
top. Before taking the tube out of the mercury, place the end of
the finger again firmly over the bore, and then remove it. The
space above the mercury is now occupied by very rarefied air, jand
by passing this three or four times very carefully up and down,
keeping the finger close on the open end, all the air sticking in any
part will be removed. ‘Then allow the mercury (the finger being
still upon the open end of the tube) to run slowly down-to the
closed end, taking care that no air-specks are any where visible ;
then remove the finger, fill the tube quite full, and repeat the
operation twice or thrice. Lastly, carefully fill the tube, and re-
move by a very slender piece of whalebone or strip of quill every
speck of air that appears at the junction of the two portions of mer-
cury, or elsewhere, above it. Again fill the tube quite full, and
seal it securely with sealing-wax—placing a piece of cianaon paper
over the sealing-wax.

Now take a quire of long, smooth, clean, white paper, that has
been exposed some little time to the air,—in order that it may not
contract by drying—and, drawing a pencil line along it, measure,
very carefully, 14 inches, which, by a pair of compasses, may be

CLIMATES OF GREAT MALVERN AND LONDON. 71

taken from the scale you intend to apply to your barumeter,—mea-
sure it two or three times, to be perfectly correct ; put a minute
speck of ink at each end of the measured distance ; with a fine file
make a mark upon the tube, about an inch or an inch and a half
from the end now closed with sealing-wax ; place this in exact op-
position with one of the ink marks upon the paper, and laying the
tube along the pencil line, make a little mark upon it by a touch of
the file, exactly corresponding with the other ink mark upon the
paper. By repeating this operation, in the most careful manner, you
will have 28 inches accurately measured upon the tube. Then Ist.
by adapting an ivory point to the cistern, the extremity of which
must exactly correspond te the lower file-mark upon the tube,—2nd.
fixing the 28th inch division of the scale opposite the uppermost file
mark,—and 3rd., keeping the surface of the mercury in the cistern
always just touching the ivory point, the indications of your baro-
meter may be fully relied on.* The construction of the cistern is
described in the second volume of ‘‘ The Analyst,” p. 217.

After the cistern has been fixed, and before entirely closing the
bottom of it, of course, the sealing wax-and gummed paper must be
removed from the end of the tube.

With regard to Thermometers. For the purposes before stated
three will be necessary: one—a self-registering, of Rutherford’s
construction—for the minimum ; another self-registering for the
maximum ; and a third to hang close by the barometer. These
should be purchased of some philosophical instrument maker, on
whom reliance can be placed ; where, also, the Hygrometer should
be obtained. -

* The corrections for the temperature of the mercurial column will be
found in a table, p. 372, and for the bore of the tube, p. 363, of Daniell’s Es-
says. And when these are applied, the constant difference between the mean
of any two barometers, within short distances, is attributable to elevation.

72

ON THE NON-PERMEABILITY OF GLASS BY
WATER.

Tue following experiments were made in the North and South
Atlantic and Indian oceans, by Mr. Rudder, late of Birmingham,
during his passage to New South Wales, with the view of ascer-
taining whether water passed through the pores of glass bottles,
sunk at different depths in the ocean. The result of the experi-
ment with the bottle, No. 4, prepared after the manner described
in the annexed diagram, and sunk 150 fathoms, clearly proves the

No. 1.

No. l. No. 4. E, Piece of wood supporting
the cork H at A, er resting

against the inside of the bot-
tle at B.—H, cork.—G, saw-
dust and pitch._lI, wine.—J,
canvass passing up the neck of
the bottle to the outside, and
covered with boiling pitch.—
C, wooden plug, driven in with
melted pitch upon the body J.
—D, iron nail passed through
the plug, C, over which a piece
. of canvass was passed, and that
\ with the canvass at J, pitched
over and firmly secured to the

neck of the bottle with string,
likewise pitched over, as at fe

No. 4.

1, Piece of wood supporting
the cork, 4, at 2, and resting
upon the bottom of the bottle
\ at 3.—5, layer of melted pitch.
\\ 6, cork driven in with melted
4 } . a\\ 3 pitch, and afterwards covered

a nS om <> over witha thick layer of pitch. -
7, cap of sheet lead, driven upon the top of the cork and pitch, 6, and bound
down with copper wire and string at 8.—9, outside coating of pitch, extend-
ing from the rim of the lead, covering over the neck of the bottle.

ye

SS

4 j <= NU BR

non-permeability of glass,—a fact which is corroborated by a series
of experiments subsequently made by Mr. Wickenden, and describ-
ed, by that gentleman, in a very lucid manner, on reading the Paper
—of which the following is an abstract—before the members of the,
Birmingham Philosophical Institution. ’

A wine-bottle was prepared as described in the annexed diagram,
No. 1; another was likewise thus secured :—-a piece of wood was

t 7 ,

ON THE NON-PERMEABILITY OF GLASS BY WATER. 73°

placed in the bottle to support a cork, over which was inserted saw-
dust and melted pitch; a wooden plug, dipped in hot pitch, was
driven in, and through the top of the plug a nail was passed trans-
versely, secured with twine ; the whole was then coated over with
melted pitch. Mr. Benson, the surgeon of the ship, Princess Victo-
ria, also prepared a bottle as follows :—a cork was tightly driven in
and covered over with bladder and leather, after which it was pitched
and a wooden cap placed closely over the mouth and neck, secured
with a piece of canvas. The three bottles were then sunk to the
depth of 58 fathoms; when hauled up, the bottle, No. 1, contained
about an ounce of water; the other two bottles were perfectly free
from any liquid. The bottles were again lowered in 83 fathoms
without any addition to the water, and a third time in 112 fathoms;
when, on being carefully examined, No. 1 was found one-fourth full,
_ and the water discoloured with the wine; the second bottle contained
about an ounce of water: Mr. Benson’s was, also, two-thirds full,
with the cork driven in and floating on the surface, and thé water
much agitated, having the appearance of champagne when the cork
is first drawn, the air producing a loud hissing in its effort to escape.
In making this experiment the lines were impelled towards the west,
by a strong current setting in from the east, which rendered it ne-
eessary to back the boat to the west, with considerable rapidity, in
order to sink the lines perpendicularly. On the bottles being low-_
ered a fourth time to the same depth, viz., 112 fathoms, Mr. Ben-
son’s bottle, when brought up, was quite full of water, and the cork
replaced in its original position ; the-water in bottle No. 2 was not
increased, but the nail, passed through the plug, was very considera-
bly bent inward, and the top of the cork and pitch brought nearly
on a level with the glass. The bottle No. 1 had received an addi-
tional quantity of water, making it one-third full, but there was no
perceptible change in the outer coverings.

Another experiment was subsequently made by sinking a bottle,
prepared as described. in figure 4, in the subjoined diagram, to the —
depth of 142 fathoms, sustaining a pressure of about 426 pounds on

the inch. When drawn up, it was found that no water had pene. — :

trated the bottle, and the only perceptible alteration was an inden-
tation of about one-fourth of an inch in the lead, produced by the
excessive pressure.

74 ON THE NON-PERMEABILITY OF GLASS BY WATER.

Two other bottles were prepared in a similar manner, with the
exception of the lead caps, and were sunk to a depth of 102 fa.
thoms. These bottles were filled with water, and the corks which,
previous to immersion, stood nearly half an inch above the necks of
the bottles, had been so much compressed as to allow the water to
pass round them. One of the corks exhibited this compresssed ap-
pearance for a length of time after it was drawn up, leaving the
pitch standing like a wall above the neck of the bottle.

The next experiment was made in the jolly boat, at some distance
from the ship, as on former occasions ; when three bottles were sunk
to the depth of 150 fathoms, and, consequently, subjected to a pres-
sure of about 450 pounds on the square inch. When drawn up, it
was discovered that Mr. Benson’s bottle was full of water, and Mr.
Rudder’s perfectly free from all fluid.. The bottle sunk by Mr.
Benson was prepared by placing a wooden stay within the bottle,
as shewn in figure 4, upon which a cork was firmly driven. The
neck of the bottle was then filled with melted pitch, into which a
cork was forced down ; over the whole was tied a piece of leather,
and the neck of the bottlé immersed in pitch. Mr. Rudder’s first
bottle was prepared in a similar manner to Mr. Benson’s, excepting
that the cork was cut off flush with the neck of the bottle (which,
being patent, was consequently true), and, after being dipped in
boiling pitch, a halfpenny was imbedded upon the top of the cork.
The second bottle had the wooden stay for support to the cork, fixed
perpendicularly ; and over the above-described stopping a cap of
lead, of about one-eighth of an inch in thickness, was secured, and
pitched over, excepting on the upper surface of the lead. The ap-
pearance of the respective bottles, when drawn up, was as follows :
Mr. Benson’s bottle had the corks and their covering so compressed
that they were nearly three quarters of an inch below the rim of the
neck, and the bottle as full of water as bottles usually are of wine.
The air in the neck of the bottle, which must have been highly
compressed, continued to issue through the pores of the cork for a
considerable time after the bottle had been drawn up. In Mr.
Rudder’s first bottle no alteration was apparent ; and in the second
the only change that had taken place was the compression of the
lead inwards, forming a concavity, of about one-fourth of an inch in
depth, in the centre.

ON THE NON-PERMEABILITY OF GLASS BY WATER. 75

As the experiments made by Mr. Rudder and Mr. Benson were
considered inconclusive, in relation to the question of the porosity
of glass, or its permeability by water, (the pressure of a column of
water of 900 feet, the depth to which their bottles were plunged,
not exceeding a pressure of 450 pounds on the square inch), Mr.
Wickenden, with the assistance of an intelligent member of the In-
stitution, proceeded to make the following experiments. Glass balls,
varying in size and thickness, were hermetrically sealed, and sub-
jected to a pressure of 1050 pounds on the inch; that is equivalent
to the weight of a column of water of about 2000 feet, or 350 fa-
thoms, exceeding the pressure to which the bottles were exposed by ”
200 fathoms. The integrity of the globes was maintained in this
experiment, and not a drop of water entered. In order to submit
the globes to the greatest accessible pressure, it was determined to
place them in the plunger of Bramah’s hydraulic press. The balls,
which were three inches in diameter, were inclosed in a box, perfo-
rated to admit the water, and after being subjected to a superficial
pressure of between eighteen and nineteen tons; or about a ton and
a half onthe square inch, (which is equal to a column of water of
1120 fathoms, or 6720 feet, that is,.a weight of 3360 pounds on the
square inch) they were taken out uninjured, and perfectly free
from internal moisture.

From the whole of the foregoing experiments, the following con-
clusions may be drawn. Ist. It appears extremely difficult, by stop-
ping the mouths of bottles with extraneous matters, such as cork,
wood, pitch, &¢., to resist the stupendous weight of columns of
water of great altitude.

2ndly. That at a depth of 150 fathoms, or 900 feet,—that is,
with a pressure of about 450lbs. on the square inch, glass is not
permeable by water.

By the experiments made with i ee balls, the difficulties of stop-
ing are overcome, whilst a form is employed better adapted to resist
the higher degrees of pressure ; and the presumptive evidence of the
non-porosity of glass, or rather impermeability by water, is greatly
increased.

The question assumed as proved by Mr. Rudder’s experiments, is
the non-porosity of -glass. The transmission of light and magnetic

76 ON THE NON-PERMEABILITY OF GLASS BY WATER.

influence through this substance might, perhaps, be considered as
sufficient evidence of such structure. A more accurate statement of
the object of these experiments, therefore, would be to prove the
impermeability of glass by water under high degrees of pressure.—
Were it possible for glass balls to resist the sudden expansion and
heat of steam, the proof required would be more probably attained
by the tenuity of the elastic vapour of water, than by the same fluid
under the most severe pressure. :

In one of Mr. Rudder’s experiments, it was observed that the
cork had been forced into the bottle, and was seen floating on the
surface of the water which half filled the bottle, and upon replung-
ing the bottle to the same depth, 112 fathoms, the vessel filled
and the cork was replaced. The replacement of the cork as origi-
nally inserted, or reversed, so far as position is concerned, is purely
accidental; when the cork, by equal pressure, has been so far re-
duced in all its dimensions that either end of it would enter into
the neck of the bottle, that part would be certain to be uppermost,
which presented itself to the neck, during the ascent of the bottle.

It may not, perhaps, be considered altogether irrelevant to the
present subject, to allude to the astonishing power of the whale to
resist pressure. When struck with the harpoon, the whale dives
perpendicularly, and the quantity of line they sometimes take out of
the boat, in a perpendicular descent, Captain Scoresby considers a
good measure of the depth. By this rule, they have been known to
descend a mile ; bearing, consequently, a pressure of one ton and a
quarter on every square inch ; which multiplied by the extent of
surface of the animal, varying in length from 60 to 200 feet, and of
proportionate width, gives an amount almost incredible—720,000
tons !

It is very reasonable to enquire if there be any provision in the
structure of diving animals, to enable them to sustain such pres-
sure. In a paper read by Mr. Houston, at the late Meeting of
the British Association, ‘On Peculiarities in .Circulating Organs
of Diving Animals,” it was observed that circulation, though
principally carried on and continued by the vital principle, and
ceasing altogether when that principle becomes extinct, was to
some extent amenable to the laws of hydraulics.

SONNET. 77

The circulation through a limb is affected by position ; the re-
moval or increase of atmospheric pressure is known to affect the cir-
culation of the skin; the action of the air and chest, during respira-
tion, also modify the circulation. It is a well-established fact that
a whale can suspend respiration for twenty minutes, and sink to the
depth of an English mile in the ocean. :

The effect of the interrupted respiration and increased external
pressure, must necessarily be an alteration in the circulation, which,
unless met by a suitable provision, must prove inconvenient, if not
fatal, to the animal. That such a provision existed, Mr. Houston
was prepared to prove; it existed in the enormous size and com-
plexity of the venous system, particularly in the right cavities of
the heart,—the vene cava, the hepatic veins, and those of the ab-
dominal and spinal canal. These facts were illustrated by some ele-
gant preparations of the injected venous system of the seal and por-
poise. The subject was farther pursued, and the circulation of some
animals possessing the power of suspending respiration for a less
considerable time, was examined ; the result was highly satisfactory
—and it was proved, by demonstration, from several specimens, that
the enlargement of the heart and venous system was proportionate
to the power of suspending respiration. Several new facts were ad-
duced, both in comparative anatomy and pathology, which would
appear highly confirmatory of Mr. H.’s physiological views as stated
in the communication.

‘

SONNET.

Gu1vE me, O God, as with a father’s hand,

Through this world’s darksome wilderness: O stay

My footsteps, trembling on Temptation’s sand,

Uphold them o’er the rough and narrow way

Which leadeth unto life; that so I may, |

Strong in thy might, all sinful wiles withstand,

My inmost thoughts conform to thy command,

Nor from thy will in act or purpose stray.

All-present One! who dwellest in the light:

None may approach unto, yet deign’st to hear

The sigh scarce-breathed, the heart’s unlettered prayer,—
Shield me from every dark desponding fear—

My best affections to thyself unite—

And let thy favour be my chiefest care. E, S.

78

,

A RETROSPECT OF THE LITERATURE OF BRITISH
ORNITHOLOGY,

FROM THE CLOSE OF THE 17TH CENTURY TO THE PRESENT TIME.

Turoueuour the whole extensive domain of Nature, there is
nothing which can more deeply interest and delight the inquisitive
and reflecting mind than the study of Birds. That, from the earli-
est ages, these beautiful animals should have, in an especial way,
attracted the notice of Man, no one, even slightly acquainted with —
their structure and economy, and the wonderful instincts which they
exhibit in their architecture and migrations, can, for a moment, feel
surprized. Their size and symmetry, the elegance of figure, the
splendour of plumage, the power and rapidity of flight, and the me-
lody of song which many of them possess,—the astonishing industry
and skill, the exemplary patience and solicitude, affection and cou-
rage which they almost invariably display in the construction of
their nests, and the rearing and protection of their helpless young,
are such as must have arrested the eye of the more careless observer,
and occasionally stirred up even the most torpid brain from its ha-
bitual slumbers. Hence, it has happened that, in all times and
countries, Birds have, more frequently than any other part of the
animal creation, employed the descriptive powers of the Natural
Historian, and the pencil of the Artist.

Yet an examination of the ornithological writings of the British
Naturalists of the eighteenth century is, unfortunately, far better
calculated to propagate error than afford correct information,—to
promote the interests of the Author and “ the Trade,” rather than
those of truth and science. Let any one read over the fabulous ac-
counts of the hyémal submersion of the Swallow,—the miraculous
stories which are told of the properties possessed by the carcase of
the splendid King-fisher, and the elegant. little wren,—of the ex-
trication of the Bernacle Goose from the Lepas or Bernacle shell,—
all gravely narrated,—aye, and manfully sworn to upon the four
Gospels,—by eye-witnesses, of reputable character and reputed ve-

A RETROSPECT OF THE LITERATURE, Xc. 79

racity ; and he will rise from the perusal with increased scepticism
for human testimony, with aggravated feelings of suspicion or con-
tempt for all the boasted powers of human reasoning and observa-
tion. Let him, fora moment, compare the figures of the Golden
Eagle of old Eleazar Albin, the Eagle-owl of Pennant and of Lew-
in, and the Bittern of the modest Mr. Hayes, with their splendid
prototypes in the Museum or the Menagerie ; and he will feel as-
tonished that any human being, gifted with the ordinary vision of
two ordinary eyes, could have put forth such miserable daubs,—un-
fit to grace even the sign-post of a village-hostelry,—for correct
representations of these magnificent denizens of the mountain, the
wilderness, and the waters.

Ere yet we proceed to an examination of the splendid work of
Mr. Gould, by the appearance of which these observations have been
elicited, it may assist the investigations of the student, and serve to
refresh the memory of the more accomplished Naturalist, if we
briefly retrace the progress of British Ornithology, from the close of
the seventeenth century to the present time. In this retrospect, our
notices will be principally, although not exclusively, restricted to
the productions of British writers, and, of these, such as have fallen
under our own scrutiny. They will admit of convenient distribu-
tion into three Classes: 1. the works which treat exclusively of
Birds ; 2. those wherein Ornithology forms part only of a systematic
description of the Anima] Kingdom ; and 3. those miscellaneous pub-
lications in which the subject is partially and incidentally discussed.
Under this three-fold division, we shall enumerate, and notice, the
various books, as nearly as recollection, unaided by the light of an
extensive ornithological library, will enable us to arrange them, in
the order of their publication.

First, then, in the year, 1678, the celebrated Ornithology of
Francis Willughby, appeared in a folio volume, under the auspices
of his friend and associate, the profound and illustrious Ray: who
translated it from the original Latin edition ; corrected its errors ;
supplied several deficiencies ; added three entire chapters ; and pre-
fixed to the whole, an account of the deceased naturalist. The de-
scriptions of the various birds, which this work contains, are, in
general, exceedingly accurate and minute; the plates,—seventy-

80 A RETROSPECT OF THE LITERATURE

eight in number,—surprizingly spirited and correct, for the period
at which they were executed. The labours of many of their suc-
cessors upon the same path, verily dwindle into insignificance in the
splendour of these two morning-Jights of British Ornithology.—
Willughby was of Middleton, in the county of Warwick ; and died,
at the age of thirty-six, in June, 1672. Never do we pass by the
old grey gate, and the moss-grown paling, which skirt the ancient
domain of the Lords of Middleton, without paying homage, in the
innermost recesses of the spirit, to the elevated character and talents
of Francis Willughby and his illustrious friend. Stratford, boasting
of her Shakespeare, may awaken the enthusiasm of the child of
imagination, and attract to the shrine, sanctified by the relics of her
immortal bard, the vagrant foot of the pilgrim of the muses. But
the philosopher, and the man of science, will contemplate with feel-
ings of veneration, far more deep, and lofty, and imperishable, the
old mansion-house at Middleton, as the residence of Willughby, and
the asylum of the enlightened, the high-minded, and uncompromis-
ing Joun Ray, in the season of his adversity. His admirable Sy-
nopsis of Birds and Fishes (Synopsis Methodica Avium et Piscium),
an octavo volume, was published, in London, in 1713. Upon any
production of this great and good man,—the Linneus of his country
—we should deem it little less than profanation to obtrude a com-
ment.

The first two volumes of Eleazar Albin’s History of Birds, came
out in 1738 ; and a third, in the form of a Supplement, two years
subsequently. They contain, altogether, three hundred and five
engravings of birds, for the most part British, and one of the bat,
far more “curiously engraven” than “ exactly coloured,” by the
Author. The descriptions of the different subjects have been largely
borrowed from Willughby. The first and second volumes are en-
riched with “ Notes and Observations,” by the celebrated Dr. Der-
ham, author of two popular publications, respectively entitled Phy-
sico- and Astro-Theology ; and superintendant of a posthumous
edition of the works of Ray. In the absence of Willughby’s, the
student will find Albins’, even now, an useful book of reference. A
plain copy, when it can be procured, is greatly preferable to the co-
loured. Edwards’ Natural History of Birds, and other rare and

OF BRITISH ORNITHOLOGY. 81

undescribed Animals, four volumes quarto, bearing the date of 1743,
with the three supplementary volumes, entitled Gleanings,—of
1751, is much superior to that of Albin, both in the literary and
iconographical departments. It contains, however, but few British
birds.

The celebrated Ornithologie of Brisson, comprized in six quarto
volumes, made its appearance, in 1760. It is illustrated with nu-
merous and tolerably correct engravings ; furnished with luminous
descriptions in French and Latin ; and constitutes a valuable collec-
tion of ornithological facts, frequently referred to by modern wri~
ters. An Abstract of it, entitled Ornithologia sive Synopsis Metho-
dica, written in Latin, and destitute of figures, was published, in
two octavo volumes, at Leyden, in 1763. The descriptions, which
it contains, of the various Orders genera, species, and varieties of
Birds, are singularly expressive, luminous, and concise. They are,
both, admirable works: for the ornithological student.

The literary world was, in 1775, favoured, by Mr. Hayes, with
a Natural History of British Birds, in folio, containing forty plates ;_
which, although “accurately drawn and beautifully coloured,”—so
sayeth the unassuming author,—are worth little more than the
price of waste paper. Latham’s General Synopsis of Birds,* bear-
ing the date of 1781, and published in four quarto volumes, consti-
tutes a very important contribution to’ ornithological science ; and
is now rarely to be met with. Two volumes of Supplement appear-
ed, at different periods, several years subsequently. Of Walcot’s
Synopsis of British Birds, which came out in 1789, we have never
yet been able to procure a copy. The valuable Index Ornithologi-
cus, of Latham,—a quarto volume,—was produced in 1799.

The year }797, was-rendered memorable in: the annals of wood-
engraving, if not of. British Ornithology, by the appearance of Be-
wick’s justly celebrated and popular work, entitled The History of

* Professor Rennie, among the works of Literary Naturalists ( Ornith. Dic-
tionary, p. lvii), records the title of another production by Latham,—A Ge.
neral History of Birds, 10 vols. 4to. ' Winchester, 1828. Never having heard
of the existence of such a work, and well aware that even the most renowned
and vigilant authors are occasionally not over-scrupulous in the correctness
of their quotations, we suspect that an error has been committed in tran-
scribing the title, and date, of this publication.

October, 1835.—vo.. 111. NO. XIII. G.

82 A RETROSPECT OF THE LITERATURE

British Birds. This production is too well known to require com-
ment or eulogium here. The sixth and latest edition,—two octavo
volumes,—came out in 1826,—a short time previously to the decease
of its highly-gifted and lamented author.* The appearance of the
original edition was followed by the publication of the first volume
of Donovan’s Natural History of British Birds, in 1799 ; and by
that of the first volume of Lewin’s Birds of Great Britain, in 1800.+
The former was completed by the appearance of a tenth volume, in
1819 ; and contains two hundred and forty plates of birds tolerably
drawn, and sometimes prettily,—although, on the whole, tawdrily
coloured. Lewin’s work, the eighth and last volume of which ap-
peared in 1801, exhibits two hundred and seventy-eight figures of
birds, and fifty-eight plates of their eggs, generally, with respect
alike to their outline and their colouring, of miserable execution. Of
the accompanying descriptions in English and French, the principal
merit consists in their brevity: for nonsense is generally diffuse —
The utility of either of these costly productions, whether- contem-
plated as works of science or of art, we acknowledge ourselves ut-
terly destitute of the ability to comprehend.

The year 1802 gave birth to Montagu’s justly celebrated Ornitho-
logical Dictionary, in two octavo volumes. It is evidently the fruit
_ of long, patient, and correct observation; and pregnant with in-
struction. Copies of it have now become exceedingly scarce. A

* A greater or more acceptable service could not, we conceive, be rendered
to Ornithological Science in this country, than the issue of a corrected re-print
of Bewick’s delightful volumes. The publication of such a work in monthly
numbers would, while securing an abundant sale and ample remuneration,
render it accessible to all those for whose perusal and profit it would be
mainly intended ; and to-whom the more costly productions of Selby, Gould,
and Meyer, must for ever remain sealed volumes. The admirable work of
Mr. Yarrell, on British Fishes, now in the course of publication, may be

ointed out, as a worthy example of the form and style in which such an un-

ertaking should be executed. Upon the “ daft friend,” and enthusiastic eu-
logist of Bewick, this hint may not, peradventure, be thrown away. No
man is better qualified, by talent and knowledge of the subject, than Mr.
Dovaston, to confer this signal benefit on the good cause of popular instruc-
tion and amusement; and, at the same time, erect, with pious hand, an im-
perishable monument—eere vel saxo perennius,—to the memory of departed
. worth and genius.

+ Some writers would make it appear that the early volumes of this work
were published in 1789. Our copy bears the date above specified ; without
the slightest intimation that it has attained the certainly unmerited honours
of a second edition. |

: OF BRITISH ORNITHOLOGY. 83

Supplement, containing twenty-four accurate but coarse engravings,
and fully sustaining the high reputation of its predecessor, followed
in 1813. Of the recent Edition of this valuable work, by Professor
Rennie, we shall, ere long, have occasion to speak.

Some time towards the close of the eighteenth century, a work,
in three duodecimo volumes, entitled The Natural History of Birds,
was published in London. It bears, on the title-page, neither the
name of the author, nor even, by an unpardonable act of negligence,
the date of publication. By the voice of common rumour, it is very
confidently stated to be the production of a highly respectable gen-
tleman of Birmingham. Whoever he be, the author has no cause
to blush for the character of his intellectual progeny. It is really a
very creditable performance ; and contains, as promised in the title-
page, “a variety of facts.” Of the “one hundred copperplates”
with which it is “illustrated,” we are unable to pronounce an
equally favourable opinion. Neither the credit of the artist nor the
work would, we apprehend, have sustained much injury from their
total omission; and the purse of the author or the publisher, or
both, would have been marvellously benefited by it. The two du-
odecimo volumes of a very instructive and pleasingly-written Natu-
ral History of Birds, intended chiefly for young persons, by the
highly-gifted, poetecal, and consequently unfortunate, Mrs. Charlotte
Smith, were published, in London, in 1807.

Of the amusing and not less important British Song- Birds; of
Bolton, and British Warblers, of Mr. Sweet, we are unable pre-
cisely to specify the dates. Our copy of the former unfortunately
lacketh its title-page: and the latter we do not possess. Atkinson’s
useful Compendium of Ornithology, 8vo., London, was published in
1820; Jennings’ Ornithologia, a Poem, in two parts, octavo, with
copious notes, in 1828. The prose observations of the latter are, in
our sober judgment, far more edifying than his wildest poetical
flights,—his plain and simple notes, more pleasing to our fastidious
ear, than his artificial song. Science and Poetry, like certain wor-
thy personages of our acquaintance, mightily amiable, edifying, and
harmonious, when apart, make, by their ill-sorted union, but a very
sorry and discordant couple. The undepraved intellectual appetite
instinctively recoils from the incongruous but too fashionable admix-
ture of the solid aliments of fact with the sweets of fiction.

G 2

84 A RETROSPECT OF THE LITERATURE

From this austere and sweeping sentence of condemnation, we
are yet half inclined to exempt an interesting little Poem, entitled
The Birds of Scotland, by Graham, author of The Sabbath ; and
published at Edinburgh, in 1806. It possesses the rare merit of
conveying much accurate information on the habits and nidification
of the north-British birds, in a strain of very sweet and even fasci-
nating song. Compared with the pert, noisy, and passerine twit-
terings of Mr. Jennings’ vulgar muse, the chaste and melodious out-
pourings of the spirit of the Scottish bard fall on the enraptured ear,
like the morning-hymn of the musical thrush, or the “ sweet lamen-
tations of the solitary nightingale to the evening-star.”

In our anxiety to despatch the minor brood of ornithological
scribes—the Warblers of their class,x—we have somewhat deviated
from the line of history, and considerably outstripped our sober
guide. We must now retrace our steps to contemplate the remnant
of the Eagles. In the year 1820, appeared, in two octavo volumes,
the truly scientific and valuable Manual of European Ornithology
(Manuel d’ Ornithologie, ou Tableau Systématique des Oiseaux qui
Se trouvent en Europe), of Temminck. This work, the production
of a Dutchman, is written in the French language. Its enlightened
author seems to have zealously, and almust exclusively, devoted his
life and fortune to the study of his subject ; and to have visited all
the more celebrated museums, and every accessible region, of Eu-
rope, in search of the requisite information. The arrangement
which he has adopted, is, with very rare exceptions, that of his great
predecessor, Linnzus: and his few and slight deviations are inva-
riably dictated by sound judgment, and sanctioned by deliberate re-
flection. His mind is, fortunately, untainted with the fashionable
rage—that worse than Cholera-plague of modern science,—for in-
venting new systems, and forging new names, more unintelligible
and discordant than, erst, the tongues which broke upon the ear of
ancient Babel. These volumes, the first edition of which was pub-
lished in 1815, comprehend almost every known species of European
bird ; and constitute an admirable text-book for the student. A
new edition, with many important additions, is, we understand, on
the eve of publication.

Werner, a German artist, resident at Paris, commenced, some five

OF BRITISH ORNITHOLOGY. 85

years ago, an octavo Allas of the Birds of Europe ( Atlas des Oiseaux
ad’ Europe), illustrative of Temminck’s work. One Number ( Li-
wraison) containing ten figures of birds, each the subject of a sepa-
rate plate, drawn upon stone, and plain, or carefully coloured, should,
in accordance with the original plan, have appeared, regularly, at
stated intervals. Up tothe present time—December, 1834,—thirty
only of these numbers have, we believe, reached London. Since the
‘three glorious days” of July, 1830, the Sciences, in Paris, seem to
have been doomed to a somewhat inglorious slumber. Haply, they
may have not yet quite recovered from the stunning shock of the
thunder-storm of the Barricades ; which unluckily scared from their
propriety, not only the crawling but the winged animals,—the Rep-
tilia and the Aves,—the birds as well as the Bourbons,—of the Gal

lic capital. Had the later numbers of Werner’s Jllustrations of
Temminck at all equalled the first three in correctness of outline,
and chasteness and fidelity of colouring, his At/as would have proved
an invaluable acquisition to the science of Ornithology. Unfortu-
nately, this is not the case. :

We now come to the great, the Herculean work of Prideaux John
Selby,—Herculean, not only from its size, but from the time and
labour which must have been expended upon its execution. Seven
Parts, each consisting, on the average, of about nine plates, in ele-
phant folio, constitute the first Division and Volume of the [Uustra-
tions of British Ornithology ; and comprize the whole of the Land-
Birds. The first Part was published in 1825. The Second Divi-
- sion, including the Water-Birds, is still, if we err not, in the course
of publication ; but must now be rapidly drawing toa close. The
first Division of the Plates was accompanied by an octavo volume
of descriptive matter, also entitled [d/ustrations of British Ornitho-
logy, Part I.; clearly, concisely, and sensibly written ; and contain-
ing much information, alike correct and valuable. The arrange-
ment and genera adopted, are, with few and slight deviations, those
of Temminck. Some two years ago, Mr. Selby formally announced,
through the medium of the press, that a new Edition of the First
would be shortly published with the Second Part of his lesser or
descriptive work. The fulfilment of this important, but hitherto
unredeemed, pledge, we have long been anxiously expecting. _To the

86 A RETROSPECT OF THE LITERATURE

Student, it will prove,—if we may venture to predict of the future,
from a retrospect of the past,—a work of great practical utility and
value. At the same time, it grieves us to state that, in the perhaps
exaggerated expectations which we had formed of Mr. Selby’s great-
er work, we have been most woefully disappointed. The figures of
some of the birds, therein delineated, are, indeed, executed with ad-
mirable fidelity, boldness, and spirit; but, in general, they do not
come out well from the ground: they are deficient in prominence
and rotundity ; and look as if they had been drawn from flattened
specimens. This objection, if we recoliect right,—for the cumbrous
work is not now before us,—applies, with peculiar force, to the fi-
gure of the Great Bustard (vol. i, plate 64). The outline of many
of the subjects is, moreover, incorrect ; and the character not hap-
pily caught, and embodied, by the Artist. Thus, were it not for the
fortunate accompaniment of the name, we should not have recog-
nized, in Mr. Selby’s sketch, the figure of our old friend, the Rook,
—the bare-faced crow, Corvus nudirostris, of the quaint, humourous,
and sarcastic Senex.* The smaller birds are, also, without excep-
tion, in the rather awkward, though amusing, predicament of the
Irishman’s Prize-Bull,—“ a great deal larger than the life.”

Most of our readers are, probably, aware that Professor Rennie,
so celebrated for his ambi-dexterity and dispatch in the manufacture
of books, has, in addition to his other almost innumerable works,
published a new Edition of Col. Montagu’s valuable Dictionary,
under the somewhat extraordinary title of an Ornithological Dic-
tionary of British Birds. Now what any Ornithological Dictionary |
could properly have treated of save Birds, we possess not the sub-
tlety of brain, fitting it to comprehend. This strange blunder
would have been, however, like a mole on the face of an otherwise ~
beautiful woman, but of little consequence, had the book proved
what, in these times, a Dictionary of British Birds, with the mate-
rials, the talents, and the industry, possessed by the highly-gifted
Editor, ought surely to have been. Still, the numerous sins of
omission and commission, displayed in this most faulty compilation,
have already been visited so severely by the lash of criticism, that

* See Analyst, vol. i, p. 259.

OF BRITISH ORNITHOLOGY. 87

we will forbear to aggravate the work of torture by renewed fla-
gellation ; and sustain our well-known character for mercy tu the
literary delinquent, by rather pouring oil and wine upon the Profes-
sor’s wounds ; in grateful remembrance of the important services
which he has already rendered—and in pleasing anticipation of
those which he may yet render—to the cause of natural science in
this country. ‘

Mr. Gould, to whose splendid labours we shall anon revert, closes
with Mr. Slaney, Mr. Mudie, and the aforesaid Professor Rennie,
the enumeration of ornithological writers belonging to the First
Division of our retrospect.

The Outline of the Smaller British Birds, a duodecimo volume,
by R. A. Slaney, Esq., M. P., is a very pleasing and meritorious
production ; reflecting honour alike on the character and talents of
the British Senator. It abounds with entertaining, although not

original, matter. We beg leave to recommend it especially to the
notice of ‘“‘ Ladies and young persons,” for whose use it is princi-
pally intended. Would to Heaven that all our Parliament-men
were, in the intervals of relaxation from their senatorial duties, as
honourably, usefully, and innocently occupied, as the amiable and
intellectual Mr. Slaney !

The little work, entitled Domestic Habits of Birds, by Professor
Rennie, and forming one of the volumes of the Library of Enter-
taining Knowledge, will be read, by the ornithological student, with
much interest and advantage. It contains a full and tolerably cor-
rect description of the process of incubation, and the deyelopment
of the chick, in the egg of birds, with illustrative sketches on wood,
copied principally from the labours of the celebrated Malpighi.

Of the two duodecimo volumes of Mr. Mudie, The Feathered
Tribes of the British Isles, published during the present year, our
opinion is not quite so favourable.as that which the public has been
pleased, in its wisdom, to pronounce upon the work. The title is
indeed taking; and the title-page adorned with a shewy vignette ;
and the plates are prettily coloured ; and the volumes, altogether,
neatly got up; and will, doubtless, form a very pretty present to
those who regard the exterior decorations, and typographical execu-
tion, rather than the internal constitution and intrinsic value, of a

88 A RETRUSPECT OF THE LITERATURE

book. ‘Trash should, verily, be gilded, or it will not catch the eye,
and excite the appetite, of ‘ babes and boobies ;” but the sound and
substantial aliment, fitted to satiate the intellectual wants of the
public in these intellectual times, requires no such flimsy and mere-
tricious ornament. ‘The adoption of these “tricks of the trade” is
the more to be regretted in an author who, like Mr. Mudie, has
really no need for such despicable auxiliaries ; and who, if he stu-
died the art of literary condensation with half the zeal and dili-
gence displayed by him, in the production of books, would shortly
assume that elevated station, in the popular opinion, as an interest-
ing and instructive writer, which his industry and acquirements must
ultimately command. He is evidently an accurate and experienced
observer of the facts and phenomena of Natural History ; in the de-
scription of which he occasionally exhibits so much facility, felicity,
and talent.

II. We have now reached the termination of the First Stage of our
retrospect; and, in entering upon the Second, which comprehends
those works wherein Ornithology forms part only of a systematic
description of the Animal Kingdom, have, first, to notice the useful
Outlines of the Natural History of Great Britain and Ireland, pub-
lished by Dr. Berkenhout, in three octavo volumes, in the year
1769. <A Third and, we believe, last Edition, in two volumes, under
the title of Synopsis, bears the date of 1795. It comprehends a
good description of two hundred and forty-six species of British
birds, arranged according to the Linnean system. Seven years sub-
sequently to the appearance of Berkenhout’s First Edition—1776—
the zoological labours of Pennant, in a quarto and an octavo edition,
of four volumes each, were given to the world. The British Zoology
constitutes a shewy and amusing rather than profound work. The
last, a posthumous edition, in four octavo volumes, illustrated with
many spirited but not very accurate engravings of British animals,
appeared in 1812. It-exhibits numerous errors and deficiencies in
the arrangement and delineation of the various species. Pulteney
published, in 1799, his valuable Catalogue of the Birds of Dorset-
shire. It originally formed part of Hutchinson’s new edition of the
History of that county ; but is now, we believe, with those of the
shells and other natural productions of Dorset, sold separately from

OF BRITISH ORNITHOLOGY. 89

it. This was followed by the appearance, in the next year, of the
first volume of Shaw’s costly but inaccurate compilation, y’clept
General Zoology or Systematic Natural History. Numerous vo-
lumes have subsequently appeared. Whether the work have yet
attained a sickly maturity, or died of sheer exhaustion in its
vaccilating progress, we have never felt sufficient interest in its
fate to take the trouble of inquiring. The Ornithological Depart-
ment, apparently the best of the werk, has, we believe, been exe-
cuted by Mr. Stephens, of entomological celebrity. Mr. Stewart’s
very useful Llements, consisting of two octavo volumes, came out at
Edinburgh about the same period. It has long been out of print:
and in 1806, Dr. Turton gave to the literary world, two important
publications: the one, a Systematic Description of British Animals,
under the objectionable title of The British Fauna; the other, a
General System of Nature, in seven octavo volumes, translated prin-
cipally from Gmelin’s edition of Linneus, with numerous additions
and corrections, and a “life of Linné.” Both of these works of
Dr. Turton may be consulted, by the student, with great advantage.
The twelfth and last Edition of the Systema Nature of the “im-
mortal Swede” was, we may observe in passing, published, in three
octavo volumes, in 1766: the closet-compilation of Gmelin, ten
octavo volumes, in 1790. The latter teems with errors.

The year 1816 was distinguished in the annals of Zoology, by the
appearance of Cuvier’s Animal Kingdom—Reégne Animal,—a work,
consisting of four octavo volumes ; for the value of which the name
alone of the illustrious author constitutes a sufficient pledge. A
second Edition of it, in five volumes,—the last two comprehending
the Crustacea, Arachnides, and Insecta, by the celebrated Latreille,
_—was published in 1829; and a Series of exquisite engravings,
illustrative of it, under the title of Iconographie du Régne Animal,
is now in progress of publication by M. Guerin, of Paris. Each
number (livraison)—fifty of which will complete the work—con-
tains ten plates, plain or coloured. We greatly prefer the former.
Thirty-seven of these numbers have already appeared. Of the Eng-
lish translation of the First Edition of Cuvier’s work, by “ Edward
Griffith and others,” or of the choice and execution of the figures
accompanying, rather than illustrating, it, we lament our inability

¥

OD A RETROSPECT OF THE LITERATURE

to'speak in terms of commendation, or even of forbearance. It is a
wretched mess; of which the manifold blunders and deficiencies are’
only rendered more conspicuous by the imposing air of graphic
splendour with which an attempt has been made to invest the un-
seemly production. A very cheap and excellent translation of the
Second Edition is now, however, coming out in shilling numbers.
The colouring of the plates, which ought not to have been attempt-
ed at such a price, is the only flaw which we have hitherto been
able to detect in the character and execution of this meritorious and,
we would fain hope, popular undertaking.

The Manual of the Elements of Natural History, ably translated
from the tenth German Edition of the celebrated Blumenbach, by
Mr. Gore, of Bath, appeared in 1825: and Stark’s instructive Ele-
ments of Natural History—two octavo volumes,—about the same
period. Dr. Fleming, with his History of British Animals, admi-
Yably described in their several species; but wofully misnamed,
and dislocated, according to the modern vagaries of scientific nomen-
clature and arrangement, brings up the rear of this the second
division of our subject. The first volume of Dr. Fleming’s work
appeared in 1828: the second, we believe, has not yet been pub-
lished.

III.—In the Last Division of our retrospect, comprehending Mis.
cellaneous Publications, wherein the subject of Ornithology is only
partially and incidentally discussed, the delightful Natural History
of Selborne, by the Rev. Gilbert White, stands first in order of
time, asin excellence. The work was originally published in quarto,
in 1789; and contained, in addition to the matter more immediately
interesting to the Naturalist, an account of the antiquities of Sel-
borne. A cheap and beautiful duodecimo edition, with additions by
Sir William Jardine, came out at Edinburgh, in 1830: and another, ©
equally beautiful and still cheaper, by Captain Brown, has subse-
quently appeared. Low’s Fauna Orcadensis, quarto, published,
also, at Edinburgh, in 1813, will be found an interesting and valu-
able production. The popular volume, entitled, The Journal of a
Naturalist, by Mr. Knappe, first made its appearance in 1827 ; and
was most favourably received. A Third Edition was brought out in
1830. Were it only for the opportunity which it will afford, of

q
_
“

OF BRITISH ORNITHOLOGY. 9]

expunging the marvellous story of the fifteen frost-bound kites and
the roosting fog (for, according to the literal construction of the
lucid sentence wherein the “ extraordinary capture” is recorded, the
fog,—and not the unlucky birds,—is described as roosting*), we
devoutly wish that the Journal may reach a fourth edition. Mr.
Knappe must verily have been dreaming when he committed to
paper the “‘ confused reminiscence” of this wonderful event. Greater
men than the author of the Journal have, however, sometimes
been caught napping: aliquando dormitat Homerus,—Homer some-
times neds. Mr. Mudie, with his two hastily-compiled duodecimo
volumes of The British Naturalist,—the second sadly inferior to its
predecessor, in style ard matter; and Mr. Jesse, with his modest and
unpretending, but really instructive Series of Gleanings of Natura!
History,—the second published during the present year,—are the
last authors whose writings we shall, in this paragraph, be called
upon to notice.

At the close of a retrospect so long and, peradventure, uninter-
esting, we must content ourselves with a mere enumeration of the
principal Periodical Publications, from which valuable information
may be gleaned on the subject of British Urnithology.. These are
the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London ;
Transactions of the Linnean Society ; Memoirs of the Wernerian
Natural History Society ; Sowerby’s Gritish Miscellany—an inte-
resting work which, commenced in 1804, did not, unfortunately,
outlive the twelfth number; the Zoological Journal ; Loudon’s
ably-conducted Magazine of Natural History ; Rennie’s Field Na-
turalist's Magazine ; the Zoological Magazine; and the Analyst,
our own very spirited and promising emanation of the provincial
press! Rennie’s work, the early numbers of which, consisting prin-
cipally of translations, or mutilated extracts, from foreign or British

* “ Roosting, one winter evening, on some very lofty elms, a fog came on
during the night, which froze early in the morning and fastened the feet of
the poor kites so firmly to the boughs, that some adventurous youths brought
down, I think, fifteen of them so secured !”—Journal of a Naturalist: Third
Edition, p. 226. The pee yore of the kites on this distressing occasion,
appears to us to have been little less extraordinary than the fact of their
capture: for, as far as our observation extends, the British Milvus is a bird of
solitary habits. Only on some very rare occasions, during the last thirty-six
years, have we seen two kites, —and never more than two—in company.

92 A RETROSPECT OF THE LITERATURE

writers, accord but sorrily with the title, perished in its infancy.—
On the Structure and Physiology of the Bird-Class, an admirable
Article, under the head of Birds, is given, by Dr. Macartney, in
Rees’ Encyclopedia. |

Upon the Nidification of British Birds, one systematic wit only |
has yet appeared, which can be confidently relied on for correctness
in the outline and colouring of the egg, and fidelity in the descrip-
tion of the nest. It is the last in our catalogue, and will be noticed
in due order. Bolton, to whose volume we have before cursorily
adverted, exhibits forty rude and coarsely-coloured engravings of
the nests and eggs of British Song-birds. The figures given in
Lewin’s Ovarion, or egg-repository, which we have long since noticed
in a tone of merited reprehension, serve only to illustrate the truth
of the ancient adage, ‘‘ Like parent, like progeny.” Graves’ work
upon Eggs, referred to by Mr. Slaney, we have not seen. Donovan’s
ovarian attempt is a perfect abortion. He laid only thrice: the
specimens were few; and all addie. Rennie has produced an inte-
resting work on this subject, entitled T’he Architecture of Birds: it
combines much amusement and information with a large admixture
of errors ; but is not restricted to the nidification of British Birds:
much correct description, and many valuable facts, relating to it,
will be found in the poetical works of Graham and of Jennings,
already noticed. Last, but not least, is the periodical publication,
on British Oology, lately commenced by Mr. Hewitson, of New
castle-upon-Tyne. Seventeen or eighteen numbers of it only have
yet appeared. It is a really scientific and valuable production.—
We have nothing to find fault with in this correct and elegant de-
lineation of our British eggs, but the vexatious slowness of its pro-
gress, and the almost inaccessible altitude of its price.

Of Mr. Gould’s magnificent work, The Birds of Europe, the First
Part was published in June, 1832. Nine others have*subsequently
appeared: and the latter, we rejoice to observe, fully keep pace
with, if they do not outstrip, their predecessors, in labour and beauty
of execution. The productions of no British, nor of any European

artist, with whose performances we are acquainted, can, for one

moment, sustain a comparison with it. For correctness of outline,
and splendour and fidelity of colouring, the birds of Mr. Gould are,

ad

OF BRITISH ORNITHOLOGY. 93

in fact, unrivalled. From the absence of all superfluous ornament,
and the ease and elegance generally displayed in the attitude and
grouping of the various subjects, we prefer them to even Audubon’s
great and justly-celebrated work. Each Part contains twenty
plates, comprizing, on the average, about twenty-two species of Eu-
ropean birds, with a page of concise but masterly description ; from
which much interesting and some original information may invaria-
bly be gleaned. One Part is published regularly every three months.
On this plan, the whole, Mr. Gould calculates, will be completed in
three—we take the liberty of substituting the numeral four, or even
jive—ycars from its commencement.* The work, considering the

~ time, care, and labour, bestowed upon its execution, and the style in

which it is got up, is exceedingly cheap: and ultimately its value
will be greatly enhanced by tlie destruction of the lithograph, as
promised in the Prospectus, when three hundred impressions shall
have been taken from the stone. This important pledge, Mr. Gould
will, we doubt not, most honourably redeem ; as he has already done
in his exquisite work on the Birds of India.

Postscript —Since the preceding review was written, two
works upon British Birds which had previously escaped our recol-
lection or research, have fallen under observation ; and four others

_have made their first appearance upon the stage of letters. A no-
tice of these, however brief and imperfect, and late with respect to
the former, will best atone for our negligence of them ; and suffice,
as regards the whole, to bring up our review of the literature of
British Ornithology to the present period. All these publications
are, with one exception, devoted to the Ornithology of the British
islands: and, as treating exclusively of Birds, naturally belong to
the First Section of our Retrospect.

Mr. Selby, it appears, published, as far back as 1833, the second
edition of his first volume of British Ornithology ; and, at the same
time, completed the work by the addition of a second volume. Of

* There are, we calculate, at /east four hundred distinct species of Euro-
pean Birds ; the whole of which must be necessarily delineated by Mr. Gould.
Of these, nearly three hundred are indigenous in, or periodical or occasional
visitants of, the British Islands.

94 A RETROSPECT OF THE LITERATURE

this fact we were not aware, when writing the cursory notice of the
first edition. The two volumes, now lying before us, we opened
with ‘avidity: and the expectations, awakened in us by the previous -
labours, the great reputation, enlarged experience, and well-known
attainments, of the Northumberland Ornithologist, have not been
disappointed.

In these volumes, Mr. Selby has thought proper to abandon the
classification of the wary and tardigrade Dutchman, Temminck, and
substitute for it, the more shewy, scientific, and yet defective ar-
rangement of Mr. Vigors. Hence, the solitary Falco genus, in the
former edition, composed according to 'Temminck’s views, of six
Sections or Sub-genera,—the Eagles, Kites, Buzzards, Harriers,
Hawks, and Falcons,—is now distributed into eleven distinct ge-
nera, under the head of the Natural Family of Falconida. Even
the three British Kagles, themselves, are referred to three different
genera, Aquila, Haliwetos, and Pandion. And the poor Owls, for-
merly distributed into two Sections, according as they exhibit, or
are deficient in, certain auricular appendages, vulgarly ’yclept horns
er ears, now figure in seven genera, arranged, with the Great
Horned Owl —#ubo maximus,—at their head, under the imposing
family-title of the Strigide.

Amidst all his reforms of the nomenclature of Ornithology, we
observe, with wonderment and surprize, that Mr. Selby retains the
absurd, fantastical, and libellous designation of Caprimulgus, or
Goat-sucker, for the European Night-jar,—Vociferator melolontha,
of uur anonymous correspondent.* He, also, with the addition of
several recently-discovered birds to the “ British Fauna,” neglects
the new species lately introduced by Mr. Gould ; and, while ad-
mitting the Egyptian Neophron, on the ground of a solitary cap-
ture, the Austrian Pratincole, and the Cream-coloured Swift-foot,
as British, still obstinately rejects that prince of British game-birds,
the Tetrao urogallus, certainly not yet quite extinct in these islands.
Of what crime, too, have the Guernsey Partridge, Perdix rufa, and

* See the very able and interesting contribution, by S. D. W., on Orni-
thological Nomenclature, in our present. number. Professor Rennie’s newly-
coined scientific term for the Night-jar,— Nyctichelidon or Night-Swallow,—is
altogether objectionable : for we can discern no striking mark of affinity of that
bird with the Swallow-genus, save the enormous width of its gape.

: OF BRITISH ORNITHOLOGY. 95
the hairy Woodpecker, Picus villosus, been guilty, that, without
judge or jury, they should be deprived of their birth-right as British
subjects: especially, when the sable congener of the latter, Picus
martius, a much more uncommon bird than either of the preced-
ing, has, at length, however tardily, been admitted within the pale
of the British aviary ?

But the point upon which we are principally disposed to quarrel
with Mr. Selby is, his utter and most inexplicable omission of the
name, and of all allusion to the work, of his distinguished contem-
porary and rival, Mr. Gould. The first part of Mr. Gould’s Lards
of Europe, appeared in June, 1832: Mr. Selby’s second edition bears
the date of 1833: and yet the same silence is observed by the latter
respecting the splendid production of the former, as though it did
not exist. This is really ‘‘ too bad.”

Such circumstance is alike disgraceful to Mr. Selby, and deroga-
tory to the pride and the splendour of human intellect and attain-
ment. Little men may be as narrow-minded and as selfish as they
please. We anticipate nothing better from them. The reptile and
the slug obey, in the indulgence of their crawling propensities,
merely the irresistible instincts of their low and degraded nature ;
and thus aptly fill the situation in which, by their structure and ca-
pacities, they were originally destined to appear. But intellectual
Man, the Eagle of his kind, in pursuit of an imperishable rep ta-
tion, should soar far above all paltry views of mere emolument, and
indignantly scatter from his wing the debasing sordes of vulgar sins
and prejudices. It grieveth us to behold the splendid animal stoop-
ing from the lofty path of his aspirations and his destinies, to soil
his glowing plumage with the mud of earth,—to pursue ignoble
game, or glut his craving upon carrion. After all, great and high-
ly-gifted spirits, like the opulent in’ worldly gear, can best afford. to
be liberal to those around them: and our own not very limited ex-
perience of mankind invariably prompts us to look for some striking
defect of cerebral development,—some paucity or poverty of intellect,
in those who stubbornly refuse, or are slow, to render these dignified
and ennobling acts of grace and justice to the fair claims of contem-
porary genius and enterprize.

A Systematic Catalogue of Eritish Eirds, arranged according to

96 A RETROSPECT OF THE LITERATURE

the plan of Temminck, is the other publication which we neglected
to notice in the body of our Review. It is the production of Dr.
Shirley Palmer ; intended as a guide to the beautiful, and now
nearly perfect, Collection of British Birds, in Weaver’s Birmingham
Museum ; and is a very useful work in its humble and unpretend-
ing way. In the new edition, now, we understand, in a state of
preparation for the press, a more modern and scientific arrangement

of the Birds will probably be adopted.

It now only remains for us to cursorily notice the four newly-
published works to which we have before adverted. The first of
these is the Natural History of Birds, by the well-known zoologi-
cal writer, Robert: Mudie: a very elaborately composed and instruc-
tive duodecimo volume ; illustrated with numerous accurate and
well-executed engravings on wood. It indicates a most profound
and extensive knowledge of the organization of the Bird-Class ;
and will amply repay the ornithological student for the time and
trouble expended upon an attentive perusal. Even in the present
age of cheap publications, Mr. Mudie’s Natural History of Birds
is, by far, the cheapest production of the British press which we have
hitherto seen.

In the spring of the present year, the first number of Illustrations
of British Birds, by H. Li. Meyer, made its appearance ; and the
publication of the work has since been regularly continued every
month. Six of the numbers have already reached us. With
the exception of Mr. Gould’s work, this is the most promising at-
tempt to illustrate the Ornithology of the British Islands which has
yet fallen under our notice. The figures of the subjects are almost
invariably drawn with great fidelity and spirit. Of the colouring
we cannot speak in the same terms of commendation. The plum-
age of the Nuthatch, Sita Europwa, and of the Land-rail, Ortygo-
metra crex, in Part 11, is much too pale: and the hapless Bullfinch,
Pyrrhula vulgaris, exhibits lamentable proof of the deficiency of the
artist in the organ of colour. Four plates of Birds, and one of
their eggs, are contained in each number. The execution of the
latter, although tolerably neat and accurate, will sustain no com-
parison with the masterly productions of Mr. Hewitson’s pencil.—
The six numbers, now before us, comprehend thirty-five figures of

OF BRITISH ORNITHOLOGY. 97

birds, and twenty-seven of their eggs; but as six of the former
represent merely varieties of sex and age, twenty-nine distinct spe-
cimens only have hitherto been given. At this rate of progression,
it will require nearly sixty numbers for the delineation of the whole
of the British birds. A few lines of description, at the foot of each
engraving excepted, no letter-press accompanies these numbers ;
which, if the author would put into full requisition his organs of
colour and comparison, and bestow adequate time and labour on the
pictorial department of his subject, will, when completed, form an
interesting and valuable addition to the ornithological literature or,
rather, iconography of the British islands.

Of a Selection of British Birds, from Drawings by C. L. E. Per-
rott, the First Part only has yet reached us. It contains five coloured
engravings of birds,—that of the domestic Cock, Phasianus Gallus,
uncommonly bold, animated, and faithful, and by far the best. It
is, yet, somewhat unfortunate, that Mrs. Perrott should have com-
menced her Illustration of British Ornithology with the exhibition
of a bird of notoriously Asiatic origin, and consequently, however
long naturalized, only a domesticated alien on British ground.

This, however, is an oversight of little moment. The spirit in
which the enterprize has been’ conceived, and thus far executed,
would suffice to atorie for a multitude of errors and defects far more
glaring than this, or any other which we have been yet able to
détect in the elegant productions of Mrs. Perrott’s pencil and pen:
It is delightful to behold a woman, of her rank in life, her intellect
and acquirements, filling up her leisure hours with occupations
such as this; and, instead of deluging and infecting society with
sentimental and pestiferous trash, in the shape of novel or romance,
rendering one of the sweetest of the arts subservient to the diffu-
sion of the healthful and soul-elevating knowledge of some of
the most splendid and interesting works of God’s creation: We,
_ “Scribes of the ANAnyst,” are too deeply smitten with a reve.
rence for the purer and loftier graces of the female’ character ;
animated by too enthusiastic an admiration of its gifts, its vir-
tues, and its excellencies,—by a spirit too manly and chivalrous,
in everything which regards the interests and the feelings of en-
lightened woman, to visit with the asperities of criticism, a work

October, 1835,.—vol.. 111. NO. XIII. mo

98 A RETROSPECT OF THE LITERATURE

like this. On the contrary, we shall, on all occasions, throw the
protecting shield of our power and influence around even the low-
lier productions of female enterprize and talent ; and wreak sum-
mary vengeance upon the sconce of that hapless wight who shall
dare to assail them with rudeness or insult,

_ Nothing would more signally promote and facilitate the study of
Ornithology in this country, than the publication of an ably-exe-
cuted book of the Genera of Birds. They who are acquainted with
Curtis’ work upon British Entomology*, will, at once, comprehend
our views on this subject. To those, however, who are not so for-
tunate as to have seen that exquisite and admirable production, some
explanation of what we mean by a Book of Genera, will be requi-
site. From every genus, one species—and that the most strongly-
marked,—of the British Birds should be selected, as the type, or ex-
ample, of the genus. Of this, an engraving should be given, with
a minutely accurate drawing of the bill, tarsus, and foot, as illus-
trative of those undeviating peculiarities of structure, upon which
the generic character is, or ought to be, almost invariably founded ;
and a figure of the egg. In the letter-press accompanying this
plate, the distinguishing character of the Order, Family, Genus,
and of all the species belonging to such genus, should be synopti-
cally traced ; with the varieties resulting from age, sex, or season,
and the average size, the habitation, and times of appearance, of the
bird,—if a periodical visitant,—and its peculiarities of food and ni-
dification. One hundred and thirty engravings, and a few sheets of
letter-press, would suffice for the completion of such a work.

In a spirit of the most perfect kindliness and respect, we would
beg leave to suggest our project to the notice of Mrs, Perrott: con-
fident, as we are, of her ability to do ample justice to the subject ;
and apprehensive that, with the works of Selby, Gould, and Meyer,
“in the market” before her, a mere ‘ Selection of British Birds,’
without plan or order, will not meet with the encouragement to
which her talents and labours are so abundantly entitled.

* The British Entomology of Mr. John Curtis was commenced in 1824; and
has since been regularly continued, in monthly numbers. It has, conse-
quently, now well-nigh reached the close of the twelfth volume. We only
lament that the work is not more extensively known, and its value more
correctly appreciated, than it hitherto seems to have been.

OF BRITISH ORNITHOLOGY. 99

The last work upon our list is 4 Guide to an Arrangement of
British Birds, by the Rev. Francis Orpen Morris. It may be more
correctly designated a Guide to Nomenclature,—for in point of ar-
rangement it is very defective ;—and, as such, would have been
very serviceable in supplying a series of labels for an ornithological
collection, had not the sins of omission and commission which it ex-
hibits, been so numerous and glaring as greatly to impair, if not ut-
terly destroy, its utility for such purpose. On whose or on what
authority, we would beg leave to inquire, has the Reverend Author
given the Falco lithofalco as a species distinct from the F. wsalon, or
Merlin ; or Emberiza chlorocephala,—merely, we believe, an acciden-
tal variety of E. citrinella,—as specifically different from the latter
bird? On what ground, also, has he excluded the fork-tailed Kite,
Tengmalm’s Owl, and Gould’s newly-discovered species of Motacilla,
and Regulus, from the ‘‘ British Fauna:” on whose assertion, admit-
ted Picus medius as a British bird? The blunders of the Printer are
scarcely less “rife and rank” than those of his clerical “Guide.”
Aquila chrysaétus, Otus brachyotus, Otus aurita, Strix flammeus, Strix
stridula, Saxicola enanthe, Sylvia atricappilla, Tetrux tetrix, Tetrax
urogallus, Rallus aqualicus, Mergus gerrator, and whole Snipe, are
a few only of the errors, discrepancies, and obscurities, which a yery
cursory inspection of this well-meant but most faulty production has
enabled us to detect. Three of the mistakes, however, justice re-
quires us to add, have been noticed in the list of Errata. We are,
at the same time, and by a like sense of justice, impelled to declare
that the “Guide,” now offered, by the Rev. F. O. Morris, to the
British Ornithologist, is a very blind one. ;

Up to the present time, thirteen parts of Mr. Gould’s European
Birds have made their appearance. In our next number, we shall
commence a regular series of analytical and critical notices,—each
notice embracing three or four Parts,—of this splendid and unri-
valled work.

Birmingham, September 12th, 1835.

100

BIRMINGHAM SOCIETY OF ARTS.
MODERN EXHIBITION.

In passing’ our opinion on the various works here assembled, we
shall “extenuate nothing—nor set down aught in malice ;” yet,
being ‘‘nothing, if not critical,’ we must occasionally say things,
perchance, unpalatable to some of the parties concerned ; whose
good sense, however, will pardon our well-meant remarks ; and feel
less disposed to wax wrath at-the careless sallies of our light-armed
badinage, than they would do if subjected to the heavy fire of more
serious and strictly-disciplined ‘ troops of the line.” . Had we been
inclined for severity, ample scope for animadversion might be found
among a certain class of pictures, dis-gracing the walls of our Insti-
tution: but we have only .aliuded to a few of the most pretending
specimens among a collection of (so called) portraits, which we
should suppose were procured in the course of a pillage of ale-house
signs. How much better to exclude such perpetrations ; and by re-
ducing the quantity, enhance the quality of the exhibited works.
The rooms contain some gems of such peerless beauty, that we
would fain exclude all such abortive attempts as only create ideas of
the grotesque and absurd. The two noble pictures by Mac Clise
are alone an Exhibition; and, even without the many other fine
works, of which we shall endeavour, though briefly, to express our
admiration, were enough to sustain the character of the present, as
a good and interesting collection of modern works of art.

6. View of Clovelly, Devon.—W. Fomler. A very pretty little
picture, with spirited figures in the foreground, and a morning haze
‘over the distant landscape ; which is skilfully and effectively painted.

9. The Painter’s Model tired of sitting —J. Ward, R. A. Repre-
sented by a little urchin, who may be supposed to have played either
Cupid or a cherub, according to the spectator’s fancy for mythology
or theology. The young model has grown weary, and huddled
himself up into a most uncouth position ; we cannot understand the
aged, puckered appearance of the face, or the raddle hue of the
skin.

15. Portrait of Miss L. A. Twamley.—J. Hill. A simple, natu-
ral, and unpretending picture, bearing a strong resemblance to the
original, and giving evidence of great talent and good taste in the
young and highly-gifted artist. |

17. Landscape——J. M. W. Turner, R. A. This picture is highly
interesting, as shewing the extraordinary change in the style of this
great painter, being, it would appear, one of his early productions.
Dark, sombre, and subdued in tone, heavily shadowed, and without
a tint of brilliant colouring throughout. How different to his re-
cent paintings !—where the brightest and most dazzling sunlight,
making each colour like a rainbow-hue—and the’ dark, livid, storm-

BIRMINGHAM SOCIETY OF ARTS. 101

cloud, create such wondrously brilliant and often startling effects.
This transition from “ grave to gay,” we also find in Lawrence,
though in a different line of art ; he having begun by an imitation
of Rembrandt and the old masters, and eventually become a painter
of colours as they are.

28. Impudence-—G. Wallis. ‘* Black it stood as night.”—-We
cannot admire the fashion of thus victimising lines of our great
poets, however wittily the double entendre may be made out—and
here there is nothing to palliate the offence; the line being taken
in vain into the service of a chimney-sweep astride upon a turnstile,
through which a gaily-attired damsel is desirous of passing.

30. Going to Market—J. Stark. A very simple, natural, and,
consequently, pleasing composition. A Peasant Girl and Donkey
laden for market, coming over a moor; and so faithfully represent-
ing real life, that we may imagine we have met with the very group
in some of our wanderings.

35. Near Beddgelert, North Wales—T. Creswick. A superb
amphitheatre of mountains, girt with clouds, and half curtained by
a light mist, through which the vale and stream below gleam softly
out, form the distance and mid-ground of this beautiful picture.
The wild heath from which the view is gained, and the figures in
the foreground, forming a fine, though, perhaps, too sudden, con-
trast to the extreme delicacy and silvery softness of the far-off scene;
which gives us one of the most beautiful, though most transient,
expressions of these grand features on nature’s ever-glorious face,—

“ Soaring, snow-clad, through their native met
In the wild pomp of mountain majesty !”

39. Smithy at Whitnash, near Leamington —H. Wyatt. It is a
strange folly and weakness of our nature that we cannot be content
with doing one thing well, but must attempt others, as it would
seem for the express purpose of being foils to ourselves. Why does
Henry Wyatt perpetrate tiled smithies, and ducks by a pond, but to
shew us he is not always the great and graceful painter we are wont
to find him ?

43. The refractory Model.—W. Kidd. Excellent, most excellent,
is this humourous little picture! An artist at his easel is painting
the portrait of a Donkey, who is held in the middle of a not over
large studio; and, from the progress made, we may suppose has hi-
therto conducted himself with becoming decorum. But a sudden
fit of friskiness seems to have seized him, and, plunging out, he is
making war upon plaster Apollo’s and Venus’s without mercy ;
while the unhappy painter flings up his arms in an agony of horror,
and the landlady peers in at the door to discover the cause of dis.
turbance. The figures and accessories are as well painted as they
are cleverly designed.

47. Magdalen.—H. Wyatt. Very exquisitely painted: the flesh
particularly clear and beautiful, and the head fine and gracefully
turned.

102 BIRMINGHAM SOCIETY OF ARTS.

48. Portrait of Miss Gronow.—F. Y. Hurlstone. Few pictures
in the exhibition can compete with this in nature, interest, or beau-
ty. The head of the rosy, laughing, bright-eyed, and black-haired
child is exquisitely painted ; and the donkey on which she is care-
lessly mounted, seems fairly stepping from the canvas. A young,
rough, shaggy, coltish-looking creature is this same steed, painted
up to nature in every point of form and character ; with a spice of
the hereditary obstinacy of his tribe written on his long-eared vis-
age. 'The picture reminds us of Miss Mitford’s writings; it is so
worthy of the graphic pen with which she would beautifully sketch
both child and donkey, in one of her delightful village scenes. This
is the finest of Mr. Hurlstone’s works we have yet seen, and we
hope to greet many more of like feeling and excellence.

49. Duncan’s Horses —J. Ward, R.A. A most extraordinary
illustration of a passage in Macbeth, act 2nd, scene 4th, where
Rosse describes the escape of Duncan’s horses, and their eating each
other. The animals, individually, are finely designed, and in the
most difficult positions ; but, as a whole, the picture is monstrous.
The encounters and combustions of the heavy stone-like clouds
above, are full as strange as the civil war among the steeds below,
who are racing, rolling, and devouring in every direction, and in
such troops as give one a splendid notion of poor King Duncan’s
stud. The landscape is laboriously painted—but highly fantastic
and absurd.

51. The Ornithologist—H. Wyatt. Here our artist is in his
element, and the grace, beauty, and interest of this little picture
makes us yet more regret that Whitnash Smithy should ever have
led him from his own particular path in art.

56. Portrait of a Lady.—E Coleman. White satin dress, and a
red geranium by way of taking off the chill. (Had not Partridge
a lovely picture in the last Exhibition, arrayed in precisely the
same costume?) The head of the lady is painted with great clear~
ness and delicacy. b oii |

57. Scene near Axminster—F. W. Watts ; and. 31, Heath Scene,
by the same artist, are two faithful and pleasing transcripts of fa-
miliar scenes, in which, after all, lies the true pleasure of pictures.
Mr. Watts’s landscapes are clear, sparkling, dewy-looking scenes,
with all the fresh and cheering look of nature. .

58. A Lady in a fancy Costume.—Mrs. Joanna Cox. “So full
of shapes is fancy, that it alone is high fantastical.” The fair artist
seems partial to the fancy line, for we have a “ Portrait of a Turk,
late tailor to the ‘Dey of Algiers,” in a very fanciful costume indeed.
But the triumph of Mrs. Joanna Cox in the temple of fancy, is “ A
Female weeping over the Tomb of her Lover,” whom we, very un-
sentimentally, mistook for a cook-maid suffering from tooth-ache,
leaning on the kitchen dresser, with a blue apron over her head.

67. Portrait of a Lady, J. Hollins. We can scarcely believe this
to be painted by the same hand. as the lovely portraits which Mr.
Hollins exhibited last year. It is harsh in colour, and utterly void
of taste in arrangement. The likeness, we understand, is correct.

MODERN EXHIBITION. 103

68. Portrait of the Rt. Hon. the Earl of Aboyne, Sc. §e.—ZJ. Hol-
lins. A much more creditable production than the former portrait ;
but still far off what Mr. Hollins has achieved.

69. Independent of a Vote, and 76, Soliciting a Vote-—R. W.
Buss. Two pictures of election scenes, in the very broadest style
of—we had almost said—caricature, which they are not, but very
humourous and racy. The sly, low cunning of the lawyer's face
soliciting the vote ; the eager, anxious look of his companion, with
hand in pocket for the bribe, if likely to be accepted ; and the inde-
pendent, care-for-nothing expression of the elector, who gives a
sneering denial without: so much as rising from his chair, are all
admirably characteristic ;—and the wife, eyeing the intruders with
a look of scarcely suppressed abuse, completes the story of the pic-
ture. The companion, 69, represents the chairing, or rather coach-
ing, of the member, among a motley group of boisterous and noisy
constituents. ‘The execution of these pictures is careful and spirited.

72. Malvern.—H. H. Lines. One of the gems of the collection ;
and a picture we should value, were it ours, as much as if it, bore
the name of Gainsborough instead of Lines. The lane, opening
under the noble trees near the foreground of the scene, is perfectly
deceptive: after gazing for a moment on its green and, shady
hollow, you are thinking about strolling down it, and looking over
the stile, where the children stand with their donkey, into’ the gold-
en corn-field to the left ; beyond which, the church tower peers over
the trees, and behind it the rich, and swelling, and majestic hills
rise, knoll above knoll, till they commune with the upper air,—and
you wish yourself on the green summit to look around, and. above,
and beneath :—around, on the mountain tops and the sailing clouds;
above, into the clear blue of the summer sky, where the birds are
merrily flitting and circling round; and. beneath, upon the busy and
seemingly happy world. below, whose faint hum rises like music on
the ear. Stay—where are we? Oh! at Malvern—Henry Lines’s
Malvern. But in sooth, his pencil’s magic had conveyed us in ima-

-gination to the reality—for his picture is scarcely less than real. | It
is the very poetry of painting ; and. right glad are we to greet its
creator again in the Birmingham Exhibition.

73. Greek Pirates landing their Captives—C. H. Seaforth. A
fine and interesting composition ; the distant view of rocks and
coast to the left of the spectator, is very aérial. The figures are
spirited, characteristic, and well painted. :

80. Portrait of a Lady.—J. Phillips, R. A. . Every part of this
portrait is exquisitely finished ; the head painted with a rich, yet
delicate, brilliancy, and most. pleasing expression ; and the position
of the figure perfectly simple, easy, and graceful. The several parts
of the drapery are fac-similes of the materials. The blond lace and
head-dress are most elaborately copied.

86. The Chivalric. Vow of the Ladies and the Peacock—D. Mac
Clise. This wondrous picture is in itself an Exhibition. . About
eighty figures are introduced, and though forming an. infinity of

104 BIRMINGHAM SOCIETY OF ARTS.

~

groups, complete in themselves, the general effect is perfect and
harmonious. The scene thus nobly represented, is the ancient chi-
valric ceremony of the knights making a vow, at a grand festival,
at which, in times of yore, the peacock performed an important part.
“‘ Between the courses of the repast, two damsels entered the hall,
advancing to the sound of solemn minstrelsy, and bearing the pea-
cock roasted in its feathers, in a golden dish, to each knight in suc-
cession, who made his vow, and sanctioned his resolution. by appeal-
ing to God and the Virgin Mary, the ladies, and the peacock. The
dish was then placed on the table, and the lord of the festival de-
puted some renowned knight to carve it in such a manner that each
might partake.”—See Saint Palaye and others, Histoire de Chival-
rie. Inthe centre of the picture, stand the two fair damsels with
their glittering burden: each perfectly beautiful: one dark,—the
other fair-haired. The splendid plumage of the peacock, in which
every feather is painted with ornithological exactness, yet grand
effect, droops over the golden dish to the floor of the dais, or plat-
form, on which the ceremony’is performed. In the act of taking
the vow, stands a knight, completely armed, save the helm ; with
his sword raised over the peacock, and the ladye of his love, leaning
on his shoulder, looks down towards an attendant, who kneels to
fasten on the spurs. Another fair and graceful dame, gorgeously
apparelled, (as are they all) assists at the ceremony. ‘To the right
is a group of two knights and their dames, shewing well by con- -
trast: the first, merrily Jaughing at the gay and sportive creature
who is tying a scarf over his armour ; and his companion well-nigh
as sorrowful as the fair girl who is weeping on his neck. In the
one corner of the picture sit the old harpers and other musicians,
whose varied faces and figures are a study in themselves. Opposite
to these are some fat, sleek monks, evidently enjoying the good fare
which the festival gives them, and luxuriating in idleness, ease, and
gluttony. Along the well-stored tables are ranged knights and la-
dies,—the coquette, the demure, the gay, the grave,—each playing
her part, and looking her loveliest. Among the most pleasing is a
young mother, holding her fair boy upon his father’s knee, while he
plays with the warrior’s sword ; at their feet lie the shield and
helmet, in the painting of which, and of the chief knight’s armour,
the art seems to have excelled itself: one would almost believe that
Mac Clise, together with the chivalric lore of olden times, had
gained some knowledge of their “ gramoury,” and had turned wi-
zard ; for such a wonder-working pencil seems to possess more than
mere common cunning. Nor are the countenances of the ladies, or
their brave and brilliant attire, less exquisitely delineated: and the
proud war-steeds, which, with pranksome curvet and arching neck,
are pacing through the castle court, are each perfect in form, and
varied in position. But it is an useless task thus to catalogue, as it
were, the materials of this magnificent work,—it is, indeed, “ de-
scribing the indescribable.”

87 Landscape.—Composition—Barrett. Very fine; but to our

MODERN EXHIBITION. 105

taste not nearly so beautiful as his small water-colour gems of sun-
sets and twilights.

98. Frigate entering Portsmouth Harbour.—C. H. Seaforth. The
frigate is entering the harbour, she is going along gallantly, and
her boat rides over the waves'in her wake so buoyantly, that you
may almost think you hear them ripple against | her side. The sea
is worthy of Stanfield ; and the coast accurately drawn and effec.
tively painted.

101. Landscape.— Distant View of Warwick—Catile in the fore-
ground.—T. Baker. A clear, sunset-tinged, twilight sky above,—
noble trees lifting their stately heads high into the calm air, anda
most English foreground of meadow land, occupied by beautiful
cows, worthy of Cuyp. The opening in the: wood ‘shews:the:town
of Warwick, with its church and castle towers standing out against
the golden sky behind, and beautifully closing this very lovely pic-
ture.

110. Shall J ?—H. Wyatt. Fair lady, we answer yes: for your
query evidently concerns the proposal-like letter in your hand ; and
sore grief would a refusal bring to one who has dared to love such
beauty. This is another of Mr. Wyatt’s own pictures, in his own
graceful and excelling elegance of design and execution.

112. Rocky Coast, with Smugglers—T. Creswick. A. scene,
which, for its equal beauty, though extreme contrast, we would
like to place side by side with Henry Lines’s calm, and sunshiny,
and happy “ Malvern.” Here, the rough and tempestuous sea
dashes against the high steep rocks, fringing their hoary sides with
angrv foam ; and the brawling torrent, rushing from the mountain-
top, plunges headlong down the deep and wooded ravine, as if in
mocking rivalry of its ocean neighbour. The stormy sky and skele-
ton-like trees, bending in the blast, give a strange and wild reality
to the scene; which is indeed a fit haunt for the desperate and dar-
ing beings with whom the painter has peopled it.

116. Interior with Monks—111. Interior with Nuns.—E. Pritch-
elt. Two small pictures, wherein the architecture of the buildings
is very finely painted.

123. Curiosity — Bradley. A very aSaia picture of a girl, very
much in the manner of Sir Joshua Reynolds.

130. Battle Abbey, distant view.—T. Creswick. Looking from a
high hill, we command a most extensive and beautiful prospect over
a richly-wooded and finely undulating country, with Battle Abbey
to the right ; its massive walls and towers rising from the embosom-
ing wood, and painted with the lightness and delicacy of touch so
peculiarly beautiful in Mr. Creswick’s distant views. ‘There is a
silvery airiness in his landscapes, which we rarely find in those of
any other painter.

131. Cymon and Iphigenia—G. Patten. Often has this subject
been attempted, but now, for the first time, is it worthily achieved.
Painted on a grand historical scale, with the figures life-size, and
the execution of every part most admirable. Iphigenia, just awak-

106 BIRMINGHAM ‘SOCIETY OF ARTS.

ing and turning towards Cymon her beautiful and expressive face,
is a figure of unconstrained and perfect loveliness... The flesh is ex-
quisitely pure and brilliant, and seems more fair from the bronzed
hue of Cymon, whose bending figure is much shadowed, and the
swart skin of a Nubian slave, who is still sleeping near her mistress.
The rich, glowing effect, and appropriateness of the back-ground,
add, in no small degree, to the fascination of this splendid picture.

135. Deer-stealer—R. T. Bott. With Mr. Bott’s dexterity of
touch in painting his subjects, it is much to be regretted that he
does not combine more correct drawing. The limbs of the figures
in this picture are distorted and ill-proportioned.

136. Portrait of a Lady.—W. Radcly ffe, jun. An extremely
natural and. pleasing portrait, We are glad to find that Mr. Rad-
clyffe is painting other subjects than the very ripe and tempting
fruit which he so much excels in pourtraying ; but which should
not occupy his entire attention.

139. Hay-harvesting —G. R. Lewis. We should call this pic-
ture ‘ Playing at Hay-making,” for the company are evidently no-
wise disposed for work. It looks very much like a “rustic scene”
in a London Theatre. .

146. Rustic Conversation.—T. S. Cooper. A road scene, very
excellently depicted : the trees in the centre of the picture are finely -
grouped, and painted with truth and freedom: the pool to the left
of the spectator is a perfect transcript of nature. The figures are
skilfully introduced and well drawn.

147. Portraits of two Children of Mr. Thomas Lane.—R. T. Bott.
Tastefully grouped, and the drawing superior to the former pictures
we have noticed by the same artist. The dog is well painted and
spirited, though somewhat too boisterous to be held in so slight a
leash.

156. Haidee and Don Juan.—J. King. One of those proofs of a
poet’s popularity which his memory and admirers could well. spare ;
feeling more honoured in the breach than the observance. How-
ever the “unco’ guid” of this externally starched age of ours may
libel poor Haidee’s morals, they might “do justice to her figure.”

IN THE ANTI-ROOM,

“The company is ‘mized: the phrase I quote, is
As much as saying, they’re below your notice :”

which, however, would be a very hasty and. illiberal opinion :
though the appearance of busts, models, miniatures, small oil-paint-
ings, water-colour drawings, and. engravings, would make it seem
like the medley-collection of fragments remaining after the general
division. He

169. Lolah, by J. Bostock, is a very lovely imagination of this
Byron-beauty, ‘dusk as India, and as warm,” gracefully resting
her fine head and glowing face against a cushion, while she seems

/

MODERN EXHIBITION. 107

languidly to listen to some harem-gossip. It is a beautifully design.
ed and finely executed drawing.

171. Venus.—J. Burman. In our younger days, we held the
ancient classical faith, that Venus rose from the sea; but we sup-
pose the school-master, since he came abroad, has broached some
new doctrine, to which Mr. Burman has become a convert,—for he
makes the fair Goddess of vegetable extraction, having painted her
as emerging from a semicircle of green leaves, the originals of which
are not in our botanical collection.

175. Hero suspending the Lamp for Leander.—Miss E. E. Kend-
rick. On referring to our catalogue we find this explanatory title ;
but until then, the lady appeared, to our unlearned eyes, to be firing
a sky-rocket.

176. Portrait of Mr. J. Harding —F. T. Lines. As a perfectly
accurate portrait, alone, this deserves our highest praise :—but it is
likewise a finely drawn and beautifully coloured head. 195. Por-
trait of a Naval Officer, we do not admire so much; it is ona
smaller scale, but still a very fine and clever drawing.

196. Absent Thoughts, or the Lover's Miniature—2J. Cooke.—
Persons may be absent, but thoughts cannot,—they are ever with
us; and from the elaborate toilette of the young demoiselle here de-
picted, we should suppose the lover himself not far off. We would
vxespectfully enquire what has become of the lady’s right side ?>—be-
cause though she may have lost her heart, we see no cause for the
abduction of the liver. The gigot sleeve can, perhaps, give some
account of the missing proportions. We would also hint, that a
neat and careful young lady would prefer depositing a white satin
bonnet on the table rather than the floor, where its towering plumes
look very like the steam from a tea-urn. The vase of flowers in-
troduced, is gracefully and effectively painted.

198: Temple of Vesta, Rome—2J. A. Bell. The only fault in
this admirable drawing is, there is too little of it. The style and
feeling of the thing are so good, we would have had them ona
larger scale, where they might be better shewn and appreciated.—
There is a delicacy and quiet harmony about the whole scene which
is very delightful, and suits well with the by-gone glories of the
ruined, fanes, and the twilight sky.

211. Bust of Master E. R. Tindal.—P. Hollins. And

216. Bust of I. Villiers Lister, infant.son of T. H. Lister, Esq.
—P. Hollins. Both worthy the well-earned fame of our eminently-
gifted townsman—natural, and finely executed. So is also 217, the
Bust of Henry Earle, Esq., extremely good—character, spirit, posi-
tion, all perfect. Yet we look for more from the sculptor of Mrs.
Norton, Medora, Zephyrus, and the half-divine Child and Flowers,
of last year’s exhibition, than mere portrait-busts, however good.

257. Wood-walk, Leamington, and 261, Lane Scene, near Strat-

ford.—J. Baker. The former scene we know well, and instantly
recognize Mr. Baker’s most faithful portrait of it. The Lane Scene
is one of the same family, in style and nature ; though if we endea-

108 BIRMINGHAM SOCIETY OF AR'TS.

vour to discover a fault, it will be that of too uniformly sumbre or
somewhat heavy a tone about the trees—requiring a strong light to
call up the real beauty of the picture. 283. River Scene, North
Wales, by the same artist, is a most lovely painting of a beautiful
spot, with the same dark hue on one side, but gleamy sunshine on
the other, which relieves and contrasts with it. In all Mr. Baker’s
landscapes, the pureness and depth of his blue skies, and floating
airiness of his cloudy ones, are great beauties, and his figures and
animals are always introduced with skill and judgment. He is the
Bloomfield of landscape painters.

259. The Alchymist.—J. 1. Williams. A very spirited and
clever little picture. The old enthusiast pouring out ‘his precious
compounds, the attendant watching the mystic cookery over the fire,
and the many and divers chattels in the apartment, are touched in
with a light but skilful pencil.

264. Jonathan Martin, setting fire to York Minster—Henry
- Harris. Mr. Harris has fairly astonished us, high as was our opi-
nion of his talents, by the production of this superb and wonderful
picture. It has rarely yet been our good fortune to behold anything
approaching it in grandeur or pictoral delusion. From the title, it
may be imagined to be a glaring, fiery, combustible affair: but the
great subject was in good hands, and is worthily executed,—all is
solemn, grand, and calm. The work of destruction is just begun—
the prayer-books and pulpit cushions are slowly burning in the fore-
ground, and sending up long curling wreaths of smoke, which par-
tially curtain over the glare, and fling alternate light and shade on
the dark and polished oak carving of the opposite stalls. Locking
on, down the long and fretted aisle, the moon-beams are seen fall-
ing calmly and coldly on the tall columns in strange and beautiful
contrast to the red Jight and smouldering fire going on above,—and,
closing the view, the richly-hued stained window, with its delicate
tracery and storied panes, gleams softly through the intervening mist
and smoke, completing one of the most perfect, wondrous, and de-
lusive scenes ever created on canvas. We do not say, we hope soon
to greet Mr. Harris again on like ground, because we cannot spare
a York Minster to be burned every day ; but we do hope he will
go on zealously, and prepare many pleasant surprizes for us equal to
that we have thus feebly attempted to acknowledge.

275. The Installation of Captain Rock.—Daniel Mac Clise. '

“There is an attempt in this picture to associate the ridiculous with the
sublime ; the Artist thinking he might represent what appears. so often in
Irish story, either acted or written. So, in the centre of this picture, there
is a serio-comic group of “ The Installation of the Captain Rock,” who,
while the hunchback raises himself on the back of one of the motley assem-
blage to crown him, in a mock-heroic manner, vows on the body of a deceased
relative, perhaps his predecessor in outlawry, to revenge his death ; others
engage in the same act according to their characters and temperament.—
Above their heads, a group is descending a broken portion of the wall, the
only access to the interior of the ruin, and bearing in a wounded man, sup-
posed to have been engaged in the affray which has proved fatal to his Chief.

MODERN EXHIBITION. : 109

On the left of the spectator, a country schoolmaster addresses a group in an
emphatic manner, who are seated at a rude table engaged in various ways,
but ail relating to the chief business of the picture. On the right, an old
pensioner is teaching a youth how to present a blunderbuss ; addressed to
the eye of the spectator—a group of girls are anticipating the report—two
figures, one illustrating active, the other passive, drunkenness, complete the
group. The one is what they term in Ireland a baccagh, or mock-lame beg-
gar, who is supposed to have dispossessed himself of his pretended helps, but
real incumbrances, on this great occasion, and is shewing, by whirling his
crutch and leg, his willingness to join in whatever is about to be enacted.”

We extract the foregoing description from the catalogue, but it
can give no adequate idea of this surpassing picture ; which, as 4
representation of present realities, may prove more interesting to the
general spectator than the romance and chivalrie of the “ Vow of
thesPeacock.” In fact, we are much inclined to pronounce this wild
Irish scene, the finer compusition of the two. In both, the exquisite
beauty of all the female heads, is remarkable; every variety of
countenance and expression is given with a grace, feeling, and spi-
rit, we have never yet found united. The assemblage is represented
in a ruined church or abbey; and faithfully, though strangely,
blended are the passions, habits, and prejudices, of the hot-tempered
and superstitious Hibernians. In the foreground of the picture lies
a female figure, stretched upon a grave, and apparently weeping.
At the head of the grave the holy symbol of a cross is erected ; and
immediately behind it are flung down, in close companionship, a
- good corpulent bottle of the ‘‘ crathur,” and a musket !—priestcraft,
drunkenness, and murder! How sadly appropriate are the em-
blems !. Mac Clise is not a painter only—he is a philosopher and a
moralist. The infinite variety of faces, from the smiling and inno-
cent child, nestled, in blessed unconsciousness, at its mother’s breast,
through every gradation of age and temperament, to the wronged,
daring, and demoralized leaders of this half savage band, show the
result of study and mental powers far beyond the common range of
minds, The humourous is mixed with the tragic, in strange and
startling contrast. Kneeling at the head of the corpse, in the centre
of the picture, is a girl, weeping and clasping her arms frenziedly
round the neck of her deceased relative ; while close beside sits an
impersonation of “‘ Paddy from Cork, who buttoned his coat behind,
to keep him warmer.” Among the schoolmaster’s auditory, the
half-idiotic boy who seems drinking in every word, in blind and im-
plicit faith, is admirable; indeed, every figure is a romance—the
true romance of real and stirring life: and, to do any thing like
justice to the picture, we should extend our notice to a three-vo-
lume illustration. The girl drawing moustaches on her lover’s face
with a burnt cork—the one pretending fright at the expected mus-
ket-shot—the young wife, or bride-elect, tying a green sash round
the waist of the newly-installed Captain—and several more fair
forms and faces in this motley group, are perfectly beautiful.

281. Bribery and Corruption.—C. Landseer. An illustration,
worthy of the subject ; admirably conceived and beautifully execut-

110 BIRMINGHAM SOCIETY OF ARTS.

ed. The interview between Jenny and Halliday, in Scott’s “Old
Mortality”’—

“ And so, if you will promise to come alone the next time”—

“ May be I will, and may be I winna,” said Jenny, “but if ye get the dol-
lar ye’ll like that just as weel.”

“Til be d—n’d if I do,” said Halliday, taking the money however.”

The figures are spirited, characteristic, and finely painted, the fe-
male heads especially pretty, and the costume and accessories correct
and well arranged. It is a very excellent specimen of a very good
and interesting class of pictures.

286. Meditation.—H. Wyatt. A model of colouring,—the flesh
most exquisite,—so very pure, clear, and delicate ; and the whole
figure and sentiment of the composition chaste, simple, and calm,—
so very femininely beautiful. The soft, glossy, brown hair falling
on the neck, the delicate hands and arms, and the angelic expression
of the face; with the subdued, yet rich, colouring of the drapery
and background, leave us nothing to wish changed or amended in
this truly delightful picture.

295. Nightingale Lane, leading to Holland House, Kensington.—
T’. C. Hofland. Very like the spot ; but the trees very much resem-
ble sea-weed specimens, nicely spread out.

303. The Ferry—W. F. Witherington, A. R. A. Welcome to
thee, Witherington!—ever welcome are thy sunshiny and. clear
skies, thy rustic merry-makings, and glad, light-hearted-looking
peasants. And now well-met at the Ferry, a scene right worthy of
thy delightful pencil. A pretty, trim, village maiden is sitting on
the old white horse, quietly waiting,:with an aged couple, whom we
may suppose her parents, the next arrival of the ferry-boat, which
a young angler is hailing from the bank; and a bright, beautiful
child, resting beside the poultry-baskets, completes the group on
our side the river. On re-considering the party, we are inclined
to think the fair equestrian the mother of the pretty child; which
makes the picture still lovelier. The heads of the old couple are
finely painted, and the whole group come out in strong and beauti-
ful relief from the landscape and sky behind. Every part’ of the
costume, baskets, &c., is depicted with the most perfect fidelity and
good taste.

313. View on the Coast of the Isle of Wight—T. Creswick.—
Creswick again, and in all his glory! (We could almost avow a
preference for this little gem, before the Smugglers and Battle Ab-
bey. Yet it is hard to decide, all are so perfect in their beauty.)
The range of sea-girt cliffs, extending from the mid-distance to-
wards the horizon, must equally delight the poet and geologist ;
they are so beautifully and scientifically natural. The beach, and
silvery sea,—the fisher’s cottage, and the spirited figures in the fore-
ground, are ‘all.in/true keeping and taste:

MODERN EXHIBITION. lll

IN THE WATER-COLOUR ROOM,

We find many exquisite drawings ; from among which our confined
limits will only allow us to select a few for individual notice. Mr.
Charles Birch, we see, has contributed some of the gems of his su-
perb collection, by Cattermole, Cox, Roberts, Prout, Barret, Stan-
field,.Lewis, &c.

323. Drop too much—G. Lance. Admirably expressed, and
painted with great freedom and breadth. The red-night-capped old
carouser is a perfect picture of animal enjoyment.

340. Pass of Aberglaslyn.—E. Watson. An extremely spirited
and breezy-looking sketch. The trees lightly and effectively touch-
ed, and the water-fall’s foam and scattered spray well described.

- 342. Penmaen Maur, Caernarvonshire-—D. Cox. The dark and
stormy aspect under which the painter has represented this wild and
magnificent scene, suit admirably with its stern and sterile character.
The drawing is a very fine one, and, together with many others of
equal beauty in the present exhibition, is engraved for Roscoe’s
Wanderings in North Wales, now publishing by Messrs. Wrightson
and Webb, of Birmingham.

346. The Ghiga Palace at L’ Arricia.—J. D. Harding. One of
the illustrations of the Landscape Annual ; a very beautiful, and
truly Italian scene, with clustering vines and pretty peasant girls in
the foreground.

348. The Alhambra.—D. Roberts. Of all the wondrous palaces
of the earth, the Alhambra seems to hold the foremost place in our
imaginations,—and well may it: the scene of so much splendour,
chivalry, triumph, and—desolation! The dwelling of the old Moor-
ish sovereigns, the witness of their magnificence and might, the lux-
urious and paradisiacal shrine of beauty, love, and romance. The
last stronghold of its vanquished. monarchs, and the yet unperished
memorial of their power and splendour. Well might we exclaim
with Shelley—

“ Where is the fame
“ Which the vain-glorious mighty of the earth
* Seek to eternise ?”—

when all that time has suffered even these mighty ones to bequeath
unto us, is—a name—a story—and a ruin. The drawing’ before
us is from the “ Hall of Judgment.” The walls and roof of which
are most richly ornamented with arabesque and pendant fret-work,
_ still in tolerable preservation.

358. Brigands Gambling.—Cattermole. One of the scenes in
which Mr. Cattermole is most successful. The hardy, desperate,
and picturesque-looking figures of bandits and their compeers, rise
beneath his pencil in:all their energetic and fierce bravery of form
and manner. |

360. View in North Wales—H. Harris. Very much the cha-
racter of the scenery about Beddgelert. The mountains have a fine

112 BIRMINGHAM SOCIETY OF ARTS.

rich effect of light. and shade ; and the winding road and brawling
stream are painted with great truth and beauty.
361. Belinda.—Miss Sharpe.

“ This nymph, to the destruction of mankind,

** Nourish’d two locks which graceful hung behind.
* * a * * * *

The adventurous baron the bright locks admired,
He saw, he wished, and to the prize aspired—
* * oa * oo 4

Just then Clarissa drew, with tempting grace,
A two-edged weapon from her shining case ;_
He takes the gift with reverence and extends
The little engine on his fingers’ ends ;”—
Porr’s Rape oF THE Lock.

Miss Sharpe’s favourite subject is here treated on a larger scale
than we have yet seen it, and most beautifully painted in every
part. The figures correctly and gracefully drawn, and draperied
with grace and richness :—yet is the picture far from our taste.
We cannot admire the shoals of little pink-skinned imps which are
erowding around Belinda,

* And, flying ’mong laces, and gauzes, and lawns,
“Come floating about her like so many prawns.”

Over her head they are plunging and frisking like motes in the sun-
shine, only very plump and corporeal ; and they literally swarm on
the hem of her garment, forming a flouncing termination thereto :
while a trio are bathing in Miss Belinda’s cup of warm coffee!
Others are swinging in her hair, and the whole troop of tiny sans
culottes exhibiting the most ingenious variety of attitude and con-
tortion, that can enter into the fancy of man to conceive, or the
freakish whim of fair lady to execute. In Pope’s description of
the sylphs attendant on Belinda, we find them mentioned as

“ Transparent forms, too fine for mortal sight,
Their fluid bodies half dissolved in light.”

It, therefore, seems a stretch, even of a painter’s license, to clothe
these aérial beings in such full, florid, and substantial shapes of
flesh and blood as they here appear in. The light sylphs of Pope
Were never intended to be impersonated by plump-bodied Cupids:
at least, such is our opinion of the ideal portion of this highly-fi-
nished picture, which, in every other respect, we very much admire.

385. Seville—Procession of the Host.—J. F. Lenis. The priests,
bearing the sacred emblems, are pausing opposite one of the Ma-
donna shrines, which so frequently occur in Spanish cities; and all
the passers-by and inhabitants are reverentially kneeling around.—
The pretty mantilla’d belles gracefully bending, with evidently as
much regard to beauty as piety ; while some of the rougher sex per-
form the required obeisance as a mere matter of ceremony; and
others with all the fervour of enthusiastic devotees. The perspec-
tive view of the street, terminated by a lofty tower, is very finely

MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 113

depicted ; and the colouring and arrangement of the whole rich and
effective. We could wish that our limits allowed us to dwell long-
er on this and many like productions.

397. Scene on the Moors of Ramroch, near Inverozan, Argyle-
shire-—Copley Fielding. A wide, sterile expanse of country, richly
and, we may say, poetically painted, with only two figures, but they
are good and appropriate ones. A horseman inquiring of an old
Scotch shepherd his way across the heath, and pointing to the cloud-
wreathed mountains bounding the view; between which and the
foreground, intervenes a valley, from whence long wreaths of smoke
are slowly rising. ‘The picture is a truly grand one. 335. View
of Inverary.— By the same Artist. Is extremely beautiful, and, as
combining more variety of scene, will, by many, be preferred to this,
in our estimation, far nobler and more interesting picture.

410. The Port of Conway, North Wales.—S. Lines, sen. The
splendid sunshine of this beautiful scene is perfectly dazzling ; and
its effect on the landscape, especially in the foreground, is given
with a rich breadth and harmony of colour, according well with the
subject. The castle, bridge, and sea view, are faithfully represented ;
and the busy sail-menders in the foreground, and the boats moored
at the quay, animating the picture, forcibly recal the reality to our
recollection. .

We here close our remarks, and regret that the allotted space has
not: allowed us to make them so full and satisfactory as we could
have wished; many highly-meritorious works remaining wholly
unnamed, and those we have particularized, much more briefly
described and reviewed than they deserved. Our aim has been
to give a sketch of the general character of the exhibition, by men
tioning as many works as possible, rather than confine our notices
to the comparatively few stars of metropolitan celebrity, which,
great and beautiful as they are, ought not to take the lead, in point
of interest, in an institution formed for the encouragement and
benefit of provincial artists.

MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

Tue fifth Anniversary Meeting of the British Association for
the Advancement of Science, according to previously settled arrange-
ment, was held last month, (August), in the city of Dublin, and
was confessedly, in point of numbers, rank, and talent,: the most
brilliant of any that have preceded it. A two-fold benefit in this
case, was fully answered,—it brought together scientific and learned
men of all countries, and’set at rest those doubts which sometimes

October, 1835.—vou. 111. NO. XIII. I.

114 MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

arose in the minds of even the most intelligent and liberal, of the
high ground on which science and general knowledge take stand in
the sister kingdom. Not only was the character of the warm-heart-
ed, open, liberal, and confiding Irishman fully exemplified in all its
ramifications, but the travellers found it united with talent and let-
tered distinction of the first order. We do not hesitate to affirm
that more has been achieved in this national interchange of intellec-
tual and social fellowship,—more has been accomplished to give a
clear insight into the Irish character, without prejudice or partiality,
—than all the legislative measures which have yet been suggested
or adopted for that beneficial end. To judge of a country you must
see it—to appreciate its inhabitants you must mingle with the seve-
ral classes, casting off all home-spun pride and affectation ; a tho-
rough knowledge of the people is not gained by a formal introduc-
tion to a few exclusives of which the Court is composed,—the traits
of national character, its bright and sunny, and its dark and baleful
indications, can only be correctly gathered by a direct and personal
observation of society in every grade. Now will our literary coun-
trymen know what Ireland really is,—-of what materials her sons are
composed. They have now had an opportunity of judging by the
unerring test of experience; and the consequences will be a future
reciprocity of generous and kindly feeling, more extensive and use-
ful than ever yet contemplated.
For many previous days, and particularly on the Saturday before
the appointed day of meeting, so popular was the excitement, that
crowds of strangers from all parts poured into Dublin; English and
Scotch professors, philosophers, poets, and literary characters of every
order. The Examination Hall and the Courts of Trinity College,
were on Monday crowded with members of the Association, as well
as with strangers, who could not obtain admission into the densely-
crowded Theatre of the College. So many candidates presented
themselves, that the local council was ‘compelled to place some re-
strictions on admission, and to refuse, unless under special circum-
- stances, all applications made after Wednesday, the 5th of August,
by persons residing in Dublin. The consequence was, that at least
four hundred were disappointed, but the necessity of the limitation”
was so apparent that no complaints were made. Ladies’ tickets
were also restricted in number; and the inflexible adherence of the
council to the regulations, necessarily produced many awkward em-
barrassments. The arrangements made by the reception committee
were excellent, and they were greatly aided by the gentlemanly and
liberal spirit of Sir John Tobin, of Liverpool, who sent over his
steamer, the William Penn, with a large party on Friday ; and this
courtesy and attention was extended’ to a numerous body of the
members who embarked on Sunday. A deputation from Dublin
received the passengers by this vessel at Kingstown, whence a train
of carriages, granted to the Association by the Railway Company,
conveyed them to the city. Within the walls of the College accom.
modations were provided for a considerable number of the guests,

MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 115

and arrangements were made for their breakfasting and dining toge-
ther in the College Hall, by which the intercourse between the
members was much facilitated. In the list of names of mem-
bers admitted on Saturday, were to be found men of every creed,
sect, and party,—protestant clergymen, catholic priests, and dis-
senting ministers,—all anxious to gain a respite from agitating con-
troversies, and enjoy a week’s repose on the neutral ground of sci-
ence.

The Examination Hall of Trinity College, which had been ap-
pointed as the place of general rendezvous, on Friday and Saturday
mornings, from the eagerness of candidates to learn whether they
had gained admission, and the general anxiety to get a sight of emi-
nent strangers, presented an animating spectacle. At eleven o'clock
on Saturday, the Hall was conipletely crowded. Sir John Ross,
Sir John Franklin, Dr. Coulter, the recent explorer of Mexico, Dr.
Dalton, Professors Sedgwick, Phillips, Babbage, Powell, and many
other eminent men, were among the throng, evidently enduring
some inconvenience, that they might gratify the curiosity they had
excited. Moore, too, was paying the tax of popularity, as poet and
historian of Ireland, by finding himself the object of attraction
whenever he appeared in the streets; and a high compliment was
paid him by his being proposed as a candidate by the Provost, with-
out the usual formalities and fees. His nomination was carried in
the midst of the most unanimous and enraptured applause. The
council of the Association met in the rooms of the Royal Irish Aca-
demy, at twelve o'clock ; and at one the general committee, which
is the legislative body of the Association, assembled to make their
preliminary arrangements ; when the following officers were elect-
ed :—

GENERAL OFFICERS.

President—Rev. Dr. Lloyd, Provost of Trinity College.
Vice-Presidents—Lord Oxmantown ; Rev. William Whewell.
Treasurer—Mr. J. Taylor.

General Secretary—Rev. W. V. Harcourt.

Assistant General Secretary—Professor Phillips.

OFFICERS OF THIS MEETING:

Treasurer—Dr. Orpen.
Secretaries—Professor Hamilton; Rev. Professor Lloyd.

OFFICERS OF SECTIONS.

Section A. President—Rev. Dr. Robinson.
Vice Presidents—Sir Thos. Brisbane ; Mr. Baily.
; Secretaries_Prof. Hamilton ; Prof, Wheatstone.
Section B. President—Dr.'T. Thomson.
Vice Presidents—Dr. Dalton; Dr. Barker.
Secretaries——Dr. Apjohn 5 Professor Johnston.
Secrion C. President—Mr. Gritfith.
Vice Presidents—Mr. Murchison ; Prof. Sedgwick.
Secretariese-Captain Portlock ; Mr. roe j
I

116 MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

Section D. President—Dr. Allman.
Vice Presidents—Dr. Daubeny; Prof. Graham.
Secretaries—Mr. Curtis; Dr. Litton. -—

Secrion E. President—Dr. Prichard.
Vice Presidents—Dr. Colles; Surgeon General

Crampton.

Secretaries—Dr. Harrison; Dr. Hart.

Section F. President—Mr. Babbage.
Vice Presidents—Colonel Sykes ; Rev. E. Stanley.
Secretaries,—Mr. Greg ; Dr. Longfield.

The Royal College of Physicians, on Saturday evening, invited
most of the members who had arrived, to a conversazione in their
library and museum, at St. Patrick Dunn’s Hospital,—where dis-
cussions on medical subjects are held monthly. Dr. Jonathan Os-
borne, who was in the chair, read a preliminary paper, and other
papers were afterwards read by Drs. Marsh and Montgomery ; after
which, the company adjourned to supper in the state apartments.—
We now give as comprehensive an account of the sectional and
other proceedings, in regular order, as our limits will admit.

Monday.—A vast accession of members presented themselves who
had arrived in Sir John Tobin’s vessel, and in the Liverpool and
Holyhead packets. By the judicious, arrangements of Professors
Lloyd and Phillips, the whole of the sections were in working order
at eleven o'clock ; but it soon became evident that the sectional
meetings would be crowded beyond example The Physical, Geo-
logical, and Medical rooms especially, were completely filled a few
minutes after the chair was taken. The sections were opened in
the following places :—

A. Mathematics and Physics—The Philosophy School, Trinity
College.

B. Chemistry and Mineralogy—Chemical School, ditto.

_C. Geology and Geography—Theatre of the Royal Dublin So-
ciety.

D. Zoology and Botany—Board-room, ditto.

E. Anatomy and Medicine—Council-room, Royal Irish Academy.

F. Statistics—Divinity School, Trinity College.

Section A.— Mathematics and Physics—Dr. Robinson in the
chair.—Mr. Whewell read an able paper on electricity and magnet-
ism, on some points of which, however, he was opposed in opinion
by Mr. Harris ; Professor Powell made an interesting communica-
tion on the nature of radiant heat ; Dr. Hudson read a paper on the
radiation of heat and cold; Sir John Ross on the Aurora Borealis ;
Mr. Roberts on optical phenomena ; Mr. Robert Mallet on a new
machine, worked by steam, for separating iron filings from brass
and copper filings; and Mr. Russell on floating bodies.

Section B.—Chemistry and Mineralogy.—Dr. Thompson in the
chair.—Professor Davy read an important paper on the protection
of metals attached to buoys, and illustrated his statements by a va-

MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSUCIATION. 117

riety of experiments ; Professor Kane a paper upon a singular phe-
nomenon of flame arising from coal gas; and Mr. Ettrick exhi-
bited a plan of a new safety lamp.

Srcrion C.—Geology and Geography.—Mr. Griffiths presided at
the opening of the section, but having to exhibit his own geographi-
cal map of Ireland, he resigned the chair to Professor Sedgwick.
This splendid map, the result of many years’ laborious research, was
produced, and its general correctness much lauded. Professor Bryce,
of Belfast, remarked on the formation of gravel hills, in the north-
ern counties of Ireland; and Professor Sedgwick, of Cambridge,
entered minutely into the geological history of several counties in
England, occasionally referring to the observations of Mr. Griffiths,
to shew the analogy which was evident between the strata of these
counties and different parts of Ireland. The learned Professor here
gave au eloquent description of the pursuits which lead the geolo-
gist into the wildest and most beautiful scenes of nature, wherein
he is continually called to contemplate, in the existing face of na-
ture, the terrible convulsions which gave birth to all the beauty he
beholds ; or of those awful catastrophes which. devastating all that
is lovely within their reach, prepare, by present ruin, new modifi-
cations of the sublime or beautiful for the wonder and instruction
of remote posterities. |

Section D.—JZoology and Botany.—Dr. Allman in the Chair.—
A paper on the natural arrangement of plants was read by Mr.
Nevin, who presented some-specimens of new plants found on the
western coast of England.—The Orchis pyramidalis was found by
Dr. Graham at Galloway. Dr. Knapp also found it growing in Fife.
—Mr. Babington said, three of the Ranunculus tribe were commonly
confounded under one—the aquatilis, palustris, and sceleratus.—Mr.
Babington also informed the section that Reichenbach distinguished
three distinct species, under the head orchis bifolia, two of them na-
tives of Great Britain; they were chiefly distinguishable by the
form of the anthers, one being more round, the other longitudinal.
Doctor Drummond stated the common Gordius to be vivaparous ;
when put into the same vessel of water with a common newt, the
animal became alarmed, and in a short time the Gordius twined
round it and killed it.—A communication was read from Mr. Ha-
milton, of Mexico, offering his services to the British Association, in
forwarding seeds and plants, and describing some new plants of that
country, one a species of Solanum. The amaryllis was stated to be an
agave.—Dr. Coulter doubted this, and took occasion to inform the
meeting of a plant, a species of Veratrum, not the Veratrum sabadil-
la of the shops, a portion of which was taken medicinally by a per-
son labouring under dyspepsia, so that he could make use of no food,
and having at the time to ride thirty miles aday. After the second
dose ‘his appetite returned. Dr. Coulter only saw the root and was
thus enabled to pronounce the plant not to be the Veratrum sabadil-
la. It is called by the natives the Indian’s root.

Section E.—Analomy and Medicine—Dr. Abraham Colles in

118 MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

the chair.—At one o’clock Dr. Groves commenced to read a paper on
fever. The room was crowded principally by professional gentle-
men.

Srction F.—Statistics—Mr. Babbage in the chair—Mr. Maun-
sell, professor of midwifery to the Royal College of Surgeons, read a
paper on the statistics of the Dublin Foundling Hospital, and on -
child desertion in the city of Dublin, and exhibited a series of tables
illustrative of these subjects. Among the latter was an abstract of
the registry of the Foundling Hospital for thirty-four years, exhi-
biting at a view the results with respect to 51,523 foundlings ; and
also tables exhibiting the average yearly desertions in the city pa-
rishes since the close of the Foundling Hospital in 1831. A most
interesting discussion followed, in which Mr. Babbage, Col. Sykes,
Rev. Dr. Dickenson, Professor Longfield, Dr. Maunsell, and several
other members, took a part, with regard to population and the laws
of its increase, which Mr. Babbage illustrated by returns obtained’
from Prussia, Germany, parts of England, and some other countries.
Some of the results, particularly with regard to the laws of the pro-
portion of the sexes, were very curious and extraordinary. A report
on the Glasgow Bridewell, by Dr. Cleland, of Glasgow, was distri-
buted among the members, and the section adjourned to the follow-
ing day.

About three hundred members of the Association dined at the or-
dinary, at Morrison’s. The tickets were issued at five shillings
each, the difference being paid out of the local fund. ‘The Surgeon-
General presided ; but, with the exception of the King and the As-
sociation, there were not any toasts proposed, nor, of course, were
there any speeches delivered. Coffee was served at half-past seven,
and immediately after the members adjourned to the Rotundo,
where the first general meeting of the Association took place. At
twenty minutes after eight, his excellency the Lord Lieutenant, ac-
companied by his staff, entered the room, and took his seat. on the
platform. The noble Earl was attired in the uniform of the Gover-
nor-General of Jamaica. The chair was then taken by Sir Thomas
Brisbane, the out-going president. Sir Thomas addressed the meet-
ing, and spoke in high terms of the very excellent arrangements that
had been made for the reception of the Association—arrangements
’ which did honour to the metropolis of Ireland, and for which the
strangers who had arrived were very deeply indebted to those who
had done so much to provide for their comfort during their stay
(cheers). He then adverted to the great benefits the Association
conferred on the cause of science. He (Sir Thomas) was now about
to resign the high office to which the partiality of the members, not
his own merits, had raised him. Its duties would now pass into far
abler hands, and that they would be adequately sustained could not
be doubted, when he mentioned that his successor was to be the
highly-gifted Dr. Lloyd. He then alluded to the absence of the
Bishop of Cloyne, upon whom he passed a high eulogium, regretting
that illness had prevented that great man from being present. After

MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION 119

some further eloquent and appropriate remarks, Sir Thomas con-
cluded, amid loud cheering, by calling upon Dr. Lloyd to take the
chair which he vacated.

Dr. Lloyd, on taking the chair, addressed the meeting at some
length. He vindicated modern science from the charge of impiety,
and proved that scientific investigations, so far from throwing doubt
on the accuracy of Revelation, tended more and more to confirm it.
This must always be the case, as the more we sought after the
truths of nature, the more illustrations and confirmations would di-
vine truths receive. 'The God of nature was the God of Revelation ;
and science, which developed the laws of nature, could not trace any-
thing contrary to revelation. He repudiated the notion that the
cause of religion could be served by ignorance ; and observed it was
an exploded absurdity. Dr. Lloyd continued to expatiate, at con-
siderable length, upon the advantages of an Association which
formed a bond of union between scientific men of different countries.
He made several apt quotations from Bacon, and concluded by call-
ing on Professor Hamilton, one of the Secretaries, to present the
annual report.

The learned Professor read from a paper a very diffuse and very
eloquent statement of the origin, progress, and completion of the
British Associatiun—its objects, and the mode by which it purposed
to effect them, which appeared to give very general satisfaction.

The Presidents of the sections, at the chairman’s request, then read
abstracts of the proceedings.—Professor Sedgwick addressed the
meeting in an animated and effective speech. He observed that the
Association had now been assembled between four and five years,
and being possessed of a migratory character, objections had been
started, that the distance between the successive places of meeting
and the necessity of crossing the sea, might operate as a fatal check
to the success of the undertaking. These anticipations proved un-
founded, and every meeting but proved the increased prosperity of
the British Association. The professor then adverted to the muni-
ficence of Sir John Tobin, in bringing over the members in his
splendid steam vessel, and begged leave to move the thanks of the
meeting to that gentleman,—-Professor Murchison seconded the mo-
tion, which passed amid the strongest evidences of satisfaction.

The meeting adjourned at eleven o’clock.

Tuesday.—At eleven o'clock all the sections again met, and closed
at the usual hour.

Szcrron A.—Mathematics and Physics.—Mr. Whewell’s paper
was concluded. The subject was the application of mathematical
principles to the development of the laws of electricity and heat.—
Dr. Allman read an essay on the formation of the cells of plants
Mr. Snow Harris proceeded to explain his apparatus for making
electrical experiments, and put forward some views with regard to
the equable diffusion of electricity, which did not meet Mr. Whe-
well’s approbation, upon which a most interesting controversy arose
between these two philosophers ; Mr. Whewell proving his position

120 MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

by mathematics, Mr. Harris endeavouring to upset his antagonist’s
conclusions by experiments. The further discussion was adjourned.

Dr. Read, of Edinburgh, read a paper applying the principles of
accoustics to the construction of buildings intended as rooms for pub-
lic meetings.

Mr. Russell explained the recent improvements in canal travel-
ling, and illustrated the recent discovery that, contrary to preceding
opinions, the resistance of the water does not increase with the velo-
city of the boat.

Srcrion B.—Chemistry and Mineralogy.—Professor Davy’s pa-
per on the protection of metals was again discussed at some length.

Srecrion C.—Geology and Geography.—Professor Phillips, Arch-
deacon Verschoyle, and Dr. West, read papers. Mr. Babbage was
expected to read a paper, for which purpose it was supposed he had
left the chair of the statistical section ; the section, however, dis-
solved early, and Mr. Babbage’s paper was postponed.

Section D.—Zoology and Botany.—This Section was occupied,
on the presentation of a paper by Mr. Mackay, in discussing the
subject of the bog timber which is found in Ireland.

Secrion E.—Anatomy and Medicine——Dr. Houston read a most
able paper on the provision which nature makes in the inculcating a
system of diving animals, to enable them to sustain, without injury,
a long privation of breath. He beautifully illustrated this by com-
paring the vessels of the gannet and the diver—both aquatic fowl ;
but the former seizing its prey on the surface—the latter adapted
to pursue them through the deep.

SecTion F.—<Statistics.—This section was occupied principally
in discussing the subject of Irish education. In the absence of the
Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. Dickenson praised the new Board, and
invited the members to visit the mode] school.

A discussion then followed upon the expediency of solitary con-
finement, and the length of time that human nature could endure
exclusion from the light.

After the sectional business had concluded, a magnificent enter-
tainment was given to the members of the British Association, by
the members of the Zvological Society. An encampment was formed
on the grounds between the great conservatory and the ostrich house,
and under the tents there were laid covers for five hundred. Long
before the hour fixed for the dejeuné, the illustrious strangers, as
well as the members, crowded the gardens, inspecting the various
animals, and admiring the style in which this delightful retreat is
kept. Shortly after half-past three, his Excellency the Lord Lieu-
tenant, accompanied by three aides-de-camp, arrived, and took his
seat at the table, when the splendid band of the 7th Dragoon Guards
played “God save the King.” After the health of ‘the King,”
“the British Association,” ‘* the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland,” had
been proposed and drunk, the Earl of Mulgrave, the Duke of Lein-
ster, and the other distinguished guests, retired to promenade about
the gardens.

MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 121

‘

The attraction at the evening meeting at the Rotundo was Dr.
Lardner’s lecture on steam-carriages—and it must be allowed that
much gratification was the result of the clear and able manner in
which he treated the subject. After commenting on their national
utility, and on the improvements which were likely to add to their
convenience and speed, he glanced briefly at the great lines of com-
munication which are projected: the most forward is the line between
Liverpool and London—a railway is te run from Liverpool to Bir-
mingham, and from Birmingham to meet the Manchester railway
at a point about half way to Liverpool—this railway will be two
hundred miles long; there is a magnificent viaduct over the valley
of the Ouse, a mile and a quarter long, and several tunnels—one
under Primrose-hill, close to the Regent’s Park, of half a mile, ano-
ther a mile and a half, with several of shorter lengths. By this
railroad, even were no further improvement to be effected in the
speed of the engines beyond the ordinary rate of travelling, the jour-
ney from London to Liverpool would be effected in ten hours; but,
as it is probable that carriages built expressly for the purpose of
speed, which has never yet been made the object of attention, could
keep up during the whole way the rate of 40, 50, or even 60 miles
an hour,—which speed has been attained on the Kingstown railway,
in experimental trips,—the mail might be conveyed from London to
Liverpool in three hours and a half. Dr. Lardner then referred to
a map on which all the projected railroads were marked—one from
London to Southampton, another from London to Bristol. It was
impossible to calculate the moral, political, and commercial effects of
these railroads. It was found that the making a railroad trebled
the intercourse along the line. The intercourse between London
and Liverpool was 1,300 persons a day, as ascertained by stamp re-
turns. The intercourse between London and the three towns he
had mentioned was annually a million and a quarter—very nearly
the amount of the whole population of the metropolis. Other rail-
roads were projected to York, Edinburgh, and Lincoln; and last—
not least—one that he trusted yet to see—the highway to New
York ; he meant the projected one to Valentia—(renewed and loud
cheering). From this the greatest good must follow ; steam packets
could ply from Valentia to Halifax in twelve days, and thus the
whole intercourse with America be brought within the reach of
steam navigation; all passengers from the western world would
then pass through Ireland, and he (Dr. Lardner) knew of no pro-
ject more calculated to tranquillize and enrich Ireland than the con-
struction of the proposed railway, in the line of which there is no
insuperable obstacle—(great cheering). Our transatlantic brethren
had done much in constructing railroads, which were not inferior to
ours, as had been erroneously stated—46 were completed, and 137
either completed or in progress; one was now projecting from Balti-
more to the vale of the Ohio, which would be 330 miles in length.
- [The learned Professor concluded his interesting lecture, which was
one of the most popular, and the clearest exposition of scientific

122 MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

principles that we ever had the good fortune to hear, amid the loud-
est plaudits of the highly respectable crowd which filled the room. ]

Wednesday.—At nine o'clock the College of Surgeons entertained
the distinguished strangers at their splendid College, in Stephen’s-
green. The Library, Examination-Hall, and Museum, were thrown
open as reception rooms, and the dejeuné was laid out in the Board-
reom, Committee-rooms, and other apartments, in this magnificent
building. About six hundred persons were present, and so admi-
rable were the arrangements, that not a wish or want of any of
the numerous persons assembled was left ungratified. Mr. Read,
the president of the College of Surgeons, who presided, was unre-
mitting in his attentions, and unceasing in his exertions. After the
dejeune all the rooms in the College were thrown open for inspec-
tion. Shortly before eleven o’clock the members had retired to the
various sectional meetings.

Srction A.—Mathematics and Physics.—The first paper read
was the continuation of Mr. Snow Harris’s highly interesting ob-
servations on the use of the proof-plane of Coulomb. Capt. Sa-
bin explained Hanstein’s theory of the earth’s magnetic curves ; and
attributed the difference observed in the polenity and dip of the com-
pass needle, in different places, to the existence of two northern and
two southern magnetic poles to the earth.—Professor Wheatstone
read an account of his experiments on the decomposition of the light
of the electrical spark, produced by different means—Mr. Fox ex-
hibited his improved needle, for observing the dip and intensity of
the earth’s magnetism at different places. The instrument and ex-
planation appeared to give much satisfaction——The Rev. Mr.
M*‘Gauley explained his electro-magnetic machine for producing mo-
tion, and stated the prospect which was being opened of converting
the power of electro-magnets to useful purposes. He also detailed
a number of experiments to illustrate the nature of electro-magnetic
induction. The novelty and great ingenuity of Mr. M‘Gauley’s
views, and their application, excited the greatest admiration.—Pro-
fessor Hamilton next made a communication on the nature of alge-
bra, which he defined “ to be the science of pure time, as geometry
is the science of pure space.” He referred toa paper in the last
number of the Transactions of the Irish Academy, which contained
his suggestions for certain improvements and simplifications in al-

ebra.
: Secrion B.—Chemistry and Mineralogy.—Mr. Mallet, of Dub-
lin, read a very valuable paper on a peculiar alteration which
takes place in the flame of coal-gas by the introduction of air, by
means of concealed tubes introduced to the air passage of the ar-
gand burner usually employed; the gas burns with a blue flame,
yielding no light, and returns downward upon the blast. Mr. Mallet
did not attempt to account for the effect so produced. The reading
of this paper gave rise to several observations on oil and coal gases.
Mr, Connell read a paper on fossil scales, and, from an analysis of
them, suggested the means of discovering whether they were those

MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 123

of fishes or reptiles.—Mr. Snow Harris read a paper on the electri-
city developed in the evaporation of water. He undertook to prove
the electric matter is developed where pure water is evaporated. Mr.
Harris exhibited an extremely delicate apparatus, or electrometer,
which is affected at twenty feet distance from the plate machine.—
The gold leaf was strongly affected, at a distance of several feet, by
a glass rod slightly rubbed with a silk handkerchief.

Section C.—Geology and Geography.—Lieutenant Stotherd
read a paper on a small granite district in the county Cavan, sur-
rounded by the transition series, and the primary rocks.—Professor
Phillips made a communication relative to the Belemnites.—Profes-
sor Agassiz, one of the most eminent of the continental geologists,
who spoke in French, observed upon specimens he had seen in
France, with the cuttle at the end of the shell filling up the cavity
observable in the British specimens ; whether this arose from a va-
riety in the species, or what other cause it was not stated. Profes-
sor Phillips urged, in eloquent terms, the great advantages of theo-
logy, and the importance of examining fossil remains.—Captain Den-
ham, R. N., one of the officers attached to the ordnance survey of
Great Britain, exhibited a map illustrative of the estuaries of the
Dee and Mersey. He exhibited a chart of these two rivers, and a
tide-table, so calculated that the mariner may know any half-hour
the banks which might be crossed ; thus pointing out the danger, and
when it ceased—a matter of great relief to the mariner. Captain
Denham complimented the Dock Trustees of Liverpool, for their
munificent expenditure, in enabling him to prosecute his object, and.
dwelt with particular stress on the unbounded liberality of Sir John
Tobin. Captain Denham suggested the utility of establishing a
half.tide level at each port, to point out the soundings of banks at
the half-tide along the continuous shore. The gallant Captain
next alluded to the error which had nearly been committed in cut-
ing a canal from Bridgewater to the sea, when there were tides
from fifty-six feet level to eighteen feet. He observed that if the
distance from the earth’s centre to the half-tide level were calculated,
it would form a correct base for ascertaining the heights of the land.
It would form a matter for consideration if the influence of the sun
and moon on the tides were withdrawn, whether or not the water
would recede to the half-tide level—(loud applause greeted Captain
Denham at the conclusion of his observations). Professor Sedg.-.
wick and Sir John Tobin severally offered a few observations com-
plimentary to the exertions of Captain Denham, and of the ability
with which the map and tide tables were executed. Professor Grif-
fiths moved the especial thanks of the section to Captain Denham,
which was enthusiastically responded to by the crowded and intelli-
gent audience. Professor Murchison said this showed the intimate
connexion between geology and geography. If this subject were
followed up with that spirited enterprize displayed by such gentle-
men as Sir John Tobin, and others, the elurement of land in one
place and its increase in another, might yet be defined, and the

124 MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

rate of that increase and decrease. The communication of Captain
Denham is looked upon by all the scientific men, whose opinion is
worthy of attention, as one of the most important points on physical
geography yet submitted.

Section D.—Zoology and Botany.—Mr. Nicol read a paper on
the structure of the horizontal branches of the natural family of Co.
nifere ; highly interesting and useful in observing fossil remains
of vegetable substances.—Dr. Neele made a communication on
the seeming hybernation of a land-rail; it was found in Orkney,
when brought near the heat of a fire it was restored, but died shortly
afterwards.—Some observations, of a highly interesting character,
were made by Professor Daubeny, on the circumstance affecting the
exhalation of moisture on the leaves of plants—the influence of light
and heat together, and of heat without light. A very interesting
discussion arose out of this subject.—Mr. P. Marshall read a paper
on the zoology of Rathlin.—Professor Allman submitted a plan for
the arrangement of plants according to their natural affinities.

Section E.—Anatomy and Medicine.—This section held its
meeting at the Royal College of Surgeons. A paper was read,
by Dr. M‘Donald, on the pulse and breathing, from the earliest pe-
riod of man’s existence.—-Dr. Harrison made a communication on
the heart bones in ruminating animals.—Mr. Houston read a most
valuable and interesting paper on hydatids found in the omentum of
the axis deer, one of the animals which died in the Zoological Gar-
dens. This curious animal was traced in its progress from its origin
to its decay, in the same spot where it originated. © The subject was
illustrated by beautiful drawings, and altogether attracted the ut-
most attention, as well from the carefully minute manner in which
it was observed, as from the clear manner in which it was elucidated.
Dr. Harrison submitted a paper on the entozoa in the human mus-
cle-——Dr. Jacob read a most admirable paper on the mammary
glands of the Cetacee. He had a fine specimen of the dolphin tribe to
aid in illustration of his subject.—Dr. Collins submitted a valuable
abstract of the registry kept for seven years in the Lying-in Hospi-
tal—He was followed by Sir James Murray, on atmospheric pres-
sure.

Section F.—Statistics.—Lieutenant-Colonel Sykes read an inter-
esting paper shewing the rate of wages in Deccan, and the progres-
sive improvements occurring during later years.—Professor Babbage,
in accordance with the desire of the meeting, gave his views in re-
ference to the influence of co-operative shops for the sale of necessa-
ries to workmen. These co-operative shops were of two kinds. One
was that in which the workmen, buying at wholesale, shared among
themselves the intermediate profit derived by the retailer ; and the
other, where the master kept the shop, and the workmen purchased
from him. With the latter branch of the case he did not intend to
deal at present, but his opinion was hostile to the formation of shops
by masters. He exemplified his remarks in a very minute and sa-
tisfactory manner, and concluded by expressing himself hostile to

MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 125

co-operative shops, but added that the data upon which he grounded
his conclusions, were not so extreme as to preclude the possibility of
subsequent inguiry inducing him to change his opinions. Several
members joined with Professor Babbage in the view he had taken,
and instanced various cases where the plan had been adopted and
failed. Dr. Orpen concurred in the objections made to co-operative
shops.—Dr. Maunsel read a paper upon coroner’s inquests and the
extent of infanticide, and the section then adjourned to next day.

At five o'clock, upwards of three hundred persons sat down
at the ordinary at Morrison’s. After dinner the President of the
Association, who was in the chair, proposed “ The King,”—*‘ Suc-
cess to the British Association,’—‘‘ The late President, Sir Thomas
Brisbane,’”—‘‘ The health of the illustrious foreigners,” which was
drunk with the utmost enthusiasm. Dr. Peithman, of Berlin, Pro-
fessor Moll, Monsieur Agassiz, and Colonel Dick, severally returned
thanks. The company then broke up and retired to the Rotundo,
which was densely crowded. Nothing could be more brilliant than
the appearance the room presented on this occasion. The Pro-
vost of Trinity College, who was in the chair, said that the real bu-
siness of the Association was transacted at the various sections, but
an abstract of the proceedings which occurred there would now be
given the meeting. The reports of the sections were read by Drs.
Romney, Robinson, and Apjohn ; Professors Griffith, Graham, Har-
rison, and Babbage. ‘The chairman said, that the impulse given to
science should be considered, if they would receive any proper im-
pression of the benefits conferred by this Association. ‘The Associa-
tion had, in fact, given an impulse to science never heard of before,
and it was utterly impossible to fix any limits to the extent of its
operations. After some other observations, in a similar strain of
eulogy, the learned chairman called upon Professor Powell, to deli-
ver his general views on the “ undulatory theory of light.” Pro-
fessor Powell then went into a technical and most able dissertation
upon light, and advanced some new facts which elicited great praise,
particularly from Professor Hamilton.—Professor Whewell made
some observations upon the phenomena of the tides, and referred,
with satisfaction, to the evidence now being collected, upon which
to form correct data. The tides were to be considered with reference
to time and space. Professor Whewell referred to the different tide
returns, furnished by the coast guard in 1834 and 1835, and also to
the calculations agreed to be furnished by the various maritime
powers, as most beneficial in affording means from which to deduce
correct references with regard to the action of the tides. The meet-
ing adjourned shortly after eleven o’clock. :

Lhursday —Section A.—Mathematics and Physics.—Mr. Jer-
rard had prepared a long tract on the solutions of equations of the
fifth degree. It was, however, far too voluminous to be read in the
section. It was accordingly handed over to Professor Hamilton,
who undertook to explain its contents to the meeting. We believe
that it had been only in the hands of the learned Professor from the

126 MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

morning before ; and it isa remarkable proof of his great powers,
that by the next day he had so mastered the intricacies of this ab.
struse essay, in which, too, a new method of notation is introduced,
that he was able this day to explain it in an abbreviated form to the
section, and this he did in a manner that received the warmest
thanks of Mr. Jerrard himself.—Mr. Phillips presented a most inter-
esting report of experiments, by which he ascertained that a much
greater quantity of rain falls in the upper parts of the atmosphere
than on the ground. He selected York minster as the place of his
experiments. During a shower, he had three rain guages placed,
one on the top, a second on the ground, and a third half way down ;
the higher you went from the ground the greater the quantity of
rain.—Colonel Sykes read a paper on a mode of ascertaining the
heights of mountains, by observing the temperature at which water
boils.—Mr. M‘Cullagh read a paper on the reflection and polariza-
tion of light, which was distinguished for the wonderful mathe-
matical power it exhibited—Mr. M‘Gauley concluded his papers
on electro-magnetism. The researches of the reverend gentleman
met with the fullest approbation of the section. |

Secrion B.—Chemistry and Mineralogy.—Papers read.—Mr.
Snow Harris, on the electricity evolved by the evaporation of hot
water.—Mr. Hartopp on tke use of hot air in the manufacture of
pig iron—Dr. Apjohn, on the specific heats of gases.—Dr. Dalton
on the use of symbols to indicate the constitution of chemical com-
pounds.—Professor Powell, on specimens of chemical substances for
optical purposes.—Mr. Mallet, on the bleaching of certain varieties
of turf for the manufacture of paper.—Professor Davy, on the rela-
tive value of Virginian and Irish tobaceo.—Mr. Moore, on the coro-
sion of lead pipes by contact with organic matter.

Section C.—Geology and Geography.—M. Agassiz exhibited
the 5th part of his work on Fossil Ichthyology, and offered some ex-
planatory remarks.—Dr. Trail read a sketch of the Geology of Spain.
—Mr. James Smith noticed other authors, includisg an account of
a fossil forest, and a statement regarding some fossil fish found in
the Lias.

Section D.— Zoology and Botany.—In this section much interest-
ing conversation took place. Mr. Mackay calculated from the num-
ber of layers found in a piece of Irish yew, that the tree must have
been as old as the Christian era. Dr. Litton stated that the age
assigned by tradition to the celebrated yew tree at Mucrus, Killar-
ney, was verified by the botanical inquiries into the number of the
layers.

Gdadiins E.—Anatomy and Medicine—In this section many very
important papers were read, on: strictly professional subjects. The
most generally interesting, perhaps, was that of Dr. Corrigan, who
detailed some very curious acoustic indications of the morbid state
of the circulation.

Section F.—Statistics——Colonel Sykes read a paper on the state
of education in the Deccan; Mr. Stanley, on the state of education

MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 127

in the parish of Alderley; and Dr. Read on a book which he is
bringing through the press, proposing a new plan for the extension
of physical science.

It having been arranged that no lecture would take place on
Thursday evening at the Rotundo, the round room and gardens
were opened for an evening promenade, which was most fashiona-
bly and numerously attended. Most of the savans in town enjoyed
this opportunity of social intercourse with the Irish people. ' The
gardens were brilliantly illuminated, and the fine bands of the 7th
Dragoons and the 14th regiment played alternately several of the
choicest musical compositions.

Friday.—The sections did not assemble until.twelve o’clock, in
consequence of the féte at the Botanic Gardens.

Section A.—Mathematics and Physics.—Professor Apjohn made
a communication on the determination of the dew point. He esta-
blished his plan by experiments so clearly, that it is likely to become
the general hygrometrical instrument used by philosophers.—A
memoir of Professor Challies on the simultaneous vibration of
cylindrical tubes, and the air contained in thém, was read by
Professor Hamilton, as secretary of the section, in his most im-
pressive style-—Professor Wheatstone made a communication on the
various mechanical constructions to imitate the human voice ; he ex-
hibited an instrument composed of a sound box, with a bellows at-
tached to one end, to the other the frustrum of a cone, with the base
outside, and keys inside the box, to the other end; by pressing the
wind through the bellows, and fingering the keys with one hand,
the other being applied to the box of the frustrum of the cone, and
was thus enabled to utter intelligibly the words “ papa,” “mamma,”
“thumb,” ‘ plumb.”—Professor Whewell brought forward his mo-
del of a new anemometer, which was ingeniously contrived, not
only to shew the direction of the wind, but also its intensity, with
a view to the correct ascertainment of the quantity of disturbance,
in any given time, in the superincumbent air. The machine is also
self_registering, by means of, a spring pencil acting upon a cylinder.
The contrivance seems exceedingly simple, and is considered likely
to lead to some definite and practical results.—Captain Sir John
Ross alluded to the means adopted by him during his last voyage,
to register the direction of the winds, their velocity, combined with
the state of the weather, the barometer and thermometer, from ob-
servations as accurately made as circumstances would admit of, every
half hour. He expressed his doubt of the utility of the instrument
in the arctic regions, but said he would have wished to have had
such an instrument with him on his last voyage as the one then sub-
mitted, in order to test its utility and accuracy.—Professor Lloyd
mentioned the result of several observations entered into by him and
Captain Sabine on the dip and variation of the needle in various
parts of Ireland. They were desirous, in their observations, to as4
certain, with accuracy, the intensity of the terrestrial magnitude:
these observations were undertaken as a part of a considerable num-

128 MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

ber, now going forward, to learn the force of terrestrial magnetism
at different places at similar times.—Professor Hamilton explained
his views as to the variation in orbits, improving upon the system of
La Grange.—Mr. M‘Cullagh offered a beautiful generalization of
planetary status—Mr. Kane offered some observations on the inter-
ference of sound.—The section then dissolved.

Sus-Srection A.—Mr. Hodgkinson detailed some experiments in
reference to the collision of beams and piles, and the elasticity of
timber under circumstances of collision —Mr. Mallet read a paper
on the fracture of bars of cast-iron.—Mr. Ettrick submitted to the
section a model of an astronomical clock, more perfect in its com-
pensation, and independent of the motion of the pendulum.—Mr.
Pritchard exhibited an improved microscope:—Mr. Grubb made some
very able and practical observations on an improved model for
mounting an equatorial, adopted by Edward J. Cooper, M. P., of
Makeree Castle, county Sligo. Mr. Cooper bore testimony to the
excellence of the instrument, as also to the talent and perseverance
of Mr. Grubb, in his scientific inprovements and intentions.—Mr.
Stevelly produced to the section an improved barometer.—Lieute-
nant Denham, R. N., made some interesting observations upon the
effects of vibration upon iron railways, and especially where thev
passed over tunnels.—Dr. Lardner delivered some observations upon
certain principles connected with railroads. Mr. Vignolles next ad-
dressed the section, and detailed several instances coming under his
own observation, to shew that in railways where the curve has less
than a quarter of a mile, no danger had ever occurred.

Section C.—Geology and Geography.—Professor Whewell ex-
plained his views respecting heat in the production of geological
phenomena.—Professors Murchison and Sedgwick gave a descrip-
tion of the geological character of: the’slate country of Wales, com-
ing after the coal formation, and a great extent of rocks aud fossils,
not previously examined, and entered into an explanation of the Si.
berian and Cambrian systems.—Professor Jacob entered into an ex-
planation of some fossil madrepores, found in the Queen’s County.
—Several other communications were made, and the section was
dissolved.—Professor Griffith, in the evening, at the Rotundo, men-
tion that the Wollaston medal had been awarded.to Professor Agas-
SIZ.

Srction D.—Zoology and Botany—Several members of the
section proceeded to Howth on a botanical excursion.

Section E.—Anatomy and Medicine.—The proceedings opened
by a paper from Dr. O’Beirne, explanatory of his peculiar views on
the functions of the bowels, and giving some additional cases in cor-
roboration of the accuracy of his published work—Dr. Osborne
made a most important communication on the effects of cold on the
human body.—Surgeon Hutton gave a report of a peculiar case of
disease of the brain, attended with idiocy, and congenital dislocation
of the hip joint.—Dr. Handyside, of Edinburgh, stated a case of a
similar nature, corroborating the views, and establishing the impor-

MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 129

tance of the case described by Mr. Hutton.—Surgeon Adams read 2
paper on aneurism by anastomosis. ‘This paper created great inter-
est, and a conversation on the subject of it followed, in which
many curious and important facts were elicited. The Surgeon-Ge-
neral, Surgeon Read, President of the Royal College of Surgeons,
Professor Harrison, Dr. Handyside, of Edinburgh, Dr. Grenville, of
London, Dr. Houston, and others, joined in the discussion.—Mr.
Snow Harris exhibited the bones of the hip joint of the celebrated
comedian, Matthews, who was supposed to have sustained a fracture
of the neck of the thigh bone, by a fall out of a gig, many years be-
fore his death. Myr. Matthews had walked after the accident, but
subsequently, after a long confinement to bed, the leg had become
much shortened. An interesting discussion, as to the real nature of
the lesion in the bone followed, in which Mr. Harris, the two Vice-
Presidents, Professor Colles, and the Surgeon-General, Dr. Gren-
ville, Professor Harrison, Surgeon Adams, Surgeon M‘Dowel, Sur-
geon Hargrave, and others joined. It appeared to be the most gene-
ral opinion, that the specimen presented was an instance of the dis-
ease termed morbus coxe senilis, of which some specimens were
exhibited of very analogous character, rather than one of fracture of
the neck of the thigh bone, in which reunion of the broken bones
had been effected. In consequence of the difference of opinion, it
was finally arranged, that a committee should be appointed to exa-
mine into the nature of the case, which, if it proved to be an
instance of re-united fracture of the neck of the femur, should be
preserved as a rare and almost unique preparation.—Dr. Handyside
of Edinburgh, gave an abstract of a paper which he held in his
hand, containimg numerous and important observations and experi-
ments on the respective powers of the lymphatics, lacteals, and veins,
in carrying on the phenomena of absorption from the surfaces and
integral structures of the body.—Dr. Hart read a paper on a suc-
cessful case of Casarian operation, communicated by G. B. Knowles,
Esq., Lecturer on Botany, at the Birmingham School of Medicine.
The patient recovered in the course of a month.

Secrion F,—Statlistics—An abstract from the ordnance survey
of Londonderry was read. The accuracy of the survey was made
the subject of great praise by Professor Babbage, Colonel Sykes, and
Dr. Taylor.—A paper by Dr. Jones, on the statistics of lunacy, was
read ; as also one by Mr. Fox on the punishment of death in Prus-
sia, Belgium, Norway, &c.

In the evening, the round room of the Rotundo was crowded to
excess. ‘The Chairman of the several sections gave an account of
the various papers read during the meetings of the previous day and
that morning.—Professor Babbage then proceeded to offer some
suggestions as to the age of peat-mosses, &c. &c.—Professor Sedg-
wick gave an account of the labours of the geological section, and
at the close of the discourse he was much applauded.

Saturday.—A_ general meeting was held at two o'clock, wher
the Rev. Vernon Harcourt, as general secretary, addressed the

October, 1835.—-VoL. III, NO. XIII. Mia

130 MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

meeting. He apologized for the delay which had occurred, but
hoped it would be excused on account of the importance of the sub-
jects which had been discussed before the committee. Invitations
had been sent from Bristol, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester,
and Newcastle, soliciting the Association to fix its next meeting in
those several places, and the decision was finally made in favour of
Bristol, on account of that city having sent the first decided invita-
tion.. Every kind of accomodation had been offered by the public
and corporate bodies. A difficulty then arose in selecting the offi-
cers of the Association in provincial towns, as they might not wish
to undergo the arduous labours and duties necessary to give effect
to the proceedings ; but there did not appear to be the least proba-
* bility of any inconvenience arising in the present instance, Mr.
Harcourt then enumerated the several sums of money recommended
by the sections to be advanced for the prosecution of scientific ob-
jeets in various branches; and of a determination to apply to go-
vernment to send out an expedition to the Antarctic regions, for the
purpose of discovering the Southern magnetic poles. He would not
waste time in advocating the propriety of the system adopted by the
Association, for there could not be a doubt of its being the most ef.
ficacious in imparting knowledge. The resources, he had much
gratification in announcing, had increased to a greater degree at
this than at any former meeting. From the occurrences in the sec-
tions, not only were new subjects remarked, but the spirit which
these discoveries evinced, was also shewn. ‘The members also de.
rived incitement to new exertions, from the kindness with which
they had been treated in every place, and surely in none more than
the metropolis of Ireland. In science, the Association afforded im-
portant means for facilitating discoveries, and for awarding the just
meed of approbation to the talents of distinguished philosophers. It
was said to Dr. Black, by a friend, ‘“‘ How do you happen to have
made important discoveries, and then stop short of completing those
inventions, as Priestley and Watt have done.” ‘“ They have not
escaped me,” was the reply, “but I am afraid of the reviewers.” —
The reviewers might formerly have had the power to repress merit,
but they could not do so any longer. If any man were too modest
to give an account of his scientific proceedings to the section, another
member would be prepared to act as a deputy, in order to get that
praise awarded to him which he might happen to deserve. There
were numerous other points in which the merits of the Association
could be considered, but time did not allow him to dilate upon them.
Mr. Harcourt then read the names. of the officers appointed for the
year .—Treasurer, Mr. John Taylor ; General Secretaries, Mr. V.
Harcourt, and Mr. Baillie ; Assistant General Secretary, Professor
Phillips ; Secretaries, Dr. Turner, and Mr., Yates... ‘The funds of
the Society were then stated by Mr. Taylor, the Treasurer :—on
the 30th of July last, there was cash in the Treasurer’s hands to the
amount of £509, in the stocks £2,361, unsold copies of works about
£560. In Dublin, the Treasurer had received 1,228 subscribers,

MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 131

and £1,750, together with an additional sum of £94. for books sold,
making the total income £5,214. The expences and sums due by
the “Association were probably £1,000, leaving a clear property of
£4,214. It was gratifying to state that the receipts of the preced-
ing year in Edinburgh were £1,626, while in Dublin they amount-
ed to £1,750; and also that grants for the advancement of science,
to the amount of £1,700, had been this year placed at the disposal
of the committee. Of this sum the following was its mode of dis-
tribution :—for a duplicate reduction of the astronomical observa-

tions made at L’Ecole Militaire, of Paris, £500; for determining ~
the constant of lunar notation, £100; for observations on the tem-
perature of the tide, £100; for continuing tidal observations at Li-
verpool and the port of London, £250 ; for the advancement of me-
teorology, £100; for the continuation of Professor Wheatstone’s
experiments, £30; for reducing to practice Dr. Jerrard’s plan for
solving equations of the fifth or higher degrees, £30; to Mr. John-
ston for completing tables of chemical constants, £20; to Mr. Fair-
burn for experiments on the hot and cold blasts for iron works, £30;
for prosecuting researches in British fossil ichthyology, £105 ; for
researches into the absorbents, £50; for examining the sounds of
the heart, £50.

Concluding Evening.—Dr. Barry gave an account of his ascent
.to Mount Blane. He mentioned that 20 persons only had reached
the summit of the mountain, and, of these, 12 were Englishmen.—
Professor Babbage made some remarks on a whirlpool observed at
the island of Cephalonia, through which the sea had poured for 40
years. He had applied to Lord Nugent, the Governor of Corfu, to
know whether he was acquainted with the fact, and that nobleman
had given him a statement on the subject, which he would endea-
vour to report, although not perhaps with sufficient accuracy, as he
omitted to take notes at the time. A hole is seen between two
rocks, and an excavated channel conveys the sea water into a pit,
100 yards round, and four feet beluw the surface. The sea that
enters rushes in with considerable velocity-—the water rises in the
pit through the sluice, to the height of two feet, and is then dis-
charged through some means not yet ascertained. Mr. Babbage
observed that the waters which disappeared might go into vast hid-
den receptacles not yet filled up, or else the volcanic agency supply-
ing heat might, as the waters descended into the earth, cause
eruptions.—Professor Wheatstone exhibited his speaking machine,
and explained the principles on which this ingenious machine is
invented. :

The thanks of the Association were then given to the Presidents,
&e., to the Public Institutions in Dublin for the accommodation
granted to them, to Sir John Tobin, of Liverpool, for the use of a
fine steam vessel for the conveyance of Members of the Association
to and from Ireland—and the proceedings of the British Associa-
tion for 1835 terminated.

Experience is so much in fayour of these Bari and their

K

132 PROFESSOR AGASSIZ ON ICHTHYOLITES.

utility and importance to science are so decidedly pronounced, that
there is now no fear of a cessation of their continuance from any
rational cause whatsoever. We look forward, therefore, with much
confidence to a very considerable increase in the number of Sub-
scribers at the next anniversary, and we hope to see it even exceed in
splendour and attractiveness to that which we have been thus particu-
larizing.—It has been suggested to us, by many studious men ot
eminence, that literature, domestic and foreign, should form one of
its prominent objects in future meetings; and we are of opinion
that there is much shrewdness and plausibility in this observation.
There is a certain aridness in long discussions on scientific themes
which would be well relieved by occasional dissertations on elegant
literature—and we are impressed with this conviction the more
forcible from the circumstance that those lectures which in the
slightest degree partook of this character were the most crowded
and the most regarded. Even philosophers cannot be always on
stilts, and variety, judiciously blended, is said, and truly said, to
give a zest to most of the intellectual gratifications of life.

[We have given this report as fully as our limits will allow,—to
have given it as minutely as, perhaps, it ought. to have been, would
require the space of a thick octavo volume. With respect to its cor-
rectness, we can speak confidently, for so important did we consider
the meeting, in numerous points of view—national, scientific, and
literary—that we travelled to the Irish capital, for the sole pur-
pose of watching all the movements of this learned assembly, and of
furnishing our readers with a faithful analysis of its proceedings,
from personal observation. This report, therefore, is not drawn
from the evidence, or hear-say, or imagination of others; and how-
ever defective it may appear in copiousness, our readers will find
that, in its general, and even in its minute, particulars, it lays just
claim to the merit of scrupulous faithfulness.] -

PROFESSOR AGASSIZ ON ICHTHYOLITES.

_A splendid work, which will prove alike interesting to the
student of Ichthyology and the geologist, is now in the course of
publication, by Professor Agassiz, of Neuchatel. The subject of it
is Ichthyolites or Fossil Fishes. :

From the prospectus of the Recherches sur les Poissons Fossiles,
now lying before us, we learn that the. first part (livraison) was
published in September, 1833; the second, in February, 1834:
and that it would continue to appear regularly every four months
until the whole is completed. The fifth part was laid before the
British Association at Dublin, by the learned Professor.

PROFESSOR AGASSIZ ON ICHTHYOLITES. 133

The work, when finished, will consist of twelve parts ; and form
three volumes in quarto of descriptive matter, and one folio, of two
hundred and fifty Plates. It may be considered, with respect to
Vertebrated Animals, as a complement to the celebrated Recherches
sur les Os Fossiles, of Cuvier, and the Petrefacta Musei Bonnensis,
of Goldfuss. We shall procure, as soon as possible, the early livrai-
sons of this valuable publication, and present an analytical notice
of them to our readers. :

Our zealous townsman, Mr. Weaver, of the Natural History
Museum, possesses, by the liberality of J. Greaves, Esq., a most
beautiful and interesting specimen of fossil fish, lately discovered
ina stone-quarry, belonging to that gentleman, near Stratford-
upon-Avon. Professor Agassiz, who obtained a knowledge of the
existence of this specimen, and the loan of it for the purpose of his
work, through the medium of Professor Buckland, of Oxford, has
recently returned it to Mr. Weaver, with a most gratifying letter,
of which we subjoin a translation ; * and several impressions of the
splendid drawing upon stone, which has been made from it under
the eye of the Neuchatel Professor. Of ‘this drawing, a reduced
but very correct copy, executed by Mr. Underwood, is given in our
present number. The Ichthyolite, in question, appears to be an
unique specimen of a new species of the genus Tetragonolepis, so
named from the four-angled (tetragonal) figure of the scales. ‘The
circumstance, from which the specific designation angulifer,—a
Latin adjective literally signifying angle-bearing,—applied to it by
Professor Agassiz, is not equally obvious or comprehensible.

Birmingham, Septr. 1835.

* Sir,—In returning to you the fossil fish which you had the kindness to
confide to my care, I take the liberty of transmitting to you some copies of
the drawing which I have published in my work. It is, unquestionably, one
of the finest specimens of fossil fish with which I am acquainted. It has
proved the more valuable, as it is; a new species, of which I know no other
specimen but that which you possess.

Accept, Sir, with my thanks, the assurances of my distinguished con-

sideration.
L. AGASSIZ.
Oxford, August 9th, 1835.

134

‘ To the Editor of the Analyst.
IR, |
As the long-expected Comet of Halley is now actually visible,
and many of your readers are, no doubt, anxiously anticipating the
pleasure of watching its phenomena, I have thought that it might
not be unseasonable to lay before them, through the medium of
your Journal, a few notices as to the best method of making such
observations upon it as may be of real value and interest. The ge-
neral diffusion of scientific attainments would appear, at first sight,
to render this a superfluous task ; but I am convinced that the scar-
city of accurate information respecting Comets, is much greater than
is usually supposed: most of the popular statements, even down
to the present time, being either very defective or shamefully erro-
neous ; while such as are sufficiently explicit, and deserving of confi-
dence, are not very accessible. J have therefore compiled, from un-
questionably authentic sources, an enumeration of the phenomena
whose existence it will be desirable to ascertain by observation in
the present case. If any of your astronomical readers should find it
serviceable in drawing their attention to the points most deserving
of notice, I hope that, with your sanction, they may be induced to
communicate their observations to your periodical; which, if all
made upon system, and with an uniform view to determine the pre-
sence or absence of certain phenomena, would not fail to possess
great interest individually, and collectively, no small value and im-
portance.
I remain, Sir, your humble servant,

THOMAS WILLIAM WEBB.
Tretire, near Ross, Sept. 16, 1835.

HINTS TO OBSERVERS OF HALLEY'S COMET.

Ir is well known to those who.are in the habit of using telescopes, how
little can be seen, in many cases, by a person whose eye is entirely unaccus-.
tomed to the object to be observed, and who has no previous notion of the
particulars to which his attention should be more expressly directed. This,
of course, will be peculiarly the case with an object so faint and undetermined
as a Comet; and it is by no means improbable that, unless observers previ-
ously determine upon the points which require attentive examination, the
Comet may pass repeatedly through the field of their telescope, without
their being aware of the existence of phenomena which, taken in connection
with older observations, may prove of considerable importance. We know
so little as yet of the real nature and construction of these wonderful bodies,
that we cannot presume to advance to anything like a generalization of the
observations hitherto made, many of which would appear to be contradictory
and inexplicable: we must therefore, at present, be content with accumulat-
ing as many well-authenticated facts as possible, deduced from a careful exa-
mination of every Comet that visits our system, from a combination of
which we may, at some future period, be better able to develope the laws that

overn their mysterious construction. The subjoined particulars appear to
Fs very worthy of attention with this view; and they are humbly offered to

‘HINTS TO OBSERVERS OF HALLEY’S COMET. 135

the notice of the astronomical readers of the Analyst, in the hope that, by
their united efforts, they may be able to ascertain some of them satisfactorily.

In the first place, however, it may not be amiss to premise, to unpractised
observers, a few hints on the management of their telescopes. No observation
should be made with an erecting or terrestrial eye-piece, as the additional
number of lenses occasions a great loss of sight : astronomical eye-pieces alone
should be used; or a terrestrial eye-piece may be converted into an astrono-
mical one, by unscrewing the tube nearest to the eye, and taking out the two
lenses from its interior end ; as the field of view may, however, in this case,
be rather unserviceable, it will be a still farther improvement to remove the
innermost of the two lenses at the eye-end, leaving only two lenses in the
whole instrument (if an achromatic), viz: the object glass, and that next the
eye. In this case, the edges of the field will be obscure, and its appearance
not satisfactory to an eye unaccustomed to it, but an object in its centre will
be seen very clearly and distinctly in an inverted position. The focal
length of the telescope, it should be observed, will be greatly shortened by
this adjustment, which, if previously untried, should be made, at first, upon
terrestrial objects in the day-time. Ifthe instrument has several astronomi-
cal eye-pieces, it will be el to use them all, in any observation that is in
the least doubtful; but the higher powers will be found deficient in light, in
observing so faint a body; and, generally speaking, no higher power should
be employed than is sufficient to develope satisfactorily the phenomena un-
der examination: the advantage of a large field will be found to be very

eat in ascertaining the extreme boundaries of an object whose termination
is frequently so difficult to be distinguished ; and from the neglect of this
precaution astronomers of eminence have occasionally been led into consider-
able errors. It may not be so generally known as it deserves to be, that the
deposition of dew upon the object-glass may be entirely prevented by the
employment of a tube of stiff paper or pasteboard, made to fit the end of the
instrument ;-this not only saves much time, but obviates the necessity of
wiping the object-glass, an operation seldom performed without some danger
of scratching it. If, in addition to this precaution, the brass cap is placed
upon the glass, before it is removed into the warm air of the house, damp
will scarcely ever be formed upon it under any circumstances.

. The particulars which it is desirable to ascertain, may be enumerated as
ollow :— -

1. Whether the Comet has anything that can be called a moderately well-
defined disc in the centre, or whether it is a mere luminous point, or only a

neral and gradual accumulation of light, without any apparent outline.—
The former, though not very usual, was certainly the case with this Comet
at its return in 1682, when it is described, by Cassini, as exhibiting in the te-
lescope a disc “aussi rond, aussi net, et aussi clair que celui de Jupiter.*

2. If it has a‘disc, whether that disc has an uniform illumination, or is
brightest in the centre; and whether its appearance is invariable, in this re-
spect, at different times.

3. Whether the disc at any time exhibits any spots, or anything of a mot-
tled aspect, or is irregularly terminated, or seems to be composed of an’as-
semblage of small fragments; and, in this case, whether their relative bright-
ness and position are subject to any change.

4. Whether the disc is accurately circular or not. In 1682 the nucleus,
according to Hevelius, had throughout an oval form,+ but this appears to be
contradicted, by Cassini, in the passagé already cited; and it is not recorded
to have been noticed at its last return in 1759. (The | pens ey returns, it
will be remembered, were anterior to the employment of telescopes. )

5. Whether the disc, as it approaches the perihelion, manifests any symp-
tom of phases. This most curious feature was actually exhibited by this
Comet in 1682, according to Delambre. He states that Picard and La Hire

* Memoires de Academie Royale, 1699.
+ Littrow, Beytrage zu einer Monographie des Halley’s chen Cometen, Wien, 1834, p.56

_

136 HINTS TO OBSERVERS OF HALLEY’S COMES,

observed: it, and “la figure en croissant est nettement dessinée dans les re-

istres de l’Observatoire.* Hevelius also observed, but only on one night,

Sept. 8, six days before the perihelion) a brilliant hook extending itself fom
the nucleus, in the direction of the tail, for a distance equal to the diameter
of the head.+ This could hardly have been a true phasis; but the possible
recurrence of such a remarkable pHenemenoy deserves to be carefully watch-
ed: perhaps this hook was actually what is described as a crescent by the Pa-
ris descr Vers,

6. Whether it may be possible, if there is anything like a planetary disc,
to observe the occultation of a fixed star hy it ; and, if so, whether it is a to-
tal obscuration of the star, or enly such a diminution of its light as must ne-
cessarily result from its being viewed, as it were, upon a bright ground.

7. If: there is nothing but a luminous point in the centre, whether this
point is constantly visible eyery night, and during the whole of each obser-
vation.

8. If there should be merely a general condensation of light towards the
«entre of the head, whether this condensation is sudden or gradual; and whe-
ther it is equally gradual at different times, or, by its more sudden increase
of brightness, and more defined outline at certain periods, affords a suspicion
of an interior body obscured by a variable atmosphere.

9. Whether the central parts or nucleus of the Comet is subject to any re-
‘markable .variations in brightness from night to night, the air continuin
equally clear.; and whether anything like a periodical return.can be delected
in such variations.

10. Whether the nucleus, be it what it may, is situated in the centre.of
the coma, and whether there is any variation in this respect. In 1682 Flam-
steed observed the nucleus of this Comet to be twice as near to the edge of
the coma on Sept. 4, as it had been three or four days previously.t

1l. Whether the coma exhibits an uniform appeararice on every side, or is
‘more dense in any direction, or appears as if scattered and interrupted.

12. Whether the extension of the coma decreases, in proportion to the size
of the nucleus, as it approaches to the perihelion; allowance being made for
its increasing distance from the earth, and for the effect of twilight.

13. Whether there is any dark space included within the head, and sur-
rounding the nucleus; or whether there may be more than one such interval,
aS it, or they, extend round the whole, or only a portion of the
nucleus.

14. Whether the darkness.of such included space approximates to the depth
of colour of the exterior sky, and whether this darkness is variable in inten-
sity upon different nights.

15. In 1456, three days before the perihelion, the head of the Comet, view-
ed (of course) with the naked eye, shone with the brilliancy and twinkling of
a fixed star, so that many persons imagined it must have been in conjunction
with several small stars.§ As the present position of the earth with respect
to the Comet is far less favourable than during that most splendid of its re-
corded appearances, nothing of this kind can perhaps be expected, but it
should at least be borne in remembrance, and attended to.

16. In 1607, when the relative positions of the earth and Comet were pe-
culiarly similar to the present, and therefore a similarity of aspect may be
expected, the head appeared, te the naked eye, not exactly circular, but, as
Kepler expresses it, “ quodam modo strumosa, deficiens a rotunditate.”||

17. The length and breadth of the tail should be carefully observed on
every favourable opportunity. Much will, in this case, depend upon the
state of the atmosphere and the eye of the observer. In 1456 the tail was
not less than 60° in length. Picard estimated it at 30°, in 1682; while He-

* Abrege d’Astronomie, p 561.

+ Littrow, Beytrage, &c., ubi supra.

t Historia Ce@lestis, L.i, P. iii, p 110.
2? Littrow, Beytrage, &c., p. 20.

i Idem, p. 36.

a

HINTS TO OBSERVERS OF HALLEY’S COMET. 137

velius made it but 12° on the same night, and never more than 16%. In
1756, La Nux, in the clear atmesphere of the Isle of Bourbon, traced it for

47°.*

18. Whether the tail progressively increases in breadth to the extremity,
or, on the contrary, assumes@ tapering form.

19. Whether one side of the tail is better defined than the other, as was
distinctly observed by Flamsteed in 1682+, and whether this appearance is
constant.

20. Whether the tail is curved, and whether it deviates, at its origin, from
exact opposition to the sun; and whether there are any symptoms of a re-
verse or reflex curvature at its extremity. :

21. Whether the tail, when near the horizon, vanishes entirely, as if ob-
scured by a cloud, as is asserted by Apian to have been the case in 1539.+

22. Whether the tail is divided lengthwise into two or more streams by a
dark space; whether such space is visible in the neighbourhood of the nucle-
us, or appears uninterruptedly to surroundit ; whether its depth of shade is
uniform ; and whether it extends to the extremity of the tail.

23. Whether any smaller lateral streams accompany the principal tail in
the vicinity of the head.

24, If there should be several branches in the tail, whether they are all of
equal brightness, and whether the difference in this respect is constant ; whe-
ther their relative length and breadth remain unaltered ; and whether there
is anything like an interruption anywhere in their length.

25. Whether the light of the tail, or of its several sub-divisions, is uni-

- formly distributed in the direction of its breadth ; or whether it is most vivid

at the edges, or in any other part.

26. Ifthere should be anything remarkable in the form of the tail, whether
the periodical recurrence of that peculiarity may justly lead to the idea ofa
rotation.

27. Whether there are any traces of an anomalous tail, é..e., a stream of
light in the opposite direction, tending towards the sun.

28. In 1456, the tail was said tohave resembled at times a sparkling flame,
which gave rise to the conjecture that it might be in conjunction with nume-
rous small stars. Such a phenomenon may possibly, at least, recur.

29. It is peculiarly deserving of attention that in 1607, to which return,
as has been already stated, the present bears the nearest resemblance, the
tail exhibited that very peculiar, but unquestionably authenticated, appear-
ance of coruscations or fluctuations in length and brightness. Kepler’s words
are very clear and decisive: “ testabantur enim de Cometa anni 1607 omnes
qui diligenter illum fuerunt contemplati, caudam jam brevem, mox in ictu
oculi longam apparuisse, non tamen, quod Cardani verba et exempla innuere
videntur, (concerning the Comet of 1556) flamma, ut sic dicam, ad latera ex-
patiante, sed solum prorsum ruente. Adroque mihi, qui debili visu sum, vix
aliter apparebat heec cauda, quam ubi inclaruit seu promicuit: tunc enim
non mediocriter longa apparebat, et oculos evidentes|| movebat.Ӥ If such
fluctuations can be observed, it will be very desirable to note, if possible,
their frequency, and whether they may not affect the breadth as well as.
length, of the tail. If there are several distinct branches, it should be care-
fully noticed whether the coruscations pervade them all.

30. The colour of the Comet should be remarked, and whether the different
parts exhibit any difference or contrast in this respect. In 1759, the nucleus
was said to be whitish, and similar in colour to the planet Venus.q]

Such rapid variations have frequently been perceived in some Comets, that
even hourly observations have ascertained changes of a very obvious and

* Idem, pp. 55, 64.

+ Historia Celistis, L. i, P. iii, pp. 109, 110.

¢ Littrow, Beytrage, &c. p. 25.

\| evidenter ?

# De Cometis, Auguste Vindelicorum, MDCXIX, p. 102.
© Littrow, Beytrage, &c. p 64.

138 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. —

striking nature, especially in the form of the tail, which cannot be too closely
watched. Allowances must, however, be made for the fluctuating state of
the atmosphere, whose influence will be peculiarly detrimental to observa-
tions of so delicate a nature. It need hardly be added, that many of the
above suggestions may be expected to prove fruitless upon the present occa-
sion, especially as the Comet is not in the most favourable position for ob-
servation. ‘Thev will, however, not be considered entirely useless, by those
who wish to see the present state of our information with regard to the con-
struction of these very interesting, but most imperfectly understood, bodies.

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES.

MEETING OF THE
PROVINCIAL MEDICAL AND SURGICAL ASSOCIATION, AT OXFORD.

THE members of this admirable Institution, which was founded —
at Worcester, in the year 1832, held their general meeting, for the
présent year, within the walls of the University of Oxford. The
council of the Association met on the 22nd of July, at the Anatomy
School, to make the necessary arrangements for the general meeting
appointed for the next day, in which they derived every assistance
from the exertions of their President, Dr. Kidd, the regius professor
of medicine in the University. Previous to the general meeting,
many of the members of the Association availed themselves of the
opportunities afforded them, by the kindness and liberality of the
authorities, to visit the Botanic Garden, the Ashmolean Museum,
the Bodleian Library, the Picture Gallery, all of which were thrown
open to them upon the occasion. At the Botanic Garden, a public
breakfast was given by Professor Daubeny ; immediately after which
Dr. Buckland, the professor of geology, invited the members to his
museum, and gave a most interesting demonstration of some of his
fossil remains, especially pointing out to the attention of his grati-
fied auditors, the peculiarities of structure of the megalotherium, of
the saurians, and other extinct animals, and deducing therefrom their
natural habits and mode of life. After the conclusion of Dr. Buck-
land’s demonstration, Mr. Costello performed the operation of litho-
trity, before a large assembly of the members. The Anatomical
Theatre having been found incapable of holding all the members
of the Association who were anxious to see the operation, application
- was made to the Mayor, who kindly gave the use of the Town Hall
for the purpose.

The general meeting took place in the Radcliffe Library, at half-
past one o'clock, and by the hour appointed, upwards of three hun-
dred persons had assembled, including, among other eminent indivi-
duals, Dr. Gilbert, principal of Brazen Nose College, Dr. Ingram,
president of Trinity College, Dr. Macbride, principal of Magdalen
Hall, Professors Buckland, Cooke, Daubeny, Faussett, Kidd, Ogle,

Pa ey -

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. — 139

Baden, Powell, Wilson, Sir Charles Throckmorton, Bart., Sir
Charles Bell, Drs. Barlow, Baron, Billing, Carrick, James,
Clarke, Conolly, Forbes, Hastings, Hodgkin, Holme, John John-
stone, Prichard, Robertson, Sims, Somerville, &c., Messrs. Costello,
Crosse, Griffiths, Hebb, Hetting, Tuchwell, &c., &c.

. Dr. Kidd, the President, having been called to the chair, deliver-
ed an eloquent address, in which he expressed his gratification

- at receiving the Association within the walls of so majestic a monu-

ment to the munificence of an individual belonging to the medical
profession, as the Radcliffe Library. After a well-merited compli-
ment to the skill, enterprise, and talent of provincial practitioners,
and an appeal to the literary works of the illustrious dead, as well
as of the no less illustrious living, with which the shelves of the
edifice were loaded, as an evidence of its truth,—he ably pointed
out the claims which the profession has upon public estimation and
gratitude, by their unwearied and gratuitous exertions in the cause
of philanthropy, by their self-devotion to the duties of their calling,
though often rewarded with neglect,—and by the high standard of
moral excellence and intellectual ability to which, as a body, they

have attained. ‘‘ Such” observed the learned Professor, in conclud-

ing his address, ‘ Such are the claims of those two members of the
Provincial Medical and Surgical Association, on whom this Univer-
sity has lately conferred the highest honour which it has the power
of conferring. Long may those individuals enjoy an honour, to the
possession of which I know they attach a due value; and in the
mean time may Oxford meet with further opportunities of enrolling
among its members, by means of similar honours, names as distin-
guished as those of Abercrombie and of Prichard. Gentlemen,—
It would now become my duty immediately to propose that Dr,
Hastings should be requested to read the report of the Council ;
but before doing so, I have _a most pleasing duty to perform, the
pleasure arising from which would have been doubled, had both the
individuals been present to whom I refer. Dr. Abercrombie would
most willingly have attended the meeting of the Association, had it
been. in his power ; but when we consider that. he resides at the dis-
tance which divides Edinburgh from Oxford, and when it is consi.
dered, also, what, his duties.are, I could neither ask nor expect it.
But I have it in my power to present to Dr. Prichard, which I do
with unfeigned pleasure, that testimonial of his merit which the
University has conferred upon him.—[The diploma was now pre-
sented to Dr. Prichard, who on receiving it was greatly applauded. |
Gentlemen,—though I do. not wish to over-rate an honour which
has been conferred by a. body to,which I have. the honour to belong,
yet, at the same time, I naturally wish that it should not be unders
rated; and as many persons may not be aware of the extent of the
honour thus conferred, I will state that it gives to the individual to
whom it is presented, not only all the privileges which he would
acquire by the strictest compliance with the rules of the University,
by a residence of many years, and by passing through several de-

140 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES,

grees, but it gives him that honour immediately, and without any
condition. A member of the University who has acquired the hon-
our in the regular course, could not exercise the right of voting im-
mediately ; but when it is conferred by diploma, as in this case, the
individual to whom it is presented acquires an immediate right to
vote.”

The report of the council was then called for and read by Dr.
Hastings, after which Dr. John Johnstone, of Birmingham, said,—
“The report which has now been read is so satisfactory a document,
and goes so fully into the subject, both of the progress of our Insti-
tution, and of the means recommended for the furtherance of its ob-
ject, that I shall not enter into any remarks upon that detail. If I
were to enter into it, it would be upon that part which recommends
to your consideration the subject of the poor in relation to medical
attendance ; but as that subject would require a long discussion, I
think it would be much better that the recommendation made in the
report should be adopted, namely, that every gentleman concerned
with the poor, and who is employed as a medical practitioner for
their relief, should make his own report to this Association, so that

-we might have a general understanding on the subject. But on
the present auspicious occasion, surrounded, as we are, by the great
body of enlightened practitioners in this country, assembled, too, in
undiminished numbers, and with increased zeal, in this,—the very
seat of the Muses, and the resort of sages for so many centuries past
—this sanctuary of learning, revered and honoured by all civilized
nations, and endeared, especially to some of us, by recollections and
associations which bind us to it by millions of ties of almost filial duty
and affection—it is impossible for us not to exult at our present posi-
tion, and not to believe that our views are correctly estimated, and
that it is known we are met together, not for any selfish purposes
but, by enlarging the volume of science, to diminish the mass of human
misery. It cannot be forgotten in our annals, too, that by the boun-
ty of this University, and by the kindness of our learned president,
we are assembled under this dome, reared and dedicated by medical
munificence, for the purposes enumerated in the report. Under this
dome, if I may dare to use the image, the Genius loci, the spirit of
medicine itself, looks down with complacency upon us and breathes
a benediction upon our labours.” Dr. Johnstone concluded by mov-
ing that the report of the council be received and adopted by this
meeting, which was seconded by Dr. Carrick and carried unani-
mously.

Dr. Prichard, at the request of the president, then read the Re-
trospective Address, which, on its conclusion, was universally ap-
plauded. |

Sir Charles Bell moved that the thanks of the meeting be given
to Dr. Prichard, for his able and eloquent address ; and that he be
requested to print the same in the fourth volume of the Transac-
tions of the Association :—seconded by Dr. Daubeny.

Mr. Tudor (of Bath) moved—that the Anniversary Meeting, for

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. 141

the year 1836, be held at Manchester ; and that Dr. Holme be re-
quested to accept the office of President-elect, which was carried
unanimously.

Dr. Barlow (of Bath) proposed—that the thanks of the meeting
be given to Dr. John Johnstone, the late President of the Associa-
tion ; and that he be appointed a permanent Vice-President. This
resolution was seconded by Dr. Bevan (of Monmouth) and carried
unanimously. .

Dr. Conolly (of Warwick) said, that if he had had the choosing
of the resolution he was about to propose, he could not have selected
one which would have given him greater pleasure. The purport of
the resolution was—that the thanks of the meeting be given to Dr.
Hastings and Mr. Sheppard, the Secretaries of the Association ; and
that they be requested to continue their services. It was impossible
for any one, who, like himself, had had the pleasure of attending
all the meetings of the Association, to submit the present motion
without at the same time recalling the very great degree of pleasure
which he, in common, he believed, with all other members of the
Association, had derived from meeting his professional brethren.
Such opportunities as these were almost the only means that
medical men had of seeing gathered together much that was estima-
ble in their profession, and enjoying that intercourse of those means
of communication from which, under ordinary circumstances, they
were debarred. He felt how deeply the Association was indebted
to the gentlemen who were named in the resolution, and he trusted
that their valuable services would not be withdrawn. Mr. Hetling
(of Bristol) seconded the resolution, which was carried unanimously.

Several other resolutions, relating to the affairs of the Association,
were severally moved and seconded by Dr. Booth, Dr. Symonds,
Mr. Wingfield, Dr. Streeten, Dr. Bompass, Dr. Holme, Dr. Scott,
Mr. Wickenden, Mr. Griffiths, Dr. Fox, Mr. Wickham, Dr. Robert-
son, Mr. Morris, Dr. W. Connolly, and Mr. T. Griffiths.

In the course of the morning Dr. Scott read the Report of the
Committee, appointed at Birmingham, in 1834, to consider the
practicability of establishing a Benevolent Society, in connection
with the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association.

The report of the committee was unanimously adopted, and its
recommendations ordered to be carried into effect.

Mr. Wickenden read the report of the library committee appoint-
ed last year, and Mr. Hebb an interesting report respecting the state
of medicine in Holland, from Dr. Nieuwenhuys, of Amsterdam.—
Several communications were also made by Mr. Smith, of Southam,
Mr. Rumsey, and other gentlemen, shewing the oppressive nature of
the new Poor Law Act, with respect to the attendance of medical
practitioners upun the poor; and a committee was appointed to
report thereon at the next anniversary meeting of the Association.

The business of the day having been brought to a satisfactory
conclusion, Dr. Johnstone took the chair, and, upon the motion of
Dr. Hastings, seconded by Mr. Addison, a most cordial vote of -

142 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES.

-

thanks was accorded to the president, Dr. Kidd. The meeting then
broke up, and in the afternoon the members and their friends,
amounting to nearly two hundred, dined together at the Star Hotel.
Dr. Kidd presided at the dinner table, as chairman, and several dis-
tinguished members of the University, as well as many eminent
individuals belonging to the profession, were present.

That each succeeding anniversary of the Association shall be
equally distinguished with that which has so lately been held in the
halls ‘of this ancient and revered seat of learning, is scarcely to be
anticipated ; but no reflecting mind can witness these cheering
scenes, without wishing all prosperity and success to an institution
of such unquestionable merit. The main end and object of this so-
ciety is the amelioration of the condition of our fellow men; for,
whoever has felt the ills attendant upon the frailty that suffering
mortality is heir to, will hail with gratitude and delight these works
of benevolence, by which the knowledge of that divine science of
medicine is extended far and wide, and the influence of its cultiva-
tors—ever exerted for good—increased. Let, therefore, the mem-
bers of the medical profession continue their exertions in the cause
of their science. The reward they will obtain is not lightly to be
esteemed. It is the consciousness of having in their day, and to
their power, done what they can towards improving the condition of
suffering humanity—and though the civic crown may be for a time
withheld—the unfading wreath of honor, which adorns many an
elevated name shall still be his who devotes his time and his best
energies to the alleviation of pain and disease.

BIRMINGHAM SCHOOL OF MEDICINE.
FIRST ANNIVERSARY MEETING.

' Tuurspay, the 27th of August, being the day appointed for
holding the Anniversary Meeting of this institution, a great number
of patrons and friends assembled at the Museum, in Paradise-street,
having been previously entertained at breakfast, at Dee’s Royal
Hotel, by Mr. Sands Cox, the founder of the School. The party
then adjourned to the School of Medicine, at which Dr. Edward
Johnstone presided ; and the report, which was a most satisfactory
document, was read by Dr. John Johnstone, the Vice-President.
This report, of course, embra¢ed every variety of information con-
nected with the establishment, and was amply conclusive of the
rapid advancement to perfection of all its departments. It appears
that there are now ninety students inscribed on the register of the
Schoo), being an increase of more than thirty on any former year, —

ao ae ee

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. 1438

and of which the majority come from neighbouring and distant
counties; and it must be gratifying to learn, from the Parliamentary
Report on Medical Education, recently published, that not a single
student educated at the School, during a period of eight years, has
been rejected by the Royal College of Surgeons. The Museums,
Library, and Lecture-room, are completely fitted up by means of
the donations presented during the last year,—and the Museum of
Anatomy, which has recently received many valuable additions. in
preparations and other illustrative subjects, will now bear compari-
son with most of the metropolitan Schools. The Natural History
department has been enriched by splendid contributions of upwards
of two hundred rare specimens of Zoology from Australia, presented.
by the enterprizing and scientific Major Wakefield, of the 39th
regiment, a native of the county, amongst which are specimens of
the Gallinacee, Psittaci, and Tringe, not yet described; and amongst
the animals, specimens of the Marsupial tribe and Ornithoryncus,
—by many beautiful South African birds from the Rev. Mr. Gis-
borne—by specimens from the Brazils from Edward Armfield, Esq.
—and by various other objects of Natural History from the Rev. R.
Pearson, J. P. Wilmot, Esq., J. E. Piercy, Esq., and other gentle-
men.—In the Botanical department are many curious specimens of
dried plants from the Pyrenees and Alps, presented by that munifi-
cent patron to the Institution, Sir C. Throckmorton, Bart., and it
has been further enriched by an extensive Hortus Siccus of Austra-
lian Plants, the fruits of Major Wakefield’s researches in that inter-
esting and little-explored division of the globe; and also by a pre-
sent of that singular vegetable production, the Bread-fruit, from the
Rev. T. East, with some curious products of arts and manufactures
of the natives of Tahite. The Mineralogical department is indebt-
ed to Edw. Bagnall, Esq., amongst other curiosities, for an enormous
fossil reed, belonging to the Sigellaria pachyderma, found at Pen-
twyn, Monmouthshire, in sand-stone, about eighteen feet from the

_ surface, above the black pin ironstone. This magnificent specimen

weighs nearly four hundred weight, and is about five feet in cir-
cumference.—Very liberal contributions towards a collection in
Conchology have been made in this department by the Earl of
Mountnorris, and Lieut. Dutton, a native of the town. The Library,
it seems, is the only department not entirely free from debt, and the
pecuniary liability, in this instance, amounts only to £67. The to.
tal number of volumes belonging to the School exceeds nine hun-
dred, amongst which are many of the most rare and valuable
editions of the ancient medical classics, increased during the present
year by contributions from Sir G. Skipwith, Bart., the Rev. Chan-
cellor Law, and others; and also numerous valuable works of refer-
ence, with plates, purchased by the funds of the School.—An en-

larged course of study in Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, and

Natural History, as well as a longer term of attendance upon Lec-
tures, having been required by the accredited authorities in London,

_ it has been determined to establish Professorships in these important

/

144 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES.

branches of medical education. It is recommended that the Board
of management should be enlarged to twelve, and that country
governors be admissible.—This extremely clear and satisfactory
report concludes by earnestly and respectfully inviting the patrons
of the institution, the friends and parents of students, and the me-
dical profession in general, to take every convenient opportunity of
inspecting the increase of the Museums, and indeed the whole pro-
gress of the School of Medicine, the permanency of which is now
considered to be immoveably established, and the utility of which can
only be maintained by zealous endeavour, by regularity, and by
strict discipline in every department.

The Rev. Chancellor Law then delivered an eloquent address, of
which the following is a brief outline >—

After citing an anecdote of Sir Benjamin Brodie, in illustration
of the correct and generous feeling of that individual, the learned
gentleman alluded to the Profession as a body, which, he observed,
abounded “with gentlemen of the most christian-like tone and
temper, and of singular humanity; remarkable alike for the strength,
—the correctness,—the richness,—of their highly cultivated and
christian minds.”—In corroboration of this eulogium he adduced the
testimony of Dr. Johnson, and Sir Robert Peel. The former, in
his life of Garth, says, ‘‘ Every one has found in Physicians great
liberality and dignity of sentiment ; very prompt effusion of bene-
ficence, and willingness to exert a lucrative art, where there is no
hope of lucre.” Sir Robert Peel had publicly declared in the
House of Commons, that ‘For the enlightened views, pure philoso-
~ phy, and liberal feelings of medical men generally, he felt so much
respect, that he did not hesitate to pronounce them a blessing to
their native land, and an honour to humanity.”

Mr. Law, in addressing himself to the members of the school,
strenuously advocated, what he placed far before all other requisites,
an observance of religious obligations, and eorreet moral conduct,
and, in the course of his observations, repelled the opinion enter-
tained by some persons, that the medical profession is inclined to
sceptisism, illustrating his defence by a beautiful deseription of the
admirable structure and mechanism of the human eye and ear.

Our limits will not permit us to touch upon several other topics
alluded to in the course of this eloquent address ; but the following
apposite remarks for the guidance of students are deserving their
attention :— ;

‘Allow me then to recommend young students to adopt such a line of
general study, as, by ci sts the compass of their minds, may gain for
them the power of discovering latent causes, and tracing the windings of the
’ human heart to its secret sources. For ofttimes, I believe, diseases are
generated by causes not apparent in the mechanical structure, or apparatus,
—if I may use the expression,—of the human body, but proceed from the»
hidden working of some master-passion, acting sympathetically on the nerves,
and baffling the utmost skill of the anatomist and demonstrator. It was a
sudden and powerful emotion of the mind which is said to have caused the

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. 145

death of Mr. John Hunter, and which still continues to strike down its
thousands and tens of thousands. Does not anger, by produciug a violent
rush of blood to the head and heart endanger the vital organs by an excess
of fulness and dilation ? Do not even joyful emotions, which in moderation
tend to light up the countenance with that animated glow of pleasure which
is so beautiful to behold, when carried to excess sometimes occasion the de-
struction of life? Disappointment pines away. Grief drags its slow length
along. ‘They cause a deathlike paleness to overspread the countenance,
by weakening the vascular system, and obstructing the circulation. The
patient is seen to heave deep sighs and struggle for breath, the blood, which
no longer circulates freely, being collected in the larger vessels to repletion,
and gorging the lungs.”
” * % * *

* Let every one, who wishes to become a successful practitioner, study to
make himself acquainted with the source of those thousand emotions of the
mind, which set the bodily machine in motion, at one time propelling it
violently forward, at another holding it back in torpid inaction. So much
importance indeed do we attach to the study, that few physicians we believe
will be found to have risen into eminence, and maintained an extensive
practice, who neglect the philosophy of morals.”

** But when I recommend an education which will enable the practitioner
to deal with the affections and emotions of the mind, by means of his
philosophical knowledge of men and things,—a knowledge which “interdum
medica plus valet arte,”—let me not for one moment be supposed capable of
undervaluing an indefatigable and complete study of chemistry, anatomy,
and physic: a study, in short, of whatever is necessary to constitute an ac-
complished practitioner. For though, as I just mentioned, many cases may
defy the usual applications of the learned sons of sculapius, and must be
dealt with by a reference to the emotions and perceptions of the mind, yet
it will not be doubted, that instances without number occur of complaints
which depend for their cure entirely on skill in the properties of medicine,
and on their judicious application, in conjunction with a knowledge of the
mechanical structure of the body.”

Resolutions of the usual description, such as of thanks to the se-
veral gentlemen by whom this Institution was upheld and benefited,
including of course the Rev. Chancellor Law, and Dr. Edward
Johnstone, the Chairman, were then proposed and passed unani-
mously. |

The Examination of the different classes for the Prize Medals
was conducted by Dr. Steward, of Droitwich, Dr. Conolly, of War-
wick, Mr. Tyrrell, of St. Thomas’s Hospital, London ; and for the
Demonstrator’s Prize, by Mr. L. Parker. The successful Candi-
dates were—

sy’ glided Student. ~ Student with
Practice of Physic. apie a. ‘2 ;
: Ewe ay, . r. Green.
Silver Medals, Mr. J. V. Solomon. Mr. Taylor.

_ Materia Medica. ;

First Silver Medal, Mr. J. R. Maurice. { }y,Starkey,

Second Silver Medal, Mr. C. S. Mecke. r. Porter.
Anttomy. .

First Silver Medal, Mr. J. Harmar. § Mr. Broomhead.

October, 1835.—VoL, III. NO. XIII. L

146 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES.

Class. Student. Student with
Surgery.
First Silver Medal, Mr. J. Harmar.

Second Silver Medal Mr. J. Ward, —_{ "te Mr, Water.

Chemistry.
First Silver Medal, Mr. A. Wright. | Mr. Wright, Deri
Anatomical De-
monstration’s book, Mr. J. Harmar.

The lecturers and examiners were afterwards entertained by the
students at dinner at Dee’s Royal Hotel, Sir Eardley Wilmot, Bart.,
M. P., in the chair; where with much conviviality was mingled
science and philosophy, especially the enlarged and peculiar know-
ledge required for successfully pursuing the practice of surgery and
medicine. The principal speakers were the Chairman, Mr. Sands
Cox, Dr. Eccles, Edward Johnstone, Esq., Dr. James Johnstone, Dr.
Conolly, of Warwick, Mr. T. Langston Parker, Mr. E. T. Cox, Dr.
Booth, the Stewards, &c. &c.

As an incentive to emulation, that mainspring of youthful exer-
tion, Dr. Booth begged to offer a gold medal to the pupils of the
School, for the best Clinical reports of cases treated in the Birming-
ham Hospital, for which excellent Institution he should ever retain
the strongest attachment. Such reports would be required to be com-
plete, and he reserved to himself the privilege of defining more par-
ticularly the conditions of his offer. A gold medal was previously
offered by J. Meredith, Esq., and ten guineas by the Rev. Dr. Ar-
nold, Head Master of Rugby School, for Essays on medical subjects.

Shortly before eleven o'clock the Chairman vacated his seat, but
the evening’s festivities were prolonged to a much later hour. The
students present were nearly one hundred in number.

BIRMINGHAM PHILOSOPHICAL INSTITUTION.

Tue Literary and Philosophical Society connected with this
Institution terminated its Session on the 7th of September last, and
at its different meetings during the summer, some interesting and
valuable papers were read to the members. The first paper read
to the Society was one by Mr. S. Beale, on some branches of the
statistics of Birmingham; in which the author pointed out the
relative increase and distribution of the population in the several
districts of the parish, as compared with each other, and as compared
with some other places. He also entered into very minute details
respecting both the amount and number of the parochial assessments,
of which the following were the general results. The total number
of assessments to the parochial rates. are 30662, which the author
divided into three classes,—

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. 147

lst—Those assessed at £12. and upwards per annum.

2nd—Those assessed at £5. and upwards, but less than £12. per annum.
- 8rd—Those assessed at less than £5. per annum.

The amount of Poor Rates is about £44,000. per annum, which is paid in
the following proportions, by these three classes :—

Number of assessments of 43,4 Amount contributed by

the Ist class ............ j this class.........0...+- £31900
Papeah tines Jeccionty Tn. okie temcsciecio nk 2
Pee aricemis Luh WL, s sbdeamceee F e
30662 £44000

The amount of the Highway Rate is £11000. per annnm, of which the
first class pays £9500., and the second class £1500. The Lamp and Watch
Levy is £9000. per annum, of which the first class pays £8000., and the
second £1000. ‘The other parochial rate, that for the Town Hall, amounts
to £3000. per annum, and is paid entirely by the first class of assessments, or.
those assessed at £12. and upwards per annum. It appears, therefore, that
one-seventh part only of the whole number of assessments contributes
three-fourths of the whole amount levied ; whilst the third class, constituting
more than half the assessments, pay only about one-sixteenth: thus—

No. of Poor Highway Lamp and Town Hall Total Rates

Assments. Rates. Rate. Watch Rate. Rate. Levied.

Ist class, 4374 pay £31900 £9500 £8000 £3000 £52400
2nd class, 10351 do. 8400 1500 1000 * 10900
3rd class, 15937 do. 3700 3700

‘30662 £44000 £11000 £9000 £3000 £67000

‘The two next communications to the Society were ‘On the
Variations of Climate, and their effects on organized beings,” by
Dr. Ogier Ward ; and ‘On modern Improvements in Agriculture,”
by Mr. W. Hawkes Smith. Both these papers contained much
curious information, and they led to long and interesting discussions
among the Members of the Society ; but, from the nature of the
subjects, they are not susceptible of any very condensed analysis.

A paper read to the Society by Mr. Wickenden, “On the Non-
permeability of Glass by Water,” is given in another part of the
present number; and the last communication read to the members
in this Session, was by Mr. Russell; it was “ An account of a
Toad, found alive, imbedded in a solid mass of new red sand-stone.”
As hitherto when facts of this kind have been brought before the
public, they have been received with the greatest incredulity, we
give the depositions of those who were present when the animal,
in this instance, was discovered; and we may add that the
block of sand-stone, together with the toad, may be seen at the
rooms of the Philosophical Institution, in Canncn Street.

The following is a copy of the depositions :—

During the progress of the excavation through the Park Gardens, at Co-
ventry, on the line of the London and Birmingham Railway, at about nine
o’clock in the morning of the 16th of June, 1835, the workmen were engaged
in removing the material to the depth of 11 feet from the surface, ag upper

L

148 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES.

portion of the excavation consisting of, first, a stratum of soil, 18 inches
thick; then a mixture of sand and clay, 3 feet thick; and the remaini
depth of 63 feet consisting of masses of new red sand-stone, sound and per-
fectly formed, somewhat severed by backs and fissures, but still in large solid
masses, obliged to be worked away by means of iron bars and wedges, and
very frequently blasted by gun-powder. -

Two of the workmen, John Horton and Thomas Tillay, having, by means
of an iron-bar, loosened from the solid mass, near the bottom of the said 11
feet, a piece of rock about 18 inches long, 15 inches broad, and 5 inches thick,
it was lifted up by Horton, and thrown by him towards the waggons which
were in waiting to receive the excavated material and convey it to the em-
bankment which was forming across the valley of the river Sherborne. The
hey of rock, however, did not alight in the waggon, as was intended, but

ell by the side of it, upon the bottom of the new-formed excavation, and was
by the fall bruken nearly through the centre into two parts, which lay upon
the ground, about an inch asunder. Thomas Tillay immediately took up one
of the fragments and threw it into the waggon, and was on the point of taking
up the other when his attention was arrested by the sight of a toad in a ca-
vity or cell in the face of the remaining fragment, and, instead of taking it
up, he kicked it with his foot, which caused it to fall out upon the ground:
he then called to his companion, and told him that he had found a toad in
the stone. Horton having joined him, they examined the fracture of the
other piece of rock, and found there a corresponding cavity ; so that when the
pieces were put together, although the stone was to all appearance perfectly
solid, yet there was an oval or egg-shaped hole in the centre.

The other workmen, to the number of 30 or 40, soon collected to examine
the toad. Its colour, when first seen, was a bright brown; in the space of
ten minutes, however, it gradually lost its brightness, and the bright brown
became almost a black. The animal seemed to labour under a severe oppres-
sion, as from heat or weight, or both combined, and gasped frequently. It
was rather under the usual size; but it was plump, and apparently in good
condition. During the day it remained in the possession of the men who
found it, and was seen by many persons, and was often exposed to the sun
and the warmth of the hand. The head appeared slightly injured, supposed
to be occasioned by the breaking of the stone. _

About four o’clock in the afternoon I visited the works, the toad was
shewn to me, and I fitted one piece of stone upon the other, while the toad
was in the recess, and found that the rock fitted closely, and observed no
appearance of an opening, or fissure of any kind into the cavity, the stone on
every side appeared precy solid and sound. A portion of the cavity was
much more rounded and smooth than the other, being, as I suppose, the
lower side upon which the toad had rested: Throughout the whole cavity
there was a'thin black deposit, or lining; but this was more visible on that
side which was more rounded, and there were evident marks where this lining
was scratched off, as by the claws of the toad.

The cavity was 3 inches long and 13 inches broad: the two pieces of stone,
with the toad in them, were brought to my office that evening; and I en-
deavoured, by closing the fracture of the stone with clay, to exclude the heat
and air as muchas possible, in the hopes of keeping it alive as long as I
could; this I succeeded in doing for more than three days. During this
time, however, it was frequently exposed, as there were many persons
who were desirous of seeing it; but it seemed to be gradually wasting away :
the injury in its head also became much worse, and doubtless hastened its
decay: it lived, however, nearly four days from the time of its discovery.

(Signed) § THOMAS L. GOOCH,
Resident Engineer to the London and Birmingham Railway Company.

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. 149

We, the undersigned, John Horton and ‘Thomas Tillay, declare that the
above statement, so far as regards ourselves, is true.

( Signed ) JOHN HORTON, Navigator, K his mark.
( Signed ) THOMAS TILLAY, Naviyater, A his mark.
( Witness ) BARNARD DICKENSON, Engineer.

The following are the Lectures which will be delivered to the
Members during the year 1835-36 ;—a course of five Lectures en-
titled ‘‘ Popular Illustrations of certain mental Phenomena,’ by
Mr. L. Parker, to commence on Monday, the 19th inst.; anda
course of six Lectures “On the early English Opera,’ by Mr.
Edw. Taylor, to begin on Monday, November the 23d. This
course is to be illustrated by the aid of several able vocal per-
formers, under the direction of Mr. Munden. The Lectures after
Christmas will consist of two by Dr. Corrie, F.G.S., “On the
Atmosphere ;” one by Mr. Bloxham, of Rugby, “on the British
Antiquities of Warwickshire ;” two by Mr. Mainwaring, “On
Animal Mechanics ;” two by Mr. Hornblower ‘On Constructive
Carpentery ;” together with other Lectures by Mr. Ryland and
Dr. Ward.

BIRMINGHAM MECHANICS’ INSTITUTION.

THE number of Members of this Institution varies much accord-
ing to the season—an inconvenience and defect inherent in an
association where subscription is guarterly. 'The parties who coms
pose it have no efficient bond of union, and the expectation or
the absence of Lectures that possess attractive. qualities will suffice
to make a difference of one hundred in four in the list of Subscribers.
The season also has its effect, evening meetings in the summer are
often interrupted by the naturally potent solicitation of out-door en-
gagements, and it requires strong determination in persons whose
employments give them but small leisure, to give up evening after
evening of the most attractive months, to the pursuit of knowledge.

These considerations act more strongly with the adults, who do
not avail themselves of the classes. ‘The junior members consider
their classes as a school which they are more or less urged to attend.
There is, besides, the influence of emulation, and the prospect of
prizes, to induce them to continue their exertions.

It were much to be wished that some additional motive could be
discovered, to give greater cohesion,—more feeling of membership
than at present exists,—to the entire body. The erection of a re-
spectable building, arranged for the purposes of the Institution, and
which should add to the existing establishment a well-supplied news

150 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES.

and reading-rooms, would do much to effect this; but we fear the
subscriptions to the fund for the attainment of this object advance
but slowly. This is discouraging, but we cannot help thinking that
if the project were well brought before the public and a vigorous
canvass instituted, the required sum of £1000. which would suffice
to fulfil the moderate wishes of the committee, might be raised in
donations in a town like Birmingham. :

The Classes have proceeded under their former superintendence,
and the degree of order and attention which is observable, is truly
gratifying. The Institution is much indebted to Mr. Daniel
Wright, the superintendent of the classes of writing, arithmetic,
mathematics, &c., for his sedulous, conscientious, and energetic atten-
tion to the work he has undertaken. j

The Draning Class is large, and has, during the present year, been
ably conducted by a gentleman engaged in manufacture, who kindly
rendered his services gratuitously, on the disinterested condition
that a certain sum should be expended in the purchase of patterns.
The spirit of this class has also received a further impetus from an
intimation from Mr. Wyatt, the Secretary of the Society of Arts,
that those pupils of the class who have attained to a certain pro-
ficiency in drawing the human figure, would be received as students
in the Plaster Academy of the Society of Arts.

The Museum of the School of Medicine, consisting of specimens
in natural history, and physiological and anatomical models and
preparations, was liberally opened to the members of the Institution
each evening during two weeks in the month of August, and was
well attended.

The Lectures during the last quarter, have been—two on the
Military Antiquites of Warwickshire, by Mr. Hawkes; one on the
Rise and Progress of the Ancient System of Philosophy, by Mr. J.
T. Smith ; one on the Comet of Halley, by the Rev. M. Ward;
four on Astronomy, by Mr. Young. For the ensuing three months
there is a prospect of a short but interesting course on Natural
History, prepared by Dr. Shirley Palmer ; of some interesting
Lectures on the Moral and Physical Peculiarities of the Human
Species, from Mr. Watts, of Birmingham ; and probably an arrange-
ment will be made with the gentlemen who may be engaged by the

Philosophical Institution, to repeat a portion of their Lectures to
the Mechanics’ Institution.

LIVERPOOL
LITERARY, SCIENTIFIC, AND COMMERCIAL INSTITUTION.

Amone the institutions which the enlightened and improving
spirit of the age has called into existence, the Literary, Scientific,
and Commercial Institution, of this second metropolis of the’ British

PROCKEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. 151

empire, stands prominently forward, both in utility, and, considering
its very recent formation, in promise of magnitude. Unfettered by
prejudice and party feeling, it occupies an intermediate position be-
tween the exclusiveness of the Royal Institution, and the operative
accessibility of the Mechanics’ Institution ; and while it attracts, by
its varied arrangements, those who would otherwise pass away their
vacant hours“in inactivity or demoralization, it provides for the in-
telJectual wants of a class of society—the merchants’ clerks—that,—
however limited may be their means of commanding those aids with-
out which study is a task of almost hopeless labour,—seem to require
a greater range of information than the votaries of any other human
pursuit. ?

This society has only just completed the first summer session, and
its arrangements have been carried on chiefly with the view of test-
ing, by experiment, the means by which a more fully organized
winter session may be best conducted. Such, however, is the confi-
dence that has been placed in the steady perseverance of the mem-
bers, that it has obtained Lord Francis Egerton for its patron ; Lord
Sandon and Mr. Ewart, the two members for the town, for its vice-
patrons ; with the two rectors, and many of the most eminent mer-
chants, and other influential gentlemen, for its president and vicé-
presidents.

The contribution of the members is two pounds per annum. For
this they have the benefit of a library of reference and circulation ;
a reading-room, provided with the London and provincial papers,
and periodical publications; a gymnasium, for occasional bodily ex-
ercise ; and the unrestricted liberty of attending the lectures and
classes. During the late session, lectures have been delivered on
the Early Literature of this Country, by Dr. Mackenzie ; on the
Properties of the Atmosphere, by Mr. Sweetlove; on Botany; by
Dr. Thorburn ; and on Spanish Literature, by Mr. Du Lara.

_ The classes have consisted of a French class, conducted by Messrs.
Black and Bekeart; an English class, by Mr. Mc’Gowan ; and
mathematical and commercial classes, by Mr. Tate. All the lee-
tures, and a great portion of the direction of the classes, have been
gratuitously afforded. A class has, also, been formed amongst the
members, for the writing of essays and the discussion of subjects,
proposed by them and sanctioned by the committee ; it being among
the regulations that one of the vice-presidents should preside at
their meetings. We must close this article with the following brief
allusion to an able and eloquent ‘‘ Opening Address,” delivered,
from the chair, by Thomas Jeffreys, Esq., M. D., one of the vice-
presidents.

The learned physician, after descanting, at some length, on the
many advantages to be derived from this society, by young men em-
ployed in mercantile pursuits, proceeded to point out, in a very for-
cible and lucid manner, the benefits that would arise, more especially,
from the “ Discussion Class.” Few individuals have the power of
addressing public assemblies, in a manner calculated to arrest the

152 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES.

attention of their hearers ; a deficiency arising, in a great measure,
from the almost total neglect of the study of elocution, at our public
and private seminaries. The discussing, therefore, the merits of
papers and essays, which is one of the principal objects of this so-
ciety, will tend to conquer that nervous timidity which is the great
obstacle in the way of an effective oral delivery, and will, no doubt;
prove highly beneficial to the members of this Institution.

The worthy vice-president then proposed ‘‘ The Question” for dis-
cussion at the next meeting :—

“Is the wealth of nations and the happiness of man, best promoted by the
division of labour and singleness of purpose ?—or by complicated employ-
ment and variety of pursuit ?”

As our limited space will not allow us to give even an outline of
the arguments advanced on each side of “ The Question” by Dr.
Jeffreys, we must reluctantly confine ourselves to the following
short extract :—

“The mind of man is not only very elastic, but possessed of an expan-
sive power, often unsuspected and unknown to the world, his associates,
or even to himself, until it is called into action by either accident or de-
sign; and these powers may, and often do lie dormant during his whole

ife’s existence, unless roused by some one particular stimulus or excite-
ment. Physiologists well know that every organ of the body requires its
own particular stimulus to call it into action; as, for instance, the food to
excite the digestive power of the stomach, the atmospheric air for respira-
tion, and even vitality itself for the circulation of the blood. Consequent-
ly, it cannot be very difficult to imagine that each separate cerebral organ
will remain quiescent until its particular stimulus is applied for its action.
‘The same general law of nature is applicable to the vegetable, as I have
been hinting at existing in the animal kingdom; for as in the instance of
heat being the stimulus reovene to rouse into life the chick in the egg, tor
preserving the progeny of birds and some reptiles; so if the seed a corn
or other vegetables be placed in the earth so low—perhaps one foot deep—
where the heat of the sun’s rays cannot penetrate, the seed will be pre-
served, but remain dormant for years for want of its proper stimulant ;
but the instant you raise the seed so near the surface of the earth as to
allow the sun’s rays to act upon it, the natural stimulus of heat soon
causes the germ to burst the bounds of its confined husk, and prepares the
stem to grow and to fructify.”

MANCHESTER MECHANICS’ INSTITUTION.

A STATEMENT of the proceedings of this Institution was made in
the month of July last, in the Theatre of the Manchester Mecha-
nics’ Institution, clear and satisfactory in every particular, and most
encouraging to those populous towns which have not yet proceeded

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. 153

further in their formation than laying down a plan in perspective.
After reading the results, so beneficial, inevery point of view, to
the morals, the intellectual improvement, and the quiet happiness
of as useful a class of men as any in the community, if these esta-
blishments do not become general, it will be a mark of inferiority and
a reproach, most unworthy of rational beings endowed with capa-
bilities and reason, and thus stimulated, too, to active co-operation
tby he force of example.

- Ata general meeting, at which Lord Brougham was present, an
address was delivered by the President, B. Heywood, Esq., and a
statement of the proceedings since the last report, was read by the
Secretary. From this report we learn that when the Institution had
been established five years, the number of members was 384, and at
the close of the last quarter, after an existence of eleven years, the
number amounted to 1232! In the year 1829 the receipts were
£832. 10s. 5d., and in 1835 they had increased to the very liberal
sum of £1960. 4s. 9d. / and after liquidating the whole of the ex-
pences of library, furniture, lecturers and teachers, and a variety of
other necessary items, on the 13th of July there was a balance in
the bank of £90. 16s. 1d. This is a most gratifying statement, and
proves what can be accomplished in undertaking measures of popu-
lar utility in a right spirit and a well-adapted and corresponding sys-
tem. The projectors, the founders of these beneficial schemes for
the benefit of that important class, the artizans, are, undoubtedly,
the most munificent benefactors to the human race. To withdraw
useful citizens from demoralizing scenes of dissipation and vice, by
supplying them with sources of rational employment for their hours
of leisure—to diffuse useful knowledge, and afford them facilities of
instruction in those principles which regulate their respective occu-
pations—to increase their prosperity, by drawing out their mental
resources, and applying them usefully to the cultivation of the arts
and sciences, and the various embellishments of life—are objects in-
calculable in the amount of their consequences, and worthy of the
real friends of humanity ; for by these means are human improve-
ment and human happiness consolidated and made perfect.

The remainder of the Séecretary’s report was also highly satisfac-
tory ; and at its conclusion a short examination of the first class of
the boys’ day school, consisting of about twenty, took place. A
variety of questions in the elementary rules of integral and frac.
tional arithmetic, dictated by the teacher, were rapidly written on
slates and solved by the pupils; and in answering, by mental calcu
lation, intricate questions in proportion, practice, and interest, they
evinced great proficiency and quickness. The President then re-
marking that the examination had proceeded far enough to convince
the meeting ofthe excellence of the system and the proficiency of
the scholars, :

Lord Brougham rose amidst the loud cheers of the assembly.—
After expressing his high gratification at the beneficial results of
these institutions, the success of which he had so much at heart, his

154 - PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES,

Lordship passed some well-merited encomitms on the very superior
excellence of this Institution, as compared with many others which
he had visited ; and declared that the proficiency of the boys was
superior to any similar establishment, excepting, of course, the great
London Borough Road School. His Lordship observed—

“There are two systems which ought always to be set in view in teaching;
shunning the one, setting it up as a beacon to be avoided, and placing the
other before you as a light to direct your course into the harbour of know-
ledge; the parrot system to be avoided as the rock, the beacon, and the shoal;
and the intellectual system, the reasonable, rational system, to be steadily
pursued and substituted for the former. And there is no greater error com-
mitted than that of those teachers who make a great display of boys’ memo-
ries, exercising that faculty only, by means of which they may make very
accomplished parrots with a great deal of trouble and waste of time; but
<7 icky come, lightly go ;” that which they learn so easily they lose shortly,
and even while they retain it, find it of no use whatever, for it does not im-
bueé their mind or penetrate their faculties. * * * * Who can doubt
that it would be of the utmost possible practical use to mechanics in their
several trades, to know the principles upon which those engines are con-
structed, by becoming acquainted with so much chemistry, for example, as
may teach them the nature and properties of steam, of refrigeration and ex-
pansion, of the manner in which heat works and cold operates, and learning
as much mechanical science as may explain the grounds of the various me-
chanical contrivances which that engine exhibits. I say it is of positive use
and actual profit to them to know these things. At present they put up the
cylinder, they fit the piston into its place, and adjust that exquisite contriv-
ance of ‘Watt, the parallel motion ; but they do these things mechanically,
by rote, and according to the parrot system, which I have lately said a word
about in reference to boys. * * * * Iam sure I should do a very use-
less thing, if I were here to enlarge upon the benefits of education. "They
are admitted by all, even by those who formerly sneered at them. Some
people tell us that “edtication won’t fill people’s bellies,” and trash of that
sort. Why, they might just as well complain of the baker or the butcher,
because with their beef or bread they do not fill people’s minds.—( Laughter.)
But every one knows that “ man lives not by bread alone,”—that knowledge
leads to skill, that skill leads to useful and lucrative occupation, and that the
gain derived from lucrative occupation enables men to get the staff of this
mortal life, after getting the staff of that immortal life which improves and
strengthens his better part—his mind. Therefore it is not true to say that
learning does not fill people’s bellies, as some grossly and stupidly say ; for it
pos the staff of common animal life within our reach: so the bread and

eef got through its means ultimately tend to support the mind, inasmuch
as without the support of the animal part, the incorporeal portion of our na-
ture would have but a small chance of surviving.—(Laughter.) But now,
whatever improves men’s minds tends to give them sober and virtuous
habits; and with the knowledge of the community, clear I am that virtue is
assuredly certain to-be promoted; and I am quite confident, that, with the
knowledge of men, the rights of men,—I mean their indefeasible rights of
every kind, the rights which they have to civil liberty and to religious liberty,
the greatest of earthly and social blessings,—are sure to be infinitely pro-
moted ; nor do I know of any more certain mode of reforming a country—any
better way of redressing her grievances—than giving education to her
people.”

At the conclusion of this address the noble Lord was enthusiasti-
cally cheered by the members and friends of the Institution. His
Lordship was subsequently conducted, by the Directors and Com-

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. 155

mittee, through the library, new reading-room, and the several
class and apparatus rooms, in which he appeared to take great in-
terest ; and previously to entering his carriage expressed himself
highly gratified with the general arrangements of the Institution.

The Manchester Mechanics’ Institution was established in 1824.
It is governed by a Board of Directors, chosen annually from those
subscribers who are above twenty-one years of age, and who have
been two years members. The qualification to vote consists in being
a subscriber of six months’ standing, and above the age of eighteen.
The subscription is £1. per annum, which may be paid by quarterly
instalments ; and the number of members, honorary and ordinary,
is about 1,200, of whom many are under eighteen years of age.—
About half of the ordinary members avai] themselves of the evening
classes ; in which are taught arithmetic, grammar, writing ; figure,
landscape, and flower drawing ; architectural drawing, mechanical
drawing ; French, algebra and geometry, and vocal music. Classes
for German and Latin are also established. The library contains
upwards of 3000 volumes. A reading-room is attached to the libra-
ry :—and there is a Theatre for the delivery of lectures. A boys’
and girls’ day-school is established, conducted on the plan of the
Edinburgh sessional school.

It isa very gratifying fact, that many individuals attribute their
advancement in life to the opportunity of improving themselves
which this Institution has afforded.

THE NEW MECHANICS’ INSTITUTION, MANCHESTER.

Tuis Institution was founded in 1829. The number of members
is about 130, and the subscription of 5s. per quarter entitles them
to all the benefits of the establishment. There are occasional lec-
tures, and, in the evening classes, instruction is given in reading
and writing, arithmetic and mathematics, English and Latin gram-
mar, mechanical and architectural drawing, and landscape, figure,
and flower drawing. The library contains about c00 volumes, and
the weekly delivery is about 50 volumes. A Sunday evening school
is attached to this Institution, in which forty young women are
taught reading and singing.

These Institutions occupy a very prominent place among the
means of education in Manchester, as affording opportunities of
gaining an acquaintance with higher branches of knowledge than
can be supplied in ordinary schools ; and offering their advantages
to persons of all ages, rank, situation and pursuits. The subjects
here studied are taught by men of judgment and ability, and the
affairs of the Institution conducted by a body of Directors who are
well able to judge of the merits of different plans of instruction, and
have ample opportunities of observing and comparing them. “ Few
things,” observes the Report of a Committee of the Manchester Sta-

156 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES.

tistical Society, on the state of Education in the borough of Man-
chester, ‘ would tend more to diffuse the advantages of education
among the people, than the extension of similar Institutions te other
parts of the town, and to other towns throughout the country, more
especially if the terms required, the subjects taught, and still more
the manner of teaching them were adapted to interest, attract, and
instruct the lower orders,—the really labouring classes of the com-
munity. At present, the plan of such Institutions, and the whole
course of instruction, is adapted to, and chiefly attended by, a class
considerably superior to the really operative class ; and though not,
perhaps, on that account less useful, except as embracing a less nu-
merous body of men, it is much to be regretted that Institutions
which might be so well fitted to benefit both of these classes of men
should not extend their advantages to both.” :

For the reasons thus stated, for the universal good it would ac-
complish in the amelioration of the present condition of the artizan,
for the progressive cultivation of intellect, and for the consequent
increase of happiness which must be thereby so widely diffused
through classes now too often debased by ignorance and its attend-
ant vice, we energetically recommen the admirable Institutions to
which we have been thus alluding.

WORCESTERSHIRE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

Art a meeting of the Council of this Society, the Honorary Secre-
tary, (in the absence of the Honorary Curators), enumerated the
following among other donations, received since our last announce-
ment :—

Jardine’s edition of Wilson’s American Ornithology, 3 vols. 8vo.,
with coloured plates ; Nycticorax Europeus; Nucifraga Caryoca-
tactes; Lagopus Mutus; Parus Cristatus ; Sterna Cantiaca ; Frin-
asi Nivalis ; Falco Subbuteo ; Totanus Ochropus ; Lanius Minor ;

Tenura Nove Hollandie, a specimen of the Lyre Pheasant from
New Holland, with several other foreign birds, from B. L. Baker,
Esq., Hardwick Court, near Gloucester: nearly 100 specimens in
geology and mineralogy, from the coal, green sand, chalk, and
other formations in the counties of Hants, Wilts, Somerset and
Devon, with several others,—rare and singular,—from the continent,
from Thomas Meade, Esq., Chatley Lodge, Bath: various geologi-
cal specimens, from J. C. Kent, Esq., Levant Lodge: and two of the
Dudley lime-stone, from Mr. E, Gillam, Foregate-street: a nest
of the Vespa Campanaria, found at Walkeringham, Notts, from a
gentleman resident there: and also numerous entomological and
botanical specimens, from the Rev. F. Orpen Morris, of York.

The Secretary likewise announced several donations to the Build-
ing Fund; and we trust a sum sufficient to complete the erection of

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. 157

the Museum, which from the daily acquisition of specimens in every
department of Natural History is now become indispensable, will
speedily be raised. |

The course of Lectures commenced on the 29th of September,
with an extremely interesting ‘ History of Comets, their appearances,
the phenomena to which they give rise, the nature of Comets in ge-
neral, and an examination of the hypotheses respecting them,” by the
Rey. Thomas Webb ; which will be followed by Lectures “‘ On the
Fine Arts of Ancient Greece, and their Moral Effects on Civiliza-
tion, by H. C. Boisragon, M. D. ;” “On the Powers of Instinct and
Reason displayed in the Animal Kingdom, by J. H. Walsh, Esq. ;”
** On the Upper Strata of the Secondary and on the Tertiary Rocks,
with a general description of their attendant Fossils, by E. Morris,
Esq.” and the Session for the present season will conclude on the Ist
of December, with a general Meeting for the reading of various in
teresting scientific Papers.

SHROPSHIRE AND NORTH WALES NATURAL HISTORY
‘ SOCIETY.

Well and wisely has the great Magician of the North somewhere
observed, that “the Book of Nature, that noblest of volumes, al-
ways lies open before us, where we are ever called to wonder and
to admire, even where we cannot understand.” Deeply sensible of
the truth and beauty of this sentiment, and fully aware of the vast
and beneficial effects which the well-directed study of the works of
creation invariably produces on the moral and intellectual improve-
ment of Society, we contemplate, with feelings of high gratification,
the formation, in almost every portion of this enlightened kingdom,
of Societies having for their immediate object the diffusion and
cultivation of Natural Knowledge.

Amongst other recent institutions of this kind we are happy to
announce the establishment of a Natural History Society in the
adjacent county of Salop, of which the prospectus and rules are now
before us, and from which we propose to present to our readers a
condensed statement of the benefits contemplated, and likely to arise
from its formation.

The Society is entitled “the Shropshire and North Wales
Natural History Society,” and has for its object the formation of a
Museum and Scientific Library of Natural History, Antiquities, &c.
and the collection, from every quarter, of accurate information re-
specting the Natural and General History of this important
District,—its topography, statistics, climate, and meteorological
phenomena ; its geological structure, mineral and organic fossils ;
its mines and collieries; its various animal and vegetable pro-
ductions.

‘

158 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES.

The Museum, which has been founded at Shrewsbury, as the
most central place, is principally designed to illustrate the Natural
History of the District, in its various branches of geology, miner-
alogy, zoology, and botany, by the gradual formation of complete
and systematic arrangements of its productions, in each of these
departments. It will also be open to other objects of scientific
interest, and, in particular, it will be a suitable repository for such
remains of antiquity as are found within the district, or illustrate its
general history.

The Library will consist of books illustrative of Natural History,
Antiquities, and especially such works of reference as the funds of
the Society will admit of being purchased, for the illustration of
the objects in the Museum, or which may be presented by the mem-
bers and friends of the Institution.

In order to place the Institution on the most liberal basis, and to
render it of the greatest possible public advantage, the property of
the Society has been vested in the Lords Lieutenant of the county of
Salop, and of the several counties of North Wales, as Trustees for
the permanent use and benefit of the district at large, by which
arrangement the perpetuity of the Institution is secured, and the
possible dispersion of the Museum at any future period effectually
guarded against.

_The affairs of the Society are under the management of a council,
consisting of a president and other officers, elected annually, and
twelve subscribers, of whom six retire by rotation and six are elected
in their stead at the annual meeting. i

All persons proposed to the council by two subscribers, and con-
tributing one guinea annually, are members of the Society, and
have the privilege of admission for themselves and families to the
Museum and Library, and of introducing visitors.

To diffuse a taste for science, periodical meetings of the Society
will be held, at which scientific communications will be received and
read, and popular Lectures delivered on the various branches of
Natural History. |

In addition to the more local objects of the Society, the Museum
will be open to the reception of any specimens from distant locelities,
with which the friends of science in various quarters may be induced
to enrich it, and which may serve to complete the series and enhance
the scientific value of those indigenous to the district. For this
purpose the council have authority to effect exchanges of the natural
products of Shropshire and North Wales for specimens furnished by
the cabinets of Societies, or individual collectors in other parts of the
world,

Of the progress which the Society has made since its first esta-
blishment (26th June, 1835), we are enabled to recount the most
flattering report. The number of members is now 149, amongst
whom are enrolled several of the nobility of the county, and many
of the most scientific and eminent men in the district. The museum
has already been enriched with numerous donations in every de-

* ’ ~
CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 159

partment of Natural Science, most of which are very valuable, and
all peculiarly interesting and instructive. The friends of the
Institution, in al] quarters, are so peculiarly strenuous in its welfare,
and their exertions are so perseveringly directed to the collecting of
the natural curiosities of their respective neighbourhoods, that
from the contributions to the Museum, which are daily increasing,
and the liberal promises which the Society has received, there is
every probability’ that in a short space of time, a general collection
will be formed which shall exhibit at one glance to the scientific
stranger the varied natural treasures of this wide and most pro-
ductive district, and enable the Society to rival in usefulness and
- extent the Natural History Societies of other places.

Interested as we are in the success of all Scientific Institutions,
we shall from time to time present to our readers a summary of the
proceedings of this promising Society.

CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

The Life of Samuel Johnson, L. L. D., by James Boswell, Esq. ;
~ to which are added Anecdotes by Hawkins, Piozzi, Murphy,
Tyers, Reynolds, Steevens, &c., and Notes by various hands.—

Vols. 5,6, and 7. In 8 volumes. Murray, Albemarle-street,
1835.

However minute, almost ridiculously minute, Boswell has set
down the sayings and doings of the great lexicographer, his biogra-
phical memoir of one of the most eminent of English scholars will
always be a source of interest and instructive amusement. Boswell,
unlike first-rate literary men, had not the grand art of sifting the
corn from the chaff,—he was neither a man of genius nor of erudi-
tion ; like all unskilful writers he has dwelt on subjects of trifling
import, and given as much space to the most common-place parlance
as he has devoted to that more important part which relates to grand
conception, intellectual acumen, and profound learning. That he
was wholly devoid of good taste, too, is evident from the egotistical
manner by which almost every page is distinguished. With all its
faults, however, Boswell’s diary will still be read, and if only for
the numerous anecdotes scattered through its pages, independently
of the great luminary of learning, whose virtues, errors, and weak-
nesses, it so glaringly exposes, it will continue to be read as longas
literary renown shall be cherished, or the English language shall
retain its present strength and purity. Although Boswell could not
attain distinction from his own abilities, he did not disdain to seek
it through the medium of others, and was content to play the grave-

%

160 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

digger to a Hamlet whose transcendent pre-eminence he could never
hope to imitate. How few men there are, in our day, who would
sacrifice their time, and health, and respectability, to become the
merely tolerated listener, the butt and plaything of any man, how
effulgent soever might be his fame! the spirit of independence had
not, at that day, we presume, the predominating power which is so
obstinately maintained in our time. But we must not forget that
had Boswell thought thus, we should never have seen the particulars
of a life which, with all its outrageous faults, will always be found
on the shelf of every respectable library. We must protest, how-
ever, against all writings of this description. It is most unfair and
unjust, for.men under the mask of kindness and good-nature, to
worm themselves into the unsuspecting confidence of others, and
then, to give an eclét to the writer’s obscure name, publish those
failings incident to humanity which ought to have been most scru-
pulous}y shielded from the world’s observation. Had Johnson been
aware of Boswell’s intention, he would have spurned him from his
presence for his premeditated dishonour. All literary men have
their moments of unguarded weakness ;—long and extreme tension
of the intellect always leads to corresponding debility ; and. the re.
laxation of a luminous mind, from the obvious contrast, when mi--
nutely detailed in the shape of narrative, must partake of a certain
character of imbecility, at the bare mention of which the sensibility
must be inconceivably shocked. In ordinary life these transitions
are usually held sacred—ought they not, then, to be held equally
sacred amongst literary men, whose lives,. and actions, and motives
are scrutinized usually with such minute circumspection, and often
with such unsparing severity? How much more delicately and
generously have Thomas Moore, Walter Scott, and others, model-
led their lives of departed genius!

This edition differs from most others in the attraction which it
possesses of a fund of most amusing anecdotes by Hawkins, Piozzi,
Murphy, Tyers, Reynolds, Steevens, and various other eminent cha-
racters. To this advantage, and it is a very considerable one, may
be added that of its being, without exception, the most elegant edi-
tion of the size ever yet submitted to the public admiration. It is
embellished with some exquisite plates and vignettes by Finden, in
his best style ; and these, with the letter-press and paper, do infinite
credit to the taste and liberality of the eminent publisher.

The Gardener's Magazine, and Register of Rural and Domestic
Improvement. Conducted by J. C. Loudon, F. L.S., H.S., &e.
September, 1835. London: Longman and Co.

There are, as usual, some very excellent notices in this monthly
publication of Mr. Loudon, including a highly interesting article
relating to Fonthill Abbey and its talented projector, from which we
intended to have given an extract had we not been prevented by
a pressure of other matter.

CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PURLICATIONS., 161

The History and Antiquities of the Cathedral Church of Worcester :
illustrated by a series of engravings of views, elevations, plans.
and details, of that edifice : including an architectural descrip-
tion of the Church, and Biographical Anecdotes of the pe
and of other eminent persons connected with the Cathedral. By
John Britton, F. 8. A., M.R.S. I, &c., &c. Longman and

Co., 1835.

From the prefatory essay we glean information connected with
this work, which sets forth the risks, the losses, and the miseries of
authorship, in a very clear and convincing manner ; and points out
the futility of risking health and fortune in literary undertakings,
without first securing that patronage by which alone a successful
issue can be fully attained. In accounting for the delay in the exe-
cution of the work, the author observes—‘‘ Had generous patronage
and kind attentions been manifested towards the author, in the early
progress of his work, he would most certainly have been animated
to greater exertion—to more ardent zeal ; but the coldness, and even
the contumely, of the dignitaries of some cathedrals ; the ingrati-
tude, and even impositions, of certain parties who were early en-
gaged in the work ; and without the prospect of a fair remuneration
for bodily and mental labour, it is not surprising, nor very repre.
hensible, that he became sometimes languid—sometimes indifferent.
But for the cordial and friendly assistance of the respectable pub-
lishers who first embarked in the work, it would certainly never
have reached its present size and quality. During its progress, more
than twenty thousand pounds have been expended on its execution,
and thus English art, literature, and trade, have been all promoted :
although a large portion of that sum has necessarily reverted to the
state, in taxation. Three hundred and ten drawings and engrav-
ings have been executed for its embellishment, whereby some of the
most eminent artists of the country have acquired fame and liberal
remuneration. Paper-makers, stationers, printers, binders, book.
sellers, and others, have derived profits, whilst eleven public and
private libraries of the kingdom have had their literary stores in-
creased, by exacting from the author so many copies of this expen-
sive publication.”

The author candidly admits that he has grievously erred against
time, and taxed the patience of friends ; but his excuse must disarm
reproof when he asserts that repeated attacks of illness have reduced
his energies, and sometimes even his capabilities of composition :—
that the eyes and memory often give notice that they have been
over-worked, and claim a little respite ; that many public demands
are made on his time, beside those of a domestic and friendly na-
ture ; and that these have conspired, for the last three or four years,
to detach him often from the Cathedral Antiquities. —

In Mr. Britton’s observations on the facilities and repulses which
he experienced in his meritorious endeavours to collect every infor-
mation likely to add value to his work, we are pained to notice some

October, 1835,—voL. 111, NO. XIII. M.

162 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

comments on the alleged illiberal reception which attended his visits
to the cathedrals of Exeter, Hereford, and Wells. Indeed, he ex-
presses deep regret for having visited these cities for the purpose of
writing histories of their respective churches. He says that ‘“ with
apparently tardy reluctance leave was ultimately granted at these
places for the author and his draftsmen to have ingress to the
cathedrals to make notes, sketches, &c.: but they were otherwise
treated as impertinent intruders and suspicious personages. Among
other consequences arising from such treatment, the author was
obliged to commission a friend to visit Exeter, with two other
artists in 1825, and thus incur additional and even heavy expense.
Owing to a want of the requisite facilities for properly exploring the
two cathedrals of Exeter and Hereford, the outlay, caused by this
prohibition, exceeded the receipts by at least five hundred pounds!”
This is one of the items, and certainly not a pleasing one in the
annals of ‘‘ the Cathedral Antiquities,” which, the author observes,
Mr. D’Israeli may, without much impropriety, introduce inte a new
edition of his “‘Calamities of Authors.”

On this unpleasant assertion, we have to observe that the worthy
and intelligent author might not, possibly, have been at the moment
in the most perfect state of quiescent feeling. Authors are some-
times very irritable, and usually more from sensitiveness than
absolute provocation—they have a thousand strange conceits when
their brains are teeming with visionary speculations, and attended
often with an absence of mind, most marvellous to men of a cooler
temperament. It would be charity towards the accused, to imagine
that Mr. Britton was under a delusion at the moment, only that we
cannot exactly reconcile this set-off against the three distinct and
positive charges. There must be an error somewhere—we should
be very unwilling to believe that in either of the dioceses named,
there was the least intentional lack of courtesy from a church digni-
tary to any man of lettered fame—more especially to a writer of such
well-known and acknowledged celebrity as the author of ‘the
Cathedral Antiquities of England;” and ‘the Architectural Dic.
tionary ;”—but his statement is too circumstantial and precise for
doubt—we must attribute it, therefore, to circumstances which may
possibly yet admit of some favourable modification or re-con-
struction.

We regret to learn that the volume before us, “'The History and
Antiquities of the Cathedral Church of Worcester, is the last of the
author’s series, and that the publication of the records of the seven
remaining Cathedrals of Carlisle, Chester, Chichester, Durham,
Ely, Lincoln, and Rochester, which would have completed, this im-
portant work, is wholly abandoned. It is due to the talented author
to state, however, that before he came to the determination of
closing his work with the present. volume, he addressed letters to
each of the prelates, and to all the deans and chapters of England,
explaining the state and: nature of the publication, and the necessity
of relinquishing it. unless he felt. secured against. pecuniary. loss,

CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 163

“In the month of March, 1833, a printed address and a respectful
letter, was sent to forty-four prelates, and deans and chapters; to
which the author received only six replies! Two bishops offered to
take in the work, two others were willing to subscribe for the
cathedrals, over which they presided ; only one chapter, (Norwich)
requested to possess the whole series ; and ahother offered every
assistance to the author, towards promoting a complete history and
illustration of its own church.” Such a chilling, dreary prospect,
was not calculated to tempt the author further in his Cathedral
expedition.

*‘When the education, associations, and number of wealthy clergy-
men in the kingdom are considered, particularly of those connected
with, and deriving handsome incomes from the cathedrals, it might
be fairly presumed that from three to five hundred of them would
be desirous to possess a literary and graphic work expressly devoted
to elucidate the histories, and illustrate the architecture of those
edifices ; it is however asserted that not more than one hundred of
the clergy are purchasers of this publication, and that its real friends
and admirers are persons of moderate incomes, who are mostly pro-
fessional gentlemen and amateurs, and some ladies.”

The Cathedral of Worcester, the author affirms, has suffered as
- much by injudicious restorations and repairs, as by the injuries re-.
sulting from time and warfare. Many parts of its walls, being
constructed with a bad material, a loose red sand-stone, havé crum-
bled and become ruinous ; the central tower has been chipped; and
in part newly faced, whilst its once fine parapet and open pinnacles
have been reconstructed, without much regard to the original work-
manship. The interior is wofully disfigured by white and yellow
washing.

Our readers will perceive that this is not a consecutive narrative-
— it is related in a desultory manner as the facts presented them.
selves, or rather, we should say, as we chanced to light upon them
on indiscriminately turning over the pages of the prefatory essay:
some of them, however, are so very cogent, and others, indeed most
of them, so very important, that we could not refrain from extract-
ing and commenting as we proceeded, without regarding order and
method with the strictness usually required. In this manner, there-
fore, we shall now continue. Mr. Britton’s comparison of the ad«
vantages of other liberal professions above those of the author, is
drawn with all the force and bitterness of truth, and assimilates
with the notions of the elegant and eloquent E. Iu. Bulwer, who, in
his interesting work, ‘‘ England and the English,” says on this sub-
jeect-—“ Literary men have not with us any fixed and settled posi-
tion as men of letters. In the great game of honours none fall to
their share. We may say truly, with a certain political economist,—
‘ We pay best, 1. Those who déstroy us—generals ; 2nd. Those who
cheat us—Politicians and quacks ; 3rd. Those who arhuse us—singers
and musicians; and, last of all—those who instruct tis” ” ‘‘ All the
officers of state, and most: public servants,” he observes, “ after a

on m 2,

164 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

certain length of service, retire upon pensions, either proportionate
to the extent of time, or to the particular rank and station of the
party. Not so the aulhor—not so the man whose whole life may
have been devoted to literature. However eminent his talents—
whatever may have been the amount and utilities of his writings,—
_ unless exercised in the cause of apolitical or religious body,—he
rarely meets with either honours or fortune. At the bar, in the
church, in the army, the navy, and government offices, reasonable
industry, with moderate mental powers, are frequently advanced to
high titles—to great wealth. Such has been, and still is, the state
of society in England: and if the author, the professional and long-
tried author, should shew that he is not justly treated, and has not a
fair chance to partake of the honours and rewards, which are sup-
posed to be national, it is not likely that authorship will be cultivated
by the prudent, or be ardently pursued by those who can in any
other way employ their talents. At the present moment, the num-
ber of authors in England is immense, and the extent and variety of
their abilities exceed that of any other age or country: yet their
pecuniary remuneration is comparatively small. There is, perhaps,
no class of writers better paid than those engaged in the popular pe-
riodicals ; and it may be safely said that there is no one profession
in which more mental talent is required and exerted, and where the
labour is more incessant and harassing. To furnish savoury food
and poignant sauce for the ever-craving appetite of the daily politi-
cal reader,—the quidnunc of the present age—is the imperious duty
of the leading journalists of our times ; and when we read some of
the rapid essays, the midnight out-pourings of these writers, we are
delighted and astonished at the knowledge and eloquence displayed.
Yet we never hear of such men being advanced to titles, rewarded
by fortunes, or complimented by public monuments. ‘ They ma-
nage these things better in France.’ There, Barons Cuvier, The-
nard, Lussac, and Poissou, have enjoyed annual grants from the
government to the amount of £5,420.” Very recently, however,
there has been something done by the government, or by its high
officers, to confer substantial compliments on literature and science.
Southey, Airy, Sharon Turner, Thomas Moore, and others, have
had pensions granted them; and Sir John Herschel, Sit David Brew-
ster, Sir Henry Ellis, Sir Harris Nicholas, Sir Frederick Madden,
and Sir Francis Palgrave, have been honoured with titles.

In the event of the decease of an author, or a partner in a publi-
cation, it often becomes necessary to sell the work by auction, for
the purpose of closing accounts. The death of his estimable friend,
Mr. Taylor, will explain the reasons why some of the author’s and
his partner’s publications have been transferred to new proprietors,
and retailed to the public at reduced prices. “ It is well-known
that authors, as a body, are not rich. If they publish their own
works, they rarely increase their riches: on the contrary, it often
leads to ruin. The annals of the “ Literary Fund Society,” furnish
many lamentable examples of distress, arising partly from that cause.

CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS: 165

It is also known, at the present time, that the respectable publishers
of London are the best, if not the only, patrons, on whom authors
can rely for pecuniary remuneration. These publishers are men of
business, are merchants of adventure, who occasionally advance ca-
pital on unproductive articles. Like all other tradesmen they seek
to obtain profit on their wares ; and one of the modes of doing this,
which has prevailed for some yeaas past, is the disposal of the stock,
coppers, and copy-right of a book, after the market has been fairly
supplied through the regular systematic channels.”

So far—prefatory and discursive observations—we now approach
the body of the work, which at the outset we admit to be a task of
delight. The correct and admirable delineations of C. Kitton, have
been exquisitely engraved by J. Le Keux, and are certainly beauti-
ful specimens of art. There are altogether sixteen, exclusive of a
vignette by S. Williams. The typographical department, too, will .
rather add to than diminish the long-standing fame of the Chis-
wick press.

New facts and illustrations, calculated to elucidate the history of
the See, the architecture of the edifice, and other local events are
adduced, which serve to mark many national characteristics of former
ages—not drawn from the resources of Abingdon, Thomas Green,
and other writers on the city and its minster, although their
authority is often quoted, but chiefly extracted from the archives at
the fountain head, with such commentaries as genius and an
intimate knowledge of the difficult subject only could supply. The
early history of the see is traced with considerable minuteness, and
we think, from our own knowledge of the subject, with much
accuracy ; and the historical notices of the facts, during the
Anglo-Saxon dynasty, till the complete establishment of the
Normans in England, rest on a carefully examined foundation. In
the time of King Alfred, before a.p. 900, we find a fact of con-
sequence relating to Worcester and its Cathedral. Bishop Werefrid
applied to the monarch to have the city fortified ; upon which oc-
casion, one half of the royal dues of tolls from the market, or street,
was vested in the see. Green thinks that Edgar’s gate-house was
erected about that time. The prelacies of Saints Dunstan and
Oswald are important in the annals of this church, as well as in
those of the kingdom. During their dominion great alterations
were introduced into the monasteries, by the stern, persevering, and
uncompromising conduct of these advocates of celibacy.

The origin of the present edifice is not satisfactorily defined :
some writers ascribe it to St. Oswald, and others to St. Wulstan.
“The oldest part of the present edifice is its Crypt, which may pro-
bably be part of Oswald’s church, or it may have been re-built by
Wulstan ; but there is neither document nor internal evidence suf-
ficient to prove by which of those prelates it was designed and
constructed. Its Norman character is shown in the view (plate X),
and in the ground plan (plate I.) The transept, and particularly

. its eastern wall, through which there were entrances to the crypt,

166 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

and also two door-ways, with semi-circular arches, to the vestry on
the south side, and to the sacristy on the north, certainly appear to
he the most ancient part of the church. The former arch is shewn
in the title-page. In consequence of the fire, which consumed some
of the cathedral in 1202, the visit of commissioners from the papal
see, in the following year, to inquire into the refuted miracles
ascribed to Wulstan, and the unqualified report of their truth, of
King John’s pilgrimage to the canonized bones of the newly made
saint, and of other circumstances of great local notoriety, it is pro-
bable that the whole east end of the cathedral was either rebuilt, or
adapted and altered to the prevailing fashion of architecture, about
this time. It seems evident that it was newly dedicated in 1218,
—The interment of the body of King John in this cathedral (a. p.
1216), was an event of no small importance to the monastery and
see, at the time, nor of less local consequence afterwards. He died
at Newark-upon-Trent, of poison, as some chroniclers report, and
his corpse was conveyed across the country, to Worcester, where he
had ordered, in his will, that it should be interred. The tomb, near
the east end of the choir, with the effigy of King John on its slab,
is of a date long subsequent to his decease. It was probably made
at the time when Prince Arthur’s chantry-chapel and tomb were
erected.” 5

Externally this cathedral does not exhibit much of architectural
interest or beauty, which is rightly accounted for by the barbarous
use made of a common stone called red sand-stone, of a staring brick-
dust colour, which is soft andjporous, and with which the Goths,
who are charged with the management of these matters, have,
for the sake of its cheapness, always used in preference to the Port-
land or other building stone. _With the same barbarous taste, com-
mon white or yellow wash has often been used to renovate its inte-
_ rior walls.

The engravings in this volume convey such full and complete
information relating to the forms, sizes, relative proportions of parts,
and the varied architectural members of this cathedral, that it must
be unnecessary to describe geometrical plans, sections, and elevations
—we, therefore, refer our readers to the book itself, wherein these
matters, with all others connected with this edifice, will be found
circumstantially detailed even to the most minute point.

On its list of prelates, the see of Worcester has certainly enrolled
many names of high historic celebrity. It presents one pope, four
saints in the Catholic calendar, six lords chancellor of England,
three lords treasures, one king’s chancellor, eleven archbishops of
Canterbury and of York, one Roman cardinal, and many men of
general learning and of literary merit.

The marble monuments are numerous, and amongst them are the
masterly works of Roubiliac, Chantrey, and the younger Bacon. In
the great north transept stands Roubiliac’s, tothe memory of Bishop
Hough ; in the lesser north transept, called the Bishop’s Chapel, is
Chantrey’s commemoration of Charlotte Elizabeth, wife of the Rev.

CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 167

William Digby ; and in the south side of the nave are two by the
younger Bacon,—one, to the memory of Richard Solly, Esq., and
the other to the gallant Col. Sir Henry Walton Ellis, K. C. B.,
who was killed at the battle of Waterloo.

A chronological list of the bishops of Worcester, commencing at
the Mercian dynasty, in the year 680, to the present time, and of
the deans, commencing in 1541, with short biographical memo-
randa of the latter, are additions which enhance the merits of this
work :—and to sum up all, (by no means an usual occurrence with
authors) Mr. Britton has given a list of the published authorities
from which he has principally drawn such materials as were not
eommunicated to him orally or by writing, or which he did not de-
rive from his personal examination. |

In conclusion, we are perfectly aware that we have not done
such strict justice to Mr. Britton’s most excellent work on the Anti-
quities of the Worcester Cathedral as the subject required, or as we
unquestionably should have done, had space permitted us—but, al-
ready deeply in arrear in that department appropriated to critical
notices of new publications, and finding that our observations have
gone far beyond our calculation, we are necessarily obliged to omit
many extracts and comments which we had written, and which
would, undoubtedly, have rendered this review more perfect. Placed
in such position, we are compelled to make a brief conclusion, which
we do, by declaring this work of Mr. Britton’s to be highly useful
and valuable to every gentleman of the county, to every clergyman
in particular, and, in fine, we should imagine that it will soon be
found amongst the useful books of reference of every description of
reader who takes an interest in the history and antiquities of his
county. - .

Observations on certain curious Indentations in the old red Sand-
stone of Worcestershire and Herefordshire, considered as the
tracks of Antediluvian Animals; and the objections made to
such an hypothesis refuted. By Jabez Allies, Esq., one of the
Council of the Worcestershire Natural History Society. Also,
An Addendum on a few other facts in Geology, Meteorology, As-
tronomy, Natural History, Topography, 5c. London: Ed-
wards, pp. 132. 3 ‘

We have before referred to this curious subject in “‘ The Analyst,”
when reviewing Dr. Booker’s “ Vaga,” and the drama of an anony-
mous writer, entitled “ Katharine Audley ;” it would, therefore, be
unfair were we to omit noticing the work of Mr. Allies, who pro-
fesses to clear up the mysterious cloud that surrounds the celebrated
“‘ Tracks of St. Catherine's Mare and Colt,” after the most approved
scientific recipe. 'We must remind the reader that in several brooks
-whose waters gurgle among the sandstone slabs of the western bor-
ders of Worcestershire, “ certain curious indentations” oceur, ma
of which present a general resemblance to the mark of a horse’s hoof.

168 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

These are said, by the rustics of the vicinity, to point out the course
taken by a mare and colt, anciently stolen from St. Catherine.—
Having formerly stated the legend at length, we shall now confine
ourselves to Mr. Allies’s ‘‘ hypothesis.” We cannot deny to that
gentleman the praise of considerable ingenuity, much enthusiasm,
and a regular determination to level every adversary that opposes
him in the depths of Sapey brook. “We think it best, therefore, at
once, fairly to admit with him that these are tracks of antediluvian
animals, provided we find that this admission involves us in the
belief of nothing incredible. This we shall first inquire—Mr.
Allies then states the ‘“‘ tracks” to be those of shod, or domesticated
horses, ‘‘ the prints of the nails and the cockers of the shoes” hay-
ing been visible to some observers ; and much stress is also laid by
the author on the “ patten-ring impressions” made in the sand-stone,
by the antediluvian ladies, upon whom our author seems to press
rather too hard. Of course all this involves us in the supposition of
some antediluvian nation being settled about Sapey brook ; and Mr.
Allies conceives that ‘“‘ Tubal-Cain himself, or some of his family,
might have settled in this country and_ practised, or taught the art
[of working in brass and iron] tothe natives.” But, unfortunately,
this simple question arises—If Tubal-Cain, who was only the eighth
from Adam, emigrated into Britain to teach “the natives,” who
were these ‘‘ natives” that he came to teach; and from whence did
they spring? Is it possible that they could be a remnant of the
* prior race of men and horses’’ that existed ‘“ before the creation. of
Adam, and whom Mr. Allies, after calling them into being, rather
gratuitously supposes “had become extinct by an universal deluge,
or some other cause?”? As the author provides us with abundance
of “iron” and “patten-rings” to digest, he has here charitably
granted us an extra “universal deluge” before the creation of Adam,
to wash them down! ‘This is certainly making the iron enter too
deep into our souls ; and notwithstanding the assistance afforded by
Job, Dr. Adam Clarke, and others whom Mr. Allies calls to his aid,
ave feel a difficulty in acknowledging these “ tracks” tu be those of
Tubal-Cain’s horses! If we deny this, the learned author then in-
sists that we must take our choice of one of these hypotheses—either
that ‘ some of the strata of old red sand-stone was deposited since
the existence of men and horses, and that the tracks in question were
made by persons and animals, while the stratum was in a state of
formation; and, therefore, that the geologists must begin de novo
in their classifications ;’—for this the author strenuously contends ;
—or, that we must believe “ that the tracks in question were made
by a race of men and horses which became extinct before Eden was
planted!” It is a maxim in philosophy to be satisfied with that the-
ory which requires the simplest and most natural means to effect the
object in view; and this being the case, it appears to us that the old
story of St. Catherine offers the easiest solution of this problem, af-
ter all, notwithstanding the laborious efforts Mr. Allies has made
to sustain his “ hypothesis.” If we only believe in the power of the

CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 169

saint, we can have no difficulty as to the miraculous tracks made by
her mare and colt! But to suppose Tubal-Cain taught the natives,
or, that the antediluvian females ‘‘ used a kind of patten or sandal
shod mith an iron ring” to “ defend their feet from the gigantic ve.
getation of those days ;”—to say nothing of the ‘‘ prior race of men
and horses” existing before Adam, &c. is in fact to compose a geo-
logical romance, which, however amusing, is in reality no more
-eredible than the often cited fact of the Ledbury bells ringing with-
out hands in honour of St Catherine !

Mr. Allies must excuse these free remarks ; he is, in fact, a gen-
tleman of research and observation, but, like a true neophyte, he
sets no bounds to his imagination. Still, we heartily thank him
for his really curious work. He has rendered a dry subject a very
wet one—wet with our tears! though not those resulting from grief.
If he will only refrain from meddling with “the antediluvian solar
year,” and let Methuselah, Enoch, and Noah, sleep in peace; if he
will be kind enough not to ‘ submit that the deluge commenced
when the oak and other forest trees were not in leaf ;” if, indeed,
he will mercifully spare us from “ deluges,” bones of “ cows and
bulls,” and let the “ sappy fluid in the wood” remain there in quiet ;
if ill but leave Dr. Adam Clarke and the Fabians to fight their
own battles, and confine himself to the bounds of actual observation,
we are sure he could write a volume of interest and value. But
here the very titles of the articles in his “ Appendix” would fill
one of our pages, and he goes out of his way to descant upon “ the
most ancient of the pyramids being probably antediluvian,” and tells
us that “Ab d’Allatif says that he saw a prodigious number of
hieroglyphical inscriptions on the two great pyramids, as many as if
copied would fill perhaps ten thousand volumes!!” It is these off
hand assertions and imaginative hypotheses that confuse Mr. Allies’s
labours; and as gold or silver becomes undistinguishable when
mixed with too much alloy, so the really sensible observations of the
learned author before us are injured from the mass of dubious not
to say fabulous matters that he has unadvisedly introduced. '

Wanderings through North Wales. By Thomas Roscoe, Esq.
Embellished with highly-finished Engravings, by Wm. Rad-
clyffe, from drawings made expressly for the work, by Catter-
mole, Cox, and Creswick. Parts 4, 5, and 6. London:
Charles Tilt, and Simpkin and Marshall ; and Wrightson and
Webb, Birmingham.

We have often visited and admired with a poet’s and a painter’s
eye, the romantic and beautiful scenes which are in this work so
enchantingly described by the graver of Radclyffe and the pen of
Roscoe, and can speak, therefore, more decidedly on the point of
truth of resemblance than the stranger who collects his information
from oral or published description. Travellers talk with wonderful
facility of the verdant plains of Italy, and the stupendous mountain

170 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

scenery of Switzerland, of the Pyrenees and the Alps, and countries:
far removed, who never think of exploring the principality, within
a few miles only of their reach. We have certainly had intelligent
writers on the landscape beauties of Wales, but how very few in
comparison with those of foreign countries. Yet we undertake to
inform our travelled countrymen that Wales possesses as many
natural beauties in upland and in lowland scenery even as the classic
regions of Italy. It wants, truly, its delicious climate, for North
Wales, in Winter, we must allow, is not very particularly favour.
able to thin-skinned frequenters of the south, and that the air is
occasionally, in that season, a little sharp—but if a traveller be in
health, and can walk sufficiently to keep his blood in circulation, and
has a real, a decided, not an affected taste for the beauties of nature
in the lofty and the grand, he will search the world in vain fora
more romantic and rapture-kindling country than Wales. Although
not Welchmen, we are extremely fond of the country, of its mutton,
its poultry, its fish, its butter, and of its sincere and warm-hearted
natives—and we thank Mr. Roscoe, Mr. Radclyffe, -and Messrs,
Cattermole, Cox, and Creswick, for pourtraying with such infinite
taste and judgment so many of the landscape beauties with which
our favourite country abounds. -

Of the preceeding numbers we have before spoken very highly,
and we are now of opinion that the work maintains its ground with
a steadiness which must bring it into extensive circulation. A more
beautifully illustrated work, at treble its cost, we never beheld, and
great praise is due to all the parties concerned in its execution.

Souvenirs pendant un Voyage en Orient, par A. De Lamartine.
Vols III. and IV. London: E. Churton, Holles Street ; and
J. B. Bailliere, Regent Street, 1835.

Amongst the cheap and neatly printed portable volumes which
are now become so much in request, is a publication of the Standard
French Works, that is of French works which time and general ap.
probation have made valuable. De Lamartine is an excellent
specimen of the most select and meritorious standard works from
France, at a rate even cheaper than that at which they are pro-
duced abroad, and with the important advantages of neat and cor-
rect typography, and an external form more adapted to the prevail-
ing taste. The price, which is no unimportant consideration, is
one-third less than the foreign editions, as by the useful aid of com-
pression, two volumes are squeezed into one, by which attention to
economy the preference given on the score of cheapness will no
longer sustain its ground.

On looking through this double volume of De Lamartine we find
it distinguished by remarkable correctness as well as by extreme
typographical neatness. The maps, too, on which the adventurous
course is traced, are very clearly delineated. We cannot doubt of
the suceess of the publisher in this undertaking.

ORITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 171

The Works of William Cowper. Edited by the Rev. T. S. Grim.
shawe, A. M. With an Essay on the Genius and Poetry of
Cowper. By the Rev. J. W. Cunningham, A.M. Vols. 6,
7, and 8. London: Saunders and Otley, Conduit Street.
1835.

This work is now drawing to its conclusion ; but if it were pos.
sible-to extend it to half-a-dozen more volumes, few of its readers,
we think, would evince the slightest objection. It is, without ex-
ception, the most correct and valuable edition that has hitherto
appeared of the unmutilated works of this deservedly favourite poet.
It is not the beauty of the type and its embellishments of plates and
title-pages, highly lustrous and perfect as they are, but the addi-
tional letters of the Olney bard, upwards of two hundred in number,
never before given to the world, rendering complete the whole of
his private correspondence, with Mr. Cunningham’s essay on his
genius and poetry, and the Editor’s careful revision and arrange-
ment, as well as notes and comments, which form the chief points of
attraction in these delightful volumes.

It will not be necessary to enter into the minute particulars of this
most comprehensive work—it will be enough for every admirer of
Cowper to know that what has hitherto been wanted to unravel the
elue of conjecture, is now amply supplied, and that nothing more
can now be granted or desired, to render the actions, writings, and
even thoughts of Cowper familiar to his readers.

History of British Fishes. By W. Yarrell, F.L.8., &c., &o.
London: John Van Voorst.

The time has not long past when the study of Natural His-
tory was looked upon by many with contempt. The false impres-
sions which induced the ignorant to regard its advocates as maniacs,
are now happily removed: The popular style in which Natural
History has been treated by scientific men, has, in a great measure,
effected this desirable change. Valuable works have appeared on
the Mammalia, on Birds, and Insects, of this country, but a work
on the Fishes has long been wanting, those existing not only being
defective, but too expensive to come within the reach of the gene-
rality of readers. This deficiency, fortunately, is now in a fair way
of being supplied by one who is in every way well qualified ; and
we rejoice to find that Mr. Yarrell has chosen so happy a mode of
-giving to the world the results of his well-known long and ardu-
ous researches,

In the prospectus of this work, an introduction, and a system-
atic table of the orders, families, and genera are promised. As
this publication is not only suited to the naturalist, but likewise
to the general reader, we hope Mr. Yarrell will make his book bet-
ter adapted to the latter by giving, in his introduction, a more de-
tailed definition of the families and orders of fishes, as they are but

i

172 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

slightly noticed in the body of the work—for instance, in the number
now before us, we are told that the Cyprinide is ‘‘ the family of the
carp,” * but nothing is said about their internal organization (as a@
tribe), their semi-carnivorous habits, the structure of the mouth, and
various other external peculiarities. To those who are already ac-
quainted with the subject this may be of but little importance ; the
general reader will, however, naturally wish for further information.

Burmeister’s Manual on Entomology, from the German of Dr.
Hermann Burmeister. By W. E. Shuckard, M. E.S. London:
E. Churton. |

To those who are fond of this delightful study, the above Manual
must form a most valuable acquisition. This work, which was ori-
ginally. written in German, is of modern date, and the author has
incorporated in it all the most essential facts derived from the labours
of Straus, Durckeim, Miiller, and various other eminent men. The
English translation, by Mr. Shuckard, now in the course of publica-
tion, is free, and the style elegant. We strongly recommend the
manual, not only to the entomologist, but to the naturalist, as an
excellent work of reference. We would also advise the engraver
to use his burin more firmly, in the forthcoming plates, some of the
later engravings being very indistinct from the extreme faintness of
of the lines.

[We had written an article on an highly interesting paper by
Langston Parker, Esq. of Birmingham, and published in the Dublin
Medical Journal fur September, ‘On the nature and treatment of
Diseases of the Stomach, chiefly regarding derangements of its sen-
sibility,” (to be followed by a series of papers on similar diseases),
but which we regret our inability to insert for want of space, al-—
though we have enlarged our publication to sixteen pages more
than was originally intended. We are placed in the same unfortu-
nate position with respect to several notices of new publications :—
including Britton’s ‘‘ History and Description of the late Houses of
Parliament,” Loudon’s “ Aboretum Britannicum,” and “the Flo-
rist’s Magazine,” a work in the course of publication, by Orr and
Smith, and deserving of high commendation, from the beauty of the
plates, and the comprehensive and explanatory style of the letter-

press. |
* This slight way of noticing the families, &c. will also apply to most of.

the others contained in the former numbers of the work, the want of some
information on which would deteriorate its value as a book of reference.

‘

173

LITERARY INTELLIGENCE.

The Rev. Edward Stanley, M.A.,
is preparing a work on Land Birds
‘and Sea Birds; their Structure,
Habits, and Peculiarities, inter-
spersed with a variety of illustrative
Anecdotes, and numerous Engrav-
ings.

A popular work on Minerals and
Metals; their Nature, Properties,
and Uses; with some Account of
Mines and Mining; illustrated by
numerous W ood-cuts, is in the press.
Also, uniform with the same, a work
on Clocks and other Time-keepers ;
with some account of the Applica-
tions of Clock-work in Science and
the Arts; illustrated by Engrav-

ings.
The Oriental Annual for 1836, by
Rev. H. Caunter, B. D., is expected

to exceed either of its predecessors
in the variety and beauty of the
Illustrations from the pencil of
William Daniell, Esq., R. A.

In October next will be published,
in 8vo., “Clinical Medicine and
General cen: grounded on
the most approved and recent views
of the Continental Pathologists. In-
tended for Students in the third and
fourth year of their Medical Studies.
By ps Stewart Thorburn, of Liver- ~

ool.

A monthly periodical, entitled
“The Ornithological Repository,”
will shortly appear. It will be pub-
lished at Derby, and be devoted
chiefly to the elucidation of every
thing relating to the feathered
tribes.

NEW PUBLICATIONS,
From June 8 to September 8.

Annual Register, for 1834, 8vo. 16s.

Autobiography ofan Irish Traveller,
3 vol. post 8vo. 31s. 6d.

Beattie’s Views in Switzerland, vol.
2, 4to. 20s.

Beckford’s (Wm.) Excursion to the
Monasteries of Alcobaca, &c., 8vo.
10s. 6d.

Booth’s Analytical Dictionary of the

English Language, 4to. £2. 5s.

Bowring’s Second Report of the
Commerce between France and
G. Britain, fol. 12s.

Bridgewater Treatise, No. 7. car
by’s History, &c., of Animals,) 2
vol. 8vo. 30s.

British Constitution ; its Origin and
History, 12mo. 2s. 6d.

Britton’s History, &c., of Worcester
Cathedral, med. 4to. 1/. 18s,—imp.
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Bugni’s Italian Manual for Self-
tuition, post 8vo. 10s. 6d.

Burgess’s (Rev. R.) Tour in Greece
and the Levant, 2 vol. feap. 14s.

Byrne’s Treatise on Spherical Tri-
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Career of Don Carlos since the Death
of Ferdinand VILI., 8vo. 14s.

Caveler’s (W.) Specimens of Gothic
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Chronological Tables of Ancient
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sumption and Scrofula, 8vo. 12s.

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Cobbett’s (Wm.) Life, 12mo. 7s.

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S. :

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Family Library, vol. 52, (Defoe’s
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ton’s Life, &c., vol. I.,) 18mo. 5s. -

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liography, roy. 8vo. 15s.

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Anster, sm. 8vo. 14s.

Grant’s Outlines of Anatomy, part
2, 8vo. 5s.

Gresley’s (W.) Treatise on the Art
of Preaching, 8vo. 12s.

174

Griffith's (Wm.) Treatise on Water
in the Brain, 12mo. 3s. 6d.

Hutchinson’s (Graham) on Meteoro-
logical Phenomena, 8vo. 16s.

Ingram’s Memorials of Oxford, vol.
2, 8vo. 18s; 4to. 35s.

Jamaica as it was, as it is, and as it
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Johnstone’s ‘I'reatise on Draining,
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+ ws

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Lardner’s Cyclopedia, vol. 68,
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6s.

» vol. 69,

(History of England, vol. V,)
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eed , vol. 70,

(Arts, &c., of the Greeks and

Romans, vol. II.) 6s.
Lewis (G. C.) on the Origin, &e, of
the Romance Languages, 8vo. 12s.
Liber Ecclesiasticus ; or, Revenues
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16s.
Life of Wm. Cobbett, feap. 5s.
Macgregor’s (John) Resources and
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25s.

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Natural History of Man, 18mo.
33. 6d. hf.-bds

Oke’s Observations on Surgery,
part 2; 8vo. 6s.

Ostler’s (Edw.) Life of Viseount
Exmouth, 8va. 14s.

LIST OF NEW

PUBLICTIONS.

Phelan on, on the Medical Charities
of Ireland, 8vo. 9s.

Philip (A. P. W.) on Affections of
the Brain, 12mo. 4s.

Phillip’s (John) on the Geology of
Yorkshire, part 1, 4to. 31s. 6d.

Philosophical 'Transactions for 1835,
part 1, 4to. 22s.

Popular Illustrations of Natural

istory, 12mo. 6s. 6d.

Proceedings of the British Associa-
tion, 1834, 8vo. 15s.

Quin’s (M. J.) Steam Voyage down
the Danube, 2 vol. post 8vo. 21s.
Raffles’ (Sir T. 8S.) Life, &e.; by his

Widow, 2 vol. 8vo. 24s.

Rayer on the Diseases of the Skin,
8vo. 28s.—Atlas to ditto, 4to.
3/. 10s.

Reynolds’ Voyage of the U. §&.
Frigate, Potomac, 8vo. 21s. !
Richardson’s English Dictionary, |

vol. 1, part I, 4to. 26s. 6d.

Richson’s (Cha.) Mental Arithmetic
and Calculator, 12mo. 4s. 6d. ~

Robert’s (Emma) Scenes and Charac-
teristics of Hindostan, &c., 3 vol.
sm. 8vo. 27s.

Robertson’s (W. H.) Treatise on
Diet and Regimen, 12mo. 6s.

Sherwood’s (Mrs.) Caroline Mor-
daunt, or the Governess, 12mo.
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Smith’s (Alex.) Philosophy of
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Stewart’s (R. B.) Outlinesof Botany,
post. 8vo. 2s. dd.

Swain’s (Cha.) Memoir ot Henry
Liverseege, folio, 5s.

Tables of the Population, &c., of the
British Colonies, folio, 12s.

Tales of the Peerage and the Pea-
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Thompson’s (W.) Journeys through
Italy and Switzerland, post 8vo.

10s. 6d.

Transactions of Camb. Philosoph.
Society, vol. 5, part 3, 4to. 12s.
Geological Society,
London, vol. 3, part 3, 4to. 14s.
Travers’ (B.) Constitutional Irrita-

tion, vol. 2, 8vo. 14s.

Underwood’s. Guide to Translation
of Latin Preseriptions, 18mo.
5s. 6d.

Ure’s Philosophy of Manufactures,
cr. 6vo. 105.

175

METEOROLOGICAL REPORT.

Remarxs.—The variations of temperature during the month of June were
eat and remarkable.—A sudden increase took place on the morning of the
th, when the thermometer exceeded the maximum of the preceeding day
14° ; but the decrease which succeeded at the latter end of the month was
still more sensibly felt. On the 25th and 26th of the month the maximum
was as much as 30° below that of the 11th, and it is curious to remark that,
only a few days after a temperature of 82.5 at midsummer, the thermometer
should, at the middle of the day, stand no higher than it did at mid-winter,
for on the 7th of December the maximum was 2° higher than on the 26th
of June.

On the 4th of August, hardly a cloud to be any where discerned—the air
calm and hot—about four or half-past, p. m., a loud clap, apparently of
thunder, burst over us, quite near, with a continued rumbling as if the sound
reverberated among clouds. We were out of doors at the time and the
noise seemed to come from somewhere over-head. It was heard by almost
every one in this neighbourhood—and those in doors at the time were sensi-
ble of considerable motion—shutters and windows rattling, &c. There have

been various reports of slight shocks of earthquake; we can only state the
fact above-mentioned ; it surprised us much at the time, and we are yet
unable to account for it.

There have been no thunder storms at Malvern during the precedin
months: heavy storms and distant thunder with occasional lightening—bu

- nothing like a thunder storm.

Malvern, Sept. 20th, 1835.

JUNE.
1835| Barometer. | Thermometer Remarks.
June. | Morn. | Even. | Max. | Min. Day. Night. Wind.
1} 29.200} 29.350} 55 45 | Clouds, heavy showers | Rain Calm
2) 29.405 | 29 345| 62 46 Clouds, sun, showers Showers Southerly
3 | 29.300 | 29.380} 665 | 50 Fine, clouds, sun Fine Southerly
4} 29.445 | 29515} 655 | 49 Hazy, fine, sun Fine Northerly
5 29 545| 62 51 | Hazy, fine, sun Fine Northerly
6 | 29.510) 29.030) 73.5 | 51 Hazy, fine, thunder Fine Northerly
7|29570|29.540| 75 | 55 | Fine Fine Ditto, light
8 | 29.540 | 29 555} 79 63 | Fine, few drops of rain. | Fine South, light
9 } 29.610 | 29.682] 79 61 Fine, sun, lghtg., thun. | Fine Ditto
10 | 29 705 | 29.756} 805 | 605 | Fine, sun Fine Vole. light
11 | 29.795 | 29 800; 825 | 62.5 | Fine, sun Fine S.E.& N
12| 29.810 | 29.750} 76.5 Hazy, sun, clouds Fine Northerly
13 | 29.730 296-0} 66 58.5 | Hazy, sun, clouds Fine, cloudy N.E.
14 | 29.645 | 29615} 74 53 | Hazy, fine, sun Fine -| Easterly
15 | 29.640 | 29.660| 71 56 Fine, sun Fine North, fresh
16 | 29 675; 29.570} 77.5 | 55 Fine, cloudy Fine S.&N. W.
17 | 29 538! 29515} 72 58 Fine, cloudy Fine N.W.
18 | 29515) 29.580} 625 | 52 Fine, clouds, sun Fine North, fresh
19 | 29.580 | 29.475| 66 | 49 | Fine, clouds, sun Fine Northerly
20 | 29.365 29.455} 62 53 Fine, heavy clouds Fine, cloudy West, high
21} 29.416 29270; 68 48 Fine, dark clouds Fine Ditto, ditto
22 | 29.135) 29.000 55 | Fine, hvy. rain in evyng.| Fine Ditto, ditto
23 | 29.015) 29. 62 46 Fine, clouds, sun Showers S.E &W.
24 | 28725/ 28760] 55 46.5 | Showers, heavy rain Some rain N. W. hizh
25 | 28,900 | 29.230} 54 42 Rain : Fine> - S.&N. E.
26 | 29,200 | 29.205] 53 42 All rain Fine North, light
27.1 29 410| 29.620} 56 41 Fine, sun, clouds Cloudy Ditto
28 29620 29612) 63 41.5 | Fine, sun, clouds Fine N. W,
29 | 29.615! 29 518 43.5 | Fine, sun Fine Southerly
30 | 29.480 | 29468| 65 | 495 | Fine, sun, clouds Fine Ditto fresh
Mean Max. 67.3. 51.5 Mean Min.

176

METEOROLOGICAL REPORT.

JULY.
1835| tarometer. |'Thermometer, Remarks,
July. | Morn, | Even. ax. | Min Day. Night, Wind,
1 | 29.445 | 29.410} 70.5 | 52 | Fine, sun, itis Fine Se
2 | 29.410 | 29. 67 52. | Clouds, sun, fine Some rain Calm
3 | 29.470 29.470} 70 52 | Very fine, sun, clouds | Fine Westerly
4 | 29.430 | 29.313) 69.5 | 54 | Very fine, sun, clouds | Ditto Ss. W.
5 | 29.200 | 29.206) 64 "| 55 | Heavy showers, sun Some rain Southerly
6 | <9. 05 | 29.545} 67 50 | Clouds, sun, fine Showers Westerly
7 | 29.505 | 29.390} 67 49 | Clouds, sun, fine Fine wife ad
8 | 29.330 | 29.410} 63.5 | 52 | Cloudy, fine Showery
9 | 29.300 | 29.026| 63 53 | Cloudy, rain ateven, | Cloudy, fine South
10 | 29.200 | 29.318} 62 50 | Cloudy, fine Heavy showers | N. W, fresh
1] | 29.430 | 29.405| 63.5 | 48.5 | Fine, sun, and clouds Fine S. E. and W
12 | 29.310 | 29.138 | 63 53 Cloudy, fine, rain at ey. | Showers S. W. fresh
13 | 29,200 | 29.380] 61 52 | Showers, fine Light Showers | W. *. W.
14 | 29.406 | 29.350} 65 50.5 | Fine,sun, andclouds | Fine Westerly
15 | 29.350 | 29.100} 65 53 | Cloudy, fine, rain. Ditto Ss. W.
16 | 29.210 | 29.352| 65 50 | Fine, clouds, sun Light showers | Ditto
17 | 29.320 | 29.360} 70 52 | Ditto ditto ditto Fine Southerly
18 | 29.310 | 29.410} 67 57 Ditto ditto, It. showers | Showers Ditto
19 | 29.510 | 29.500} 67 50 | Fine, sun Fine N. W.
20 | 29.535 29.590} 72.5 | 55 | Clouds, fine, sun Cloudy S. W. calm
21 | 29.615 29.623) 73.5 | 59 | Clouds, fine, sun Fine S. Easterly
22 | 29.630 29.630) 72 57 =| Fine, sun Ditto N. Easterly
23 | 29,630 | 79 54 | Showery, fine Ditto N. Westerly
24 | 29.600 29.555; 70.5 | 53 | Fine, clouds, showers | Ditio N. Easterly
25 | 29.585 29.575) 75 56 | Fine, sun Ditto Ditto
26 | 29.560 | 29. 75 55 | Ditto, ditto Ditto 8, Easterly
27 | 29,495 | 29.420| 76 54 | Ditto, ditto Ditto Ditto
28 | 29.470 29.585) 76 60 | Sun, hazy, fine Ditio Northerly
29 | 29.610 29.605) 72.5 | 55 | Mist early, cloudless Ditto Ditto
30 | 29.593 29.505) 75.5 | 57 | Notacloud Ditto Calm, N. W.
31'29.520 29.515! 67,5 | 57 !Notacloud Ditto Northerly
Mean Max. 68.6 53 4 Mean. Min,
AUGUST.
1€35,. Barometer. | Thermometer] Remarks.
Aug. | Morn, } Even. | Max. | Min. Day. Night. Wind.
1 | 29.505 | 29.490 | 72 52 =| Hazy, fine, sun Fine Calm, S. W.
2 | 29.360 | 29.400} 71 61 | Fine, light clouds Ditto Easterly
3 | 29.430 | 29.435} 67 53 ‘| Fine, clouds, sun Ditto Ditto
4| 29,495 | 29.405| 70.5 | 50 | Fine, rain in evening Ditto S. W.
§ | 29.372 | 29,340 57 | Fine, light clouds, sun | Ditto — | Ditto
6 | 29,395 | 29.395} 70 55 | Fine, chiefly cloudy Ditto West, high
7 | 29,340 | 29. 69 62 | Cloudy, showers Ditto N. variable
8 | 29.430 | 29.705 | 66 47 | Fine, sun Ditto Ditto ditto
9 | 29.730 | 29.700} 71 5) | Ditto ditto Ditto Light, vble.
10 | 29.675 | 23.560) 76 61 | Ditto ditto Ditto S, fresh
11 | 29.455 | 29.900} 79.5 | 64 | Ditto ditto Ditto Ditto
12 | 29,320 | 29.530} 73 59 | Ditto ditto, clouds Ditto W.N, W.
13 | 29.490 | 29.565| 70 Fine Ditto S. E.
14 | 29,605 | 26.595| 70 Hazy, sun, clovds Ditto Northerly
15 | 29,560 | 29-535 | 72 55 | Fine, sun, clouds Ditto Ditto
16 | 29.55% | 29-670} 70 60 | Ditto ditto ditto Ditto N. W., light
17 | 29,640 | 29.679) 77 62 | Ditto ditto ditto Cloudy, fine Northerly
18 | 29,662 | 29.608) 75 59 | Fine, sun Ditto S.E.
19 | 29.600 | 29.465} 75 56 | Dit'o ditto Fine, clear Ditto
90 | 29,303 | 2g-080| 76.5 | 58 | Dittoditto, shr, thun. | Fine ae ted
91 | 29,000 | 29.860 59 | Dittoditto, shr lytng. | Ditto .E.
92 | 99,690 | 29.000} 70 58 | Ditto ditto, shrs., thun. | Showery Sou tirié
93 | 29,025 | 29.005! 68 53 | Ditto ditto, shrs, Ditto S. W.
24 | 29.900 | 29.905} 63 58 | Heavy rain Rain Southerly
25 | 29.982 | 29.049} 64.5 | 55 | Cloudy, light rain Cloudy Rerthenty
26 29.029) 64 Cloudy, fine N.
27 | 29.084 | 29.304} 67 51 | Fine, sun Fine Souciouts
28 | 29.403 | 29.475| 66.5 | 53 | Ditto ditto, clouds Ditto East
29 | 299.425 | 29.405) 66 51 | Ditto ditto ditto Ditto :itto
30} 29.410 | 29.410} 66 51.5 | Fine, all sun Ditto Ditto
31} 24401 29.460! 63.5 | 51 Fine, sun, clouds Ditto Easterly
Mean Max. 68 6, 53.4 Mean Min.

CONTENTS.

Pace.
Remarks upon Bishop Burnett’s History of his own Time ..... id
Remarks conducive io the _dmproverent of Ornithological Nomen-’ oe
Ciabure Ae vik Sala cba ae ucake Sak be Ulaera ae ne oe Ay 2 aoeraa
ane Sinner’s Apowy bs), aS i onan ova date cas Paks Lannie Wee Soave eo | Taam

Remarks on the practicability of N avigating the River Huallaga, rite Ff:
Notes of the Productions, and of part of Maynas, aay by A. :

Mathews, As dae Se caine. ces... oa pike tee eae Takes 36
Aphorisms on the Frontal Sinuses, and the extent of theiz inter- Teen, Oe
ference with Phrenological Observation....,...-...../.sss:sss4ajesseeeeees > ae
On the Study of Latin, more especially as regards the Medical sek
PPORRSION Hae osc gh cht Miceli conse sag Atta Non akactonsnueed pid fish udveh net. 46
ROPIRIOL Fn shai tah oes slr een Wiis ns medio is EW as raw Cou Seas Vb nana tea deyao oa i waoas 53
A comparison between the Climates of Great Malvern and London see GAR a
On the Non-Permeability of Glass by Water ...... Batapans elude Rete bh es deat Soh
RDI OU eek treks hate oko Phas PSs sakes 4 k padoons epOBL TE anor eeee anny Sp abbwes 77
A Retrospect of the Literature of British Ornithology, from the close’
of the 17th Century to:the present time... ...../0..50..5 cake 48
Birmingham Society of Arts—Modern Exhibition .. seoaectne nip ty sree ae ait
Meeting of the British Association hess etait, WISIN ae oka 113. Weegee.
Professor Agassiz on Ichthyolites, with a Lithosrantle ‘Engraving of. Bae Hn
new species. cf the genus Tetragonolepis..............22-..:.:ecubee eres 132: ig
Hints to observers of; Halley’s Comet, by the Rev. T. W. Webb...... isa: *
Proceedings of Provincial Societies........0......ccc pies eedeveeccaanacetenteecese 138 -

Meeting of the Provincial Medical and Sireieal Assoaiatiog at.
/ ORoNL_Bitmiagham School of Medicine Anniversary Meeting—
Birmingham. Philosophical Institution ; depositions ‘relative to the .
Toad found ia the stratum of new red Sand-stone, near Coventry
-—Birmingham Mechanic’s Institution—Liverpool Literary, Scien-
tific; and “Commercial Institution--Manchester Mechanic’s Insti-
tution—The new. Mechanics’s Institution, Manchester—W orces-
tershire Natural History Society—Shropshire and North Wales
Natural History Society .
Critical Notices of New Publications EL dhmcts Ay # th Poa gay Wwe ea eae 2) 15S ae
The life of Samuel Johnson, L. L.. D., by J. Boswell.—Loudon’ ot ee
Gardener’s Magazine—The History and Antiquities of the Cathe-
dral Church of Worcester, by J. Britton, F. S. A.—Observations
on certain Indentations in the old red: Sand-stone, by J. Allies,

Esq.,— Wanderings through North Wales.—De Lamartine’s Sou- a
venirs pendant un Voyage en Orient—The Works of Wm. Cow- ;

er, edited by the Rev. 'T. S$: Grimshaw—Yartell’s History of reget
British Fishes—Burmeister’s Manual of Entomology. . Gar tye!)
Hist of New Publications .....2..:.2..-. Fy EROS eR RS OC RNR PME ale re ator BIS es
Literary. Intelligence ....... Heese: aS See ee RE ye din Rape ae ee ae pats LVR ee geile
perisescii hie Report: ..,.-. SASF eR pee eam PEO ese Acharaalee cata a AJB 5 4G

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On the Effects of certain Mental and Bodily States upon the Imagina-
tion, by Langston ‘Parker, Haas 3656 iianiteias chess bie awe wean 177
The Birds of Britain, systematically arranged ..........:.c:0000ssseeeceeeeeees 197
On the Influence of Comets, by the Rev. 'T. W. Webb ....0....0.0c:cc 218

Cursory Observations on certain inconsiderate Criticisms respecting
Painting and Sculpture, by William Carey, Esq. .......:..:000000eeeeees 230
ROROMRISEEY 03-6 48.00- whens vob Pasine ac Sean los cre upceshe'bes CMR oh snetale ee ects 248
Remarks on the necessity of Improvement in Education.............2:66. 253
On the Importance of the Study of Botany to Medicine..................... 259
Sketches of European Ornithology ......0......:ccescccceetsceesstecesteeecaeeeres 265
Worthen: Botan lege sis rch cen as tp cc onda hab yaa t até bess OSG ec he eA 280
An Outline of British Caterpillars,—No. To... .... cee cee ceeceeeeaaeeece cree 283
Corres pnetberne eee: 5 :isats pon sd ved gsee'c ok Rod ogs sc ML guay ob ce aks ade ee RecoRe 288
Proceeditigs of Provincial Societios's. 2.2025. 0i3 5 ede eee, Seomsimescauwegs 293

cester Literary and Scientific Ins ion—Lecture on the Nervous
System of Man and Animals, by EA. Turley, Esq.
Critical Notices of New Publications :\......:.....ssneccteesouectaeeteneccaetaree 317
Elements of Bedside Medicine and General Pathology, by J.
Stewart Thorburn, Esq., M. D.; The Air: The Earth: The Hea-
vens : by R. Mudie; Swainson on the Natural History and Clas-
sification of Quadrupeds; The Phrenological Journal and Miscel-
lany, No. 46; The Trish Farmer’s and Gardener’s Magazine. 'The
Naturalist’s Library,—Ornithology ; The Earth,—its physical con-
dition and most remarkable Phenomena, by W. Mullinger Hig-
gins; Burmeister’s Manual of Entomology ; A Practical Treatise
on Diseases of the Teeth, by W. Robertson ; Middlemore’s Treatise
on Diseases of the Eye; Yarrell’s History of British Fishes ; Lou-
don’s Gardener’s Magazine,—Magazine of Natural History and
Architecture, and Arboretum Britannicum; Bent’s London Cata-
logue of Books. .
MIE POPS Sou a5 oak vag oe sey aecebonaaundensasd abet etadh ae rebanas katsnents cela scbints 337
Lewis’s Sketches and Drawings of the Alhambra; Roscoe’s
Wanderings through North Wales.

Scientific Miscellanea ............ 200.000: SAA sen emp n Stiga A crtheet 1) pula Ab iahh 342
Literary Intelligence ..............2.0:++ sdk Pepa Tk spdetin gh es tercten ys «neck ata 344
Dist: OF Ow Pema encase ck Fern Sebago Sn.ace Calg Salas w ol 345
Observations on the Aurora Borealis .......256.2cc20 ce caceseconceescecdencocceect 346
Meteorological Report............-. Pelt Ti Metin SR Ay ke REE RIE AI eR ete OPE 346

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Errata.—Page 200, line 10, for Nictea cinerea, (Steph. ), read Surnia
cinerea, ita Page 200, line 14, for Tawny Surn, Surnia stridula, (Steph.)
read Tawny Aluc, Aluco Stridua, ( W.) . Page 202, line 23, for Silvia hippo-
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177

ON THE EFFECTS OF CERTAIN MENTAL AND
BODILY STATES UPON THE IMAGINATION.*

BY LANGSTON PARKER, ESQ.

I._THE GENERAL PHENOMENA OF THE IMAGINATION.

Merapuysics, Psycology, or the Science of Mind, has attracted,
in an eminent degree, the attention of the master-spirits of all ages ;
and, from Plato to Abercrombie, the most profound philosophers
have been engaged in investigating its properties, its phenomena,
and the abstract nature of its essence. One system of ontology has
followed another in rapid succession ; each has flourished upon the
arena of learning for a time, till, like its predecessor, each has been
suddenly swept away by the production of some new system, and
consigned to the stream of oblivion. This is essentially true with
regard to the knowledge of the intimate nature and operations of
mind ; and, after all the labours of the learned, after twenty cen-
turies of waste of time, and talent, and ink, and paper, after the
creation of countless folios, the very number of which would appal
-a modern author to contemplate, the last writer upon the subject
tells us that all that is past is the mere frivolity of science and
speculation, and that, in fact, we know nothing about the matter.
Since one of the mental operations is to form the subject of this series
of lectures, a prefatory notice of the nature of mind may be consi-
dered indispensable.

“The mind,” observes Abercrombie, “ is that part of our being’
which thinks and wills, remembers and reasons ; we know nothing of
it except from these functions. By means of the corporeal senses, it
holds intercourse with the things of the external world, and receives
impressions from them, but of this connexion we know nothing ex-
cept the facts: when we attempt to speculate upon their cause, we’
wander, at once, from the path of philosophical enquiry, into conjec-
tures which are so far beyond the proper sphere, as they are beyond
the reach of the human faculties. The object of true science, in such

* The following is the first of a series of Lectures, delivered at the Bir-
mingham Philosophical Institution, by the author.

January, 1836.—vou. I11., NO. XIV. N.

178 ON THE EFFECTS OF CERTAIN MENTAL

a subject, is simply to investigate the facts, or the relations of pheno-
mena, respecting the operations of mind itself, and the intercourse
which it carries on with the objects in the world about it.”*

The mind having acquired the knowledge of facts, through the
medium of the senses, disposes of them in a number and variety of
ways, which are termed, by metaphysicians, the powers or functions
of the mind, the mental or intellectual operations. For instance,
we remember the facts wherewith we have become acquainted, and
ean call them to mind at pleasure ; the first of these processes is
Memory, the second that modification of it termed Recollection.

We can compare facts with each other, observe their relations and
connexions, and trace the results which follow particular combina-
tions of them: we also observe their general characters, so as to
deduce, from the whole, general principles. This is the most useful
of all the mental operations, and is named Judgment.

“There is a third power, by which the mind is enabled to separate
scenes, or classes of facts, into their’ constituent elements, to form
these elements into new combinations, so as to represent to ourselves
pictures or collections of events which have no real existence in
nature.”’+ This mental processis Imagination, and is that to which
our attention will now be more particularly directed.

“ Phantasie, or Imagination,” says the quaint and learned Burton,
“is an inner sense, which doth more fully examine the species per-
ceived by common sense,—or judgment, recalling them to mind
again, in shapes, colours, and dresses of its own. In time of sleep,
this faculty is free, and unfettered by the cooler dictates of reason :
it then conceives strange, stupend, and absurd shapes, as in sick men
we commonly observe. Its organ is the middle portion of the brain:
its objects, all which are presented to it through the medium of the
senses ; by comparison of which it feigns infinite others unto itself.
In melancholy men, this faculty is most powerful and strong, and
often hurts, producing many monstrous and prodigious things,
especially if it be stirred up by some terrible object, presented
to it by sense or memory. In poets, painters, lovers, and lunatics,
imagination forcibly works, as appears by their several pictures

* Abercrombie, On the Intellectual Powers.
+ Abercrombie, Op. Cit., p. 99.

AND BODILY STATES UPON THE IMAGINATION. 179

and images.”* This has not escaped the penetration of Shake-
speare :

“ Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,
Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend
More than cool reason ever comprelends.
The lunatic, the lover, and the poet,

_Are of imagination all compact :
One sees more devils than vast Hell can hold;
This is the madman: the lover, all as frantic,
Sees Helen’s beauty in a brow of Egypt.
The poet’s eye, in a fine phrenzy rolling,
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven ;
And, as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen
Turns them to shape, and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation, and a name.”

Two writers of great reputation, Addison and Akenside, have
composed set treatises on the pleasures of imagination; but no
writer has, as yet, depicted its pains. The ideas which these
authors attached to that function of the mind termed the imagina-
tion, were, in some measure, different from the definition which I
have given of it. The pleasures of imagination were, in the opi-
nion of Addison, those furnished by the sense of vision, and were
evidently pleasures of sense, and not of imagination. <“‘ By the plea-
sures of imagination, or fancy,” says this Essayist, “ I here mean
such as arise from visible objects, either when we have them’ actu-
ally in our view, or when we call up their ideas into our minds by
paintings, statues, or descriptions. We cannot, indeed, have a
single image in the fancy, that did not make its first entrance
through the sight.” In the first acception of the term, as used by
Addison, the pleasures or pains which arise from visible objects
before the eyes, are strictly those of sense: when furnished to the
mind by description or painting, by word or idea, if they are
attended by precisely the same circumstances which attended them
in their presentation to the mind in a visible state, memory only
is concerned, the object is recalled in its true and real character or

* Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy.
n2

180 ON THE EFFECTS OF CERTAIN MENTAL

stace; and it is only when the properties of an object, as its
colour, form, and size, are changed, or the component parts of a
scene, or multiplicity of objects are presented to the mind in a diffe-
rent series or manner to that which they actually possess in nature,
that the imagination, strictly speaking, is called into play.

This is plainly the real meaning of the term, and that mental
operation which the word is intended to represent. And in this
sense has it been used by Shakspeare (than whom no poet ever
possessed it in a more eminent degree), in the passage from The
Midsummer Night’s Dream, before quoted. It is manifest that the
imagination of his lunatic, his lover, and his poet, consisted in pic-
tures, or combinations of events, which had no real existence.
Thus, the madman saw more devils than vast hell could hold.
This was no fancy on the part of the poet, but a mere descrip-
tion of the state of the lunatic, or hypochondriac, as it existed
in nature. And, for illustrations of this, I refer to the case of
Nicolai, the Prussian bookseller, who fancied his room teeming
with human spectres; and, also, to the case of the young noble-
man (detailed by Sir Walter Scott, in his Letters on Demonology
and Witchcraft), whose imagination daily peopled his dining-room
with a band of attendant spirits.

I advance these cases, not for the purpose of shewing that these
freaks of the imagination were dependant, as they evidently were,
upon derangement of the bodily health, but to illustrate the ac-
tual phenomena of that mental process named Imagination, which,
whether exemplified in the sane or the insane, whether acting in
our dreams or in our waking hours, is occupied by scenes or visions
which have no existence in nature, from the high-colouring which
leads the poet to shade the leaf with a brighter green than that
which nature’s tried and cunning hand laid on, to the terrific vi-
sions of the maniac, in the cells of the Senavra, the Bicétre, or
Bedlam.

The most simple exemplification of Imagination is that which
leads poets to divest their narratives of the dull reality of truth, and
to heighten their descriptions by an assemblage of beauties which,
though existing in a diffusive state, have yet no reality in a state of
combination. Milton’s garden of Eden is a familiar example :

AND BODILY STATES UPON THE IMAGINATION. 181

* Thus was this place
A happy rural seat of various views,
Groves whose rich trees wept odorous gums and balm.
% * * * ca * *
Between them, lawns, or level downs, and flocks
Grazing the tender herb, were interposed.
Or palmy hillock ; or the flowery lap
Of some irriguous valley, spread her store,
Flowers of all hue, and, without thorn, the rose.
Another side, umbrageous grots and caves
Of cool recess, o’er which the mantling vine
Lays forth her purple grape and gently creeps
Luxuriant.
The birds their quire apply ; airs, vernal airs,
Breathing the smell of field and grove, attune
The trembling leaves; while universal Pan,
Knit with the Graces and the Hours, in dance
Led on the eternal spring.”

This, as an example of Shakspeare’s third illustration of Imagina-
tion, is perhaps one of the best that could be adduced. The descrip-
tion of the garden as a paradise, or place of unmingled beauty and de-
light, is perfect. But the variety of excellence introduced is utterly
at variance with all natural scenery. Here we have “the crisped
brook rolling on orient pearl and sands of gold,”’—the rose without
a thorn,—the Hesperian apple in the garden of Eden, and the ex-
travagancies of the Roman and Grecian mythology in the paradise
of Adam and Eve. Here we have the elements of real scenes form-
ed into new combinations, by the fancy of the poet, and constituting
pictures which have no real existence. Here, strictly speaking,

“ As imagination bodies forth
_ The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen
Turns them to shape, and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name.”

Shakspeare’s lover furnishes us with another illustration of Ima-
gination, equal to that of his poet and his madman. “The lover, all
as frantic, sees Helen’s beauty in a brow of Egypt.” Love is like
a false glass, which represents everything fairer than it is. This

182 ON THE EFFECTS OF CERTAIN MENTAL

species of hyperbole, this investment of beauty, and even mediocrity,
with a galaxy of charms culled from the whole garden of nature,
has been used by poets of every age and nation, and the description
of imaginary excellence with which they clothed, as with a gar-
ment, their mistresses, constitutes some of their greatest beauties.
Thus, in the language of Miss Landon,

“ Love is like the glass,
That throws its own rich colour over all,
Making all beautiful.”

So Chaucer, in The Knight's Tale, in his description of Emilia,

“ Emilia that was fairer to be seen

Than the white lily on her stem of green ;
And fresher is than May with flowers new,
For with the rose’s colour strove her hue.
I not which was the lovelier of the two.”

So Phaon to Sappho, who actually possessed the dark tinge of the
Egyptian countenance—so Abelard to Eloise—Polyphemus to Ga-
latewa—Petrarch to Laura—Tasso to Leonora—and Spencer in his
beautiful picture of Unas— |

“ Her angel’s face,
As the great eye of heaven, shined bright,
And made a sunshine in the shady place.
Did never mortal eye behold such heavenly grace.”

Such are the illustrations which I have chosen to elucidate
the definition of Imagination, which I gave at the commencement
of the lecture, viz., that it is a mental operation which takes the
elements or detached parts of real scenes or events, and combines
them, or concatenates them, in a manner, or series, which has no
existence in nature.

The vividness of Imagination is extremely variable, from the in-
dividual who hardly understands the meaning of metaphor, to him
who lives in a world peopled by creatures of his own. Benvenuto
Cellini, a Florentine artist of great celebrity, the celebrated Mo-

AND BODILY STATES UPON THE IMAGINATION. 183

lanus, and our own visionary Blake, were striking examples of
the latter class. In fact, to such a pitch did the imagination of
the two latter carry them, that it would be difficult to draw a strict
line of separation between the vivid play of their fancy, and an ac-
tual degree of insanity. The latter, however, consisting in mental
alienation or perversion upon one or more subjects dependant upon
actual bodily complaint, or from strong moral impression, the affec-
tion having a commencement distinctly traceable to one of these
causes ; whilst the most vivid or exalted imagination is as much
part of the natural constitution of the mind, as superior strength or
agility is of that of the body. The constitutions of the minds of
men are as diversified as the temperament of their bodies ; and it is
surprising that, as physiologists have frequently founded classifica-
tion of one, that metaphysicians have not attempted arrangements
of the other.

Ignorance as to the nature of the thing sought or avoided, leads
the imagination generally to invest it with a brighter or darker hue
‘than it really possesses in nature. This pictured the world to the
imagination of Rasselas, when captive in the happy valley, as a pa-
radise of varied pleasure, in which every man, wandering according
to the bent of his own wish or inclination, enjoyed a perfect felicity.
The same cause pictures it to the recluse of the convent as a den of
misery in which vice stalks fearlessly and at large, uncontrolled by
any opposing virtue. A vivid and playful imagination, which
heightens the beauty of natural objects, or combines them in pleasing
though unreal scenes, is an element of a well-ordered and a well-cul-
tivated mind. But when, to the exclusion of the other powers of
the mind, she assumes the despot and calls the passions round her
dark and splendid throne, obedient to her dictates and her will, no
power remains to control or regulate the mental ray, which inflames
the whole soul and exalts it into the fervour of enthusiasm, hurries
it into the extravagance of superstition, or precipitates it into the
frenzy of fanaticism ;—these being the highest steps imagination
reaches before throwing off, at once, the feeble shackles with
which reason still confines her, she gives loose to all her powers,
and plunges, at once, into lunacy or mania.

In the inhabitants of northern climates, in the temperate man,

184 ON THE EFFECTS OF CERTAIN MENTAL

in those conversant with the world and daily mixing with the scenes
of its common occurrences, Imagination seldom assumes a paramount
or overwhelming sway; but in the dweller of the south, in the
recluse, in the student, in the drunkard, and in the opium-eater, its
workings are powerful and varied, and give birth to phenomena
pleasing, melancholy, and terrific.

The natives of the south are a lively, versatile people, sanguine
in their temperament, remarkable for the predominance of the func-
tions of the brain and.nervous systems, and susceptible, to an extra-
ordinary degree, of every impression. Their minds seem to inherit
the brilliancy of their climate, and are rich with sparkling thoughts
and beautifulimagery. Their passions are at the beck of an imagi-
nation which compounds its glowing scenes from materials of which
the inhabitants of northern climes are totally ignorant. The ob-
jects, which present themselves to the senses there, call forth this
faculty in its highest degree: the orange grove, yellow with golden

fruit—

«“ The vines,—not nailed to walls,—from tree to tree festooned,”
the warm and equal temperature of the climate, which leading the
bulk of the popylation te dwell in the open air, produces that con-
stant and free interchange of word and thought so conducive to the
exaltation of feeling and passion.

Conversant with every thing warm, and beautiful, and highly
coloured, and sweetly smelling, and sweetly sounding, the mind is
rich in those scenes which imagination has bodied forth in the pic-
tures, statues, and poetry of the Italian and Spanish masters,
in the designs and colouring of Titian, and Michael Angelo, in
the Apollo Belvidere, the Medicean Venus, and in the works of
Tasso, Dante, Petrarch, and Ariosto. All in the south tends to
furnish the liveliest and most pleasing pictures to the imagination,
those which the mind takes delight to dwell upon, and which lose
nothing in the retention—

‘the very language,
Which sounds as tho’ it should be writ on satin,
With syllables that breath of the sweet south.”

AND BODILY STATES UPON THE IMAGINATION. 185

Other charms are not wanting to excite the imagination of the
dweller of the suuth; and here beauty, combined with the subtle
and pleasing stimuli which are addressed to every sense, acts with a
power exemplified only in the histories of Sappho, and Hero, and
Leander.

The mental constitution cannot bear much additional excitement
to that which is here woven round it in a state of nature. Neither
opium, vor intoxicating liquids, nor raw beef-steaks—as in the case
of Mrs. Radcliffe—are wanting to add vigour to the imagina-
tion. The quantity of liquor which scarcely ruffles the Norwegian’s
blood, would scatter madness and fever through the brain of the
Italian or Hindoo. This depends upon the quality of the climate
and its products, and the peculiar physical and moral frame to
which that quality gives rise.

The mental constitution of man is modified by other agents,
besides those resulting from climate and natural situation; one of
the most powerful of which is golitude. This tends, from circum-
stances I shall presently mention, to strengthen some of the facul.
ties of the mind, to the deterioration or weakening of others,—to
heighten the vigour of the imagination, and proportionally to de-
press the faculties of reason and judgment by which its flights are
controlled. The peculiar pleasures or pains which are the result
of an excited imagination, in solitude, are regulated, in a great mea-
sure, by the previous natural bias of the mind, the pleasures which
most occupied it, and the pursuits to which it was most addicted. If
the poet turn recluse, his solitude will glow with visions of a
brighter hue than those which he called up when his imagination
was weakened by the impression of a variety of objects upon his
senses. If the painter, the pictures of his imagination in the garret,
the cell, or the dungeon will be brighter in their colours than any
scenery which nature ever presented to his view. If he be fanatic
or enthusiast, angels will visit his bed, and reveal to his disordered
fancy more absurdities than are to be found in the visions of Mo-
hammed, or the pages of the Koran. Owing to this, Cellini, (in the
prisons of the Vatican, with a mind previously enthusiastic on the
subject of religion), fancied himself visited with manifestations of
divine glory, and miraculous appearances and communications from

186 ON THE EFFECTS OF CERTAIN MENTAL

the Virgin. The painter, Blake, in the solitude of his garret, called
up the shades of spirits obedient to his will, and transferred por-
traits to his canvass of persons whose bodies had been dust for cen-
turies,—the originals of which were furnished to him by the acti-
vity of his own vivid and extraordinary fancy.

The senses are the natural media through which the mind derives
all its ideas, by which we become acquainted with the properties
of things, the meaning of words, and the characters and disposi-
tions of men. The greater the variety in which these are presented
to a sound mind, the stronger will the reasoning powers of that
mind become. We easily collect the result of past occurrences,
apply them to the determination of the present, and conjecture,
with a certain degree of probability, what will be the lot of the fu-
ture. With this process Imagination has little to do, and in men
thus conversant with the facts of natural or moral philosophy, with
the occupation of the merchant, or the business of legislation, its pi-
nions are feeble, and seldom bear itgabove the truths of sober reality.
In solitude the case becomes widely different ; the same objects are
witnessed day after day, the same sights are presented to the eye,
and the same sounds fatigue the ear. The mind, drawing its ideas
from these limited resources, bodies forth creatures of its own, gives
to them its own colour, and stamps them with its own perverted
image ; endowing them with properties which, in nature, they do not
possess, it becomes fixed upon one subject, some favourite science,
some cherished study, and forgets that the world possesses anything
beyond either to fear, desire, or love.

The effect of solitude upon the Imagination has been admirably
illustrated by Dr. Johnson, in his history of the Astronomer of
Cairo, and the mode in which the cure of his diseased fancy was
effected by Rasselas and his sister.

Here we have the true state of mind pourtrayed which is fre-
quently produced by long-continued attention to any one object or
study. The astronomer, who had spent forty years in unwearied
attention to the motions and appearances of the heavenly bodies,
and had drawn out his soul in endless calculations, naturally enough
fancied that he had acquired some influence over them, that he pos-
sessed the regulation of the weather, and the distribution of the

AND BODILY STATES UPON THE IMAGINATION. 187

seasons; that the sun listened to his dictates, and passed from tropic
to tropic by his direction; that the clouds, at his call, poured out
their waters ; that the Nile overflowed at his command ; that he re-
strained the fury of the dog-star, and mitigated the fervour of the
crab. i ;

Let us follow him into the world to which he had been gradually
allured and restored, by the elegance of the manners, and the charms
of the conversation, of Nekayah and her favourite. We here find
him mingling in the gay tumult of life, and dividing his hours by
a succession of amusements; and as realities rise up in greater
variety and combination around him, we find the conviction of his
authority over the skies fade gradually from his mind; though such
was the dangerous prevalence of the primitive and long-cherished
power his fancy exerted, that a temporary return to silence and
himself brought back the fallacies his imagination had created, in
nearly their pristine force and vigour. “If I am accidentally left
alone for a few hours,” said he, “my inveterate persuasion rushes
upon my soul, and my thoughts are chained down by some irresis-
tible violence ; but they are soon disentangled by the prince’s con-
versation, and instantaneously released at the entrance of Pekuah.
I am like a man habitually afraid of spectres, who is set at ease by
a lamp, and wonders at the dread which harassed him in the dark ;
yet, if his lamp be extinguished, feels again the terrors which he
knows that, when it is light, he shall feel no more.”

Long-continued study commonly produces fancies as perverted as
those which possessed the astronomer of Cairo, to which I have just
alluded. Independent of the bodily disorders which act upon the
mental constitution of the student, from his sedentary life, the
mind, like the constantly strung bow, will, sooner or later, lose its
elasticity, and, at length, break. It is true that the prevalence of
imagination to which over-much study gives rise, is, during the
last half century, much diminished, owing to the vast progress
which all branches of natural philosophy have made during this pe-
riod. We have now no searchers after the philosopher’s stone.
Alchemy is but a dream of the sciences of past days, and its devotees
are known no more. The occult sciences, necromancy and witch-
craft, number none of the students of the. nineteenth century

188 ON THE EFFECTS OF CERTAIN MENTAL

among their classes ; the volumes which treat of them have passed
away ; they have been swept down the stream of time, and now and
then only is one to be found, which has been washed, by the force
of the current, upon the bank, as a relic of the labour and folly of
past ages, which that stream has hurried away to eternal oblivion.
It is, doubtless, owing to the nature of the studies of the present
day, that they affect the mind in so comparatively trifling a degree.
If we turn to the records of antiquity, we find numberless treatises
on the mental affections which result from the diseased imagination.
af students. We are there told of peculiar hallucinations which
come from over-much study. Of the dotage and insanity of stu-
dents, the inevitable and almost certain consequence of their occu-
pation, which, in the language of Cicero, “is a continual and
_ earnest meditation, applied to something with great desire.” The
account which Manfred gives of his studies well illustrates this kind
of application and its effects—

* T dived,
In my lone wanderings, to the caves of death,
Searching its cause in its effect ; and drew
From wither’d bones, and skulls, and heap’d-up dust,
Conclusions most forbidden. ‘Thus I pass’d
The nights of years in sciences untaught,
Save in the old time ; and with time, and toil,
And terrible ordeal, and such penance
As in itself hath power upon the air,
And spirits that do compass air and earth,
Space, and the peopled infinite, I made
Mine eyes familiar with Eternity,
Such as, before me, did the Magi, and
He who, from out their fountain dwellings, raised
Eros and Anteros, at Gadara.”

Reason must draw all its materials from the facts which it witnesses
or from those which it knows to have taken place. :Imagination, on
the contrary, acts upon its own premises, themselves the production
of a perverted fancy. The sciences which are purely speculative,
are those which most endanger the reasoning faculties of the stu-
dent pursuing them ; such are those which relate to the nature of

AND BODILY STATES UPON THE IMAGINATION. 189

mind, of spiritual essences, and those enchained in the fetters, or
bewildered in the light of a false religion. The folly of metaphy-
sics is fast disappearing ; demonology has no more advocates ; and
the insanity of the recluse and the devotee are scarcely to be met
with, save in the followers of Brahma or Mahomet, among the in-
dividuals and nations of the east. Grief, labour, care, pale sickness,
miseries, fear, filthy poverty, and hunger, are, according to Burton,
the appenage of the speculative student ; his income, his benefice,
and his patrimony—

“ Vainest of all !—the student’s theme,
Ends in some metaphysic dream.”

‘The mind has, doubtless, different faculties, which, in their
action, are independent of each other, and which are excited or
depressed by agents which do not act in a similar manner upon all.
Thus, the imagination, memory, and judgment are properties dis-
tinct in all their phenomena. We have noticed the effect of soli-
tude and study upon the former. We have seen it rendered more
brilliant, gloomy, and despotic by the influence these several agents
have exercised over it: on the other hand, the memory has not
been at all affected, whilst the judgment has been materially
weakened or altogether paralized. The effects which these produce
upon the mind, are of a more lasting character than those I am now
about to speak of: they are long in producing any morbid changes
in its action ; but these changes are of a serious character, and it
requires a considerable period of time to restore the mental func-.
tions to their pristine strength, balance, and vigour, even after the
causes affecting them have been removed. Alcohol, in its varied
states of combination, and opium have marked and striking effects
upon the imagination of some individuals, though not equally upon
all. The minds of men of lofty genius possess a susceptibility and
delicacy of structure which unfit them for the gross atmosphere of |
human nature as itis. Mr. Smellie, the friend of Robert Burns,
observes that, “no sentient being, with mental powers greatly
superior to those of man, could possibly live and be happy in this
world. If such a being really existed,” continues he, “ his misery

190 ON THE EFFECTS OF CERTAIN MENTAL

would be extreme. With senses more delicate and refined, with
perceptions more acute and penetrating, with a taste so exquisite
that the objects around him would by no means gratify it, obliged
to feed on nourishment too gross for his mental frame, he must
be born only to be miserable ; and the continuation of his existence
would be utterly impossible. Even in our present condition, the
sameness and insipidity of objects and pursuits, the futility of plea-_
sure, and the infinite sources of excruciating pain, are supported
with difficulty by cultivated and refined minds. Increase our
sensibilities, continue the same objects and desires, and no man
could bear to live.” |

This is a faithful description of the temperament of the man of
genius—of a mind endowed with qualities which common spirits
can neither fathom nor understand. A mind of this stamp discovers
beauty, where others see nothing but deformity ; and retires with
disgust from what the vulgar approach with satisfaction and plea-
sure. It at once detects a more luscious sweetness in the honey,
but feels a more exquisite torture from the sting.

Genius combined with poverty is, of all conditions, that which is
productive of most mental misery to its possessor. Even when
united to competency, or wealth, the mental constitution of its
owner is far from desirable, as the instances of Byron and Rous-
seau, Shenstone and Gray, among numerous others, sufficiently
prove: but when obliged to minister to the selfishness, to feed the
pride, or bend under the tyranny of beings it despises and hates,
is it to be wondered at that the imagination is full of melancholy
images, which are the more aggravated and distressing since the
objects or causes which produce them are painted to the fancy of
such minds with a strength and vividness of colouring which they
do not really deserve?

It is to relieve feelings such as these that men of superior talents
and attainments have had recourse to stimuli of various kinds, to
dispel the dark phantoms of the imagination, and people it with
objects and ideas of a brighter and more pleasing cast: and though
the fumes of tobacco, in the cases of Newton and Hobbes ; coffee,
in those of Voltaire and Fontenelle ; and cold water, in Demos-
thenes and Haller; have been the agents resorted to for this pur-

AND BODILY STATES UPON THE IMAGINATION. 19]

pose ; still alcohol, in the people of Europe, and opium, among the
inhabitants of the east, are the magicians most generally employed
to smother the dictates of the judgment, and to give unbounded
licence to the dreams of an excursive and delighted fancy.

The effects produced by wine and spirit drinking on the tempera-
ment of individuals varies extremely ; hardly producing any exhila-
ration in some, whilst in others it excites the fiercest paroxysms of
insanity. It is not my object here to enter into any medical detail
of the morbid phenomena which are the result of the intemperate or
habitual use of alcoholic liquors of any kind ; I shall, therefore, pass,
in accordance with the nature of my subject, to their mental effects
on what the late Dr. Currie, of Liverpool, has termed the tempera-
ment of sensibility, which Dr. Macnish, with equal truth, names
the melancholy drunkard. To such men the bottle is a perfect
witchery, and contains spells as powerful as Michael Scott’s book
of magic, filched, by the elfin page, from the vest of William
of Deloraine. It clothes external nature with new forms of
beauty—it adds whiteness to the lily, and perfume to the violet-—
it conceals all moral evil. To the minds thus influenced, the
men are all virtuous, the women all beautiful, and mankind all
happy. The joyousness which it excites breaks in upon habitual
gloom, like sunshine upon darkness. Above all, the sensations, at
the moment when mirth begins with its magic to charm away care,
are inexpressible. Pleasure falls, in showers of fragrance, upon the
soul, and the imagination revels in a delirium of short-lived joy.

“ Elysium opens round,
A pleasing frenzy buoys the lightened soul,
And sanguine hope dispels the fleeting care ;.
And what was difficult, and what was dire,
“Yields to your prowess, and superior stars :
A deeper blue colours the cloudless sky,
A stiller calm deadens the sleeping wave,
No storm to ruffle, and no frost to chill,
No icy friendship here, no selfish love,—
But all is warm, and beautiful, and true.”

Hafiz among the Persians, and Anacreon among the Greeks, have

192 ON THE EFFECTS OF CERTAIN MENTAL

sung, in glowing strains, the pleasures of wine—not its physical and
animal pleasures, but the mental delights springing from its effects
upon heated and poetic fancy—

** Which bathes the drooping spirits in delight,
Beyond the bliss of dreams.”

*

Such are the pleasures imagination derives from intoxication.
Let us reverse the picture, and behold its pains. And now me-
lancholy, in her “ robe of darkest grain,” fills the disordered fancy
with images of a ten-fold deeper gloom. When the visions of plea-
sure begin to fade, ideas of the most distressing and painful character
rise to occupy their place. The imagination is now a perfect ty-
rant ; she shews her slave every species of imaginary evil, and accu-
mulates all in one vortex upon his devoted head. The mind be-
comes a chaos of all that is dark, dreadful, and desponding. Phan-
toms, grotesque and horrible, rise and gibber at the unfortunate
being ; and the conflict of contending fancies lashes him into a fit
of excitation bordering on mania, or presses him down with the feel-

ings of blank despair.

“ His cares return
With ten-fold rage ;
And such a dim delirium, such a dream
Involves him, such a dastardly despair
Unmans his soul, as madd’ning Pentheus felt
When, baited round Cithzeron’s cruel sides,
He saw two suns and double Thebes ascend.”

These effects are not very commonly the result of the habitual
or excessive use of wine ; but more than one instance has fallen un-
der my own observation where it has produced visions of delight
and forebodings of evil, equally vivid with those I have endeavoured
to describe.

I now pass to the consideration of the influence of opium upon
the imagination, and the modifications effected by it in the exercise
of this class of mental operations. According to De Quincey, who
styles himself the alpha and omega on all points connected with the
use of opium ; “its effects upon the human constitution differ mate-
rially from those produced by wine. Wine disorders the mental fa-

AND BODILY STATES UPON THE IMAGINATION. 193

culties ; opium, on the contrary, if taken in a proper manner, intro-
diices among them thé most exquisite order, legislation, and har-
mony. Wine robs a man of his self-possession ; opium greatly in-
vigorates it. Wine unsettles and clouds the judgment, and gives a
preternatural brightness, and a vivid exaltation, to the contempts
and the admirations, the loves and the hatreds, of the drinker ; opi-
um, on the contrary, communicates serenity and equipoise to ull the
faculties, active or passive ; and with respéct to the temper or moral
feelings in general, it gives simply that sort of vital warmth which
is approved by the judgment, and which would, probably, always
accompany a bodily constitution of primeval or antediluvian health:
Thus, for instance, opium, like wine, gives an expansion to the
heart and benevolent affections, but with this remarkable difference
that, on the sudden development of kind=heartedness which accom-
p®nies inebriation, there is always more or less of a maudlin charac-
tev, which exposes it to the contempt of the bystander. Men shake
hands, swear eternal friendship, and shed tears, no mortal knows
why, and the sensual creature is clearly uppermost. But the ex-
pansion of the benigner feelings incident to opium, is no febrile ex -
cess, but a healthy restoration to that state which the mind would
naturally recover, upon the removal of any deep-seated irritation or
pain, that had disturbed and quarrelled with the impulses of a heart
originally just and good. True it is that wine, up to a certain
point, and with certain men, rather tends to exalt and steady the
mind ; but still, it constantly leads a mani to the’ brink of absurdity
and extravagance, and, beyond a certain point, itis sure to volatilize
and disperse the intellectual faculties :, whereas opium always seems
to compose what had been agitated, and to concentrate what had
been distracted. Under the influence of opium the moral affections
are in a state of cloudless serenity, and over all is the great light of
the majestic intellect.”

The effects of opium, like those of wine, are widely different
upon different persons. I have known opium, taken with a view of
removing melancholy and ennui, produce a state of delirium and
watchfulness bordering upon insanity, instead of quieting the mind
and producing those delightful sensations for which it has been so
much extolled, and which, in a great majority of instances, it never

January, 1836,—vou. I1I., NO. XIV. fr)

194 ON THE EFFECTS OF CERTAIN MENTAL

fails to excite-—Macnish, in his Anatomy of Drunkenness, observes,
«« The extacies of opium are more entrancing than those of wine ;
there is more poetry in its visions, more mental aggrandisement,
more range of imagination. Opium, for hours after its use, gives a
licence to the imagination, which is almost unbounded. It inspires
the mind with a thousand delightful images, lifts the soul from
earth, and casts a halo of poetic thought and feeling over the spirits
of the most unimaginative. Under its influence, the mind wears no
longer that blank, passionless aspect which, even in gifted natures,
it is apt to assume: on the contrary, it is clothed with beauty as
with a garment, and colours every thought that passes through it
with the hues of wonder and romance.”

So intellectual are the imaginations of the opium-eater, that it is
necessary a mind should be highly cultivated and exquisitely taste-
ful to enjoy, in perfection, the extacies to which it gives rise ; since
the very structure of the mind, thus influenced, furnishes the pro-
per nourishment on which the imagination feeds. An ear naturally
unmusical, or badly cultivated, could take no enjoyment in the most
perfect harmony, in the most melodious air, or in the most spirited
or heart-stirring chorus,—neither would opium produce this faculty,
in the ear or in the mind:. but supposing the taste for mu-
sic to be acquired, it would heighten its pleasures a thousand-
fold. ..One of the. most delightful pictures ever drawn of the
pleasures of an imagination heightened by opium, is that given
by De Quincey, in his Confessions of an English Opium-eater :
it relates to the pleasures imagination derives from music, when
the mind is under the influence of opium; and to obtain these,
he used to. take his customary draught of laudanum-negus on
the Tuesday or Saturday, which are the opera-nights, abstaining
from. it rigidly on the other evenings of the week, in order to
increase his enjoyment on these. “ At that time,” says he,
“‘ Grassini sang at the opera; and her voice was delightful to me
beyond all that I had ever heard. Five shillings admitted one to
the gallery, which was subject to far less annoyance than the pit
of the theatres; the orchestra was distinguished, by its sweet and
melodious grandeur, from all English orchestras, the composition
of which are not, I confess, acceptable to my ear, from the predomi-

AND BODILY STATES UPON THE IMAGINATION. 195

nance of the clangorous instruments, and the’ absolute tyranny of
the violin. The chorusses were divine to hear; and when Grassini
appeared in some interlude, as she often did, and poured forth her
passionate soul as Andromache at the tomb of Hector, I question
whether any Turk of all that ever entered the Paradise of opium-
eaters, can have had half the pleasure I had: But, indeed, I
honour the barbarians too much, by supposing them capable of any
pleasures approaching to the intellectual ones of an Englishman :
for music is an intellectual or a sensual pleasure, according to the
temperament of him who hears it, and, with the exception of that
fine extravaganza in The Twelfth Night,* I do not recollect more
than one thing said adequately on the subject of music in all litera-
ture ; it is a passage in the Religio Medici of Sir Thomas Brown,
and though chiefly remarkable for its sublimity, has also a philoso-
phic value, inasmuch as it points to the true theory of musical
effects:t The mistake of some people is, to suppose that it is by the
ear they communicate with music, and, therefore, that they are
purely passive to its effects: but this is not so; it is by the re-action
of the mind upon the notices of the ear, that the pleasure is con-
Structed; and therefore it is that people, of equally good ear, differ
So much on this point from each other. Now, opium, by greatly
increasing the activity of the mind generally, increases, of necessity,
that particular mode of its activity by which we are enabled to
construct, out of the raw material of organic sound, an elaborate
intellectual pleasure. A chorus displays before me, as on a piece of
arras, the whole of my past life;—not as though recalled by an act
of memory,—but as if present and incarnate in the music; no

* “ That strain again ;—it had a dying fall:
O, it came o’er my ear like the sweet south,

. That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing, and giving odour.”

+ “ Whatsoever is harmonically composed, delights in harmony : for even
that vulgar and tavern music, which makes one man merry, another mad,
strikes in me a deep fit of devotion, and a profound contemplation of the first
composer. There is something in music of divinity, more than the ear dis-
covers; it is an hieroglyphical and shadowed lesson of the whole world and
creatures of God,—such a melody to the ear, as the whole world well under-
stood would afford the understanding. In brief, it is a sensible fit of that
harmony which intellectually sounds in the ears of God. I will not say,
with Plato, that the soul is a harmony ;—but harmonical, and hath its near-
est sympathy unto music.”

02

196 ON THE EFFECTS OF CERTAIN MENTAL, &c.

longer painful to dwell upon, but the detail of its incidents
removed, or blended in some hazy abstraction, and its passions
exalted, spiritualized, and sublimed. All this was to be had for five
shillings; and over and above the music of the stage and the or-
chestra, I had all around me, in the intervals of the performance,
the music of the Italian language talked by Italian women—for the
gallery was usually crowded with Italians—and I listened with a
pleasure such as that with which Weld, the traveller, lay and
listened, in Canada, to the sweet laughter of the Indian women ;
for the less we understand of a language, the more sensible we are
to the melody or harshness of its sounds ; for such a purpose, there-
fore, it was an advantage to me, that I was a poor Italian scholar,
reading it but little, and not speaking it at all, nor understanding a
tenth part of what I heard spoken.”

I have now traced the history of the perioral phenomena of the
imagination, as a component part of the sound mind, in its healthy
or natural state. We have seen the peculiarities induced in its ex-
ercise by climate, constitution, and education ; and also the modifi-
cation impressed upon it by other moral and physical agents,.as the
passions, wine, and opium. In the next lecture, I shall pass to
the consideration of the imagination during sleep, as it is manifested
in the phenomena of dreaming, and to the effects of certain agents
upon it in this state, which exalt and change its mode of action.

[The subsequent four Lectures on the Imagination, consisting of the Ima-
gination of Dreamers,—of Sleep-walkers,—of the Insane,—and on the Hal-
lucinations produced by the Imagination, will appear in subsequent numbers
of The Analyst.}

197

THE BIRDS OF BRITAIN, SYSTEMATICALLY
ARRANGED.

ORNITHOLOGICAL nomenclature is now beginning to receive that
attention to which its importance entitles it ; and, consequently, the
path of the student in this fascinating branch of science will not be
so frequently obstructed by those barbarous anomalies so unsparing-
ly created by the thoughtless, the ignorant, and the prejudiced,
Not only are signs of improvement becoming visible in the standard
Ornithological works, but also in periodicals and scrap-books, as
may be observed in Jesse’s Gleanings in Natural History, and other
publications of a similar kind. A writer in that popular periodical,
‘Lhe Mirror, after making some very just remarks on nomenclature,
observes, “I take leave to suggest that the British birds should |
have the Latin names used in that masterly work, Selby’s British |
Ornithology. For English names, I know of no work that would
serve asa guide. The best rule is, that each genus should have an
English name peculiar to itself.”—Vol. xxvi., p. 69. Although I
am sorry to say that this rule is very frequently transgressed in the
first volume of Selby, containing the land birds; yet, in the second
volume, such errors are very rarely met with,—perhaps there are
not above half a dozen errors of the kind in his water birds. The
water birds not being so popularly known as the land birds, may,
possibly, be assigned as a reason why the difficulty of affixing appro-
priate names to them is not so great. But no obstacles should
deter the scientific man from aiming at scientific accuracy ;—meet
the difficulties boldly and they will vanish.

In a paper, “ On the Nomenclature of Birds,” which appeared in
the last number of The Analyst, I gave a list of the land birds, and
promised, at a future time, to give the Grallatores and Natatores,
commonly called water birds. I now propose, however, to give the
whole of the*birds of Britain together ; not only because the table
will thus be much more convenient for reference, but on account of
several errors having crept into the previous list, as Ring Dove for
Ring Pigeon, Anthus fuscus for Coridalla fusca, Columba turtur for
Peristera turtur, and some others, which will now be corrected, and
many additions will also be made.

198 THE BIRDS OF BRITIAN,

The Black Grous ( Tetrao empetrum) is there called the Black
Lyurus, ( Lyurus tetrix), and the Tree Capercail (Capricalea arbo-
rea) was there designated Wood Grous (T'etrao arborea). I adopted
these names under the erroneous impression that the name of the
family could never be changed. » For instance, the genus Warbler,
(Silvia), is a typical one, and thus the family is named the Warbler
family, (Silviade). Others, however, think the genus Kinglet,
(Regulus), to be the typical genus, and thus, according to these,
the names Warbler and Silvia should be given to the genus Kinglet,
in order that the old family name, Silviadw, may remain: but would
it not be much better to call the family the Kinglet family, (Regu-
lide)? The same with the Grous: it is now generally agreed,
that the genus Capercail is the type of the family ;—thus, this may
be called the Capercail family, (Capricalide). On the other plan,
the generic names would be constantly liable to change, and not a
single counterbalancing advantage would be gained, to compensate
for the confusion thus occasioned: by the mode now proposed, and
which has been followed by some ornithologists, the generic name
would never be altered. Lud oe |

The name Coalhood has been objected to, as.a generic appellation,
on the ground that species may hereafter be discovered which have
no black on the head. The same objection will, however, apply
also to Redbreast, Waxwing, Nutcracker, and others; so that if
Coalhood is rejected on this ground, so ought these, also, to be dis-
carded. Forktail has, likewise, been objected to, on account of its
being applicable to other genera, as the Tern and Kite: but I do
not know a single meaning name in Ornithology, (with the excep-
tion of Crossbill,—Crucirostra), which is proof against this objec-
tion: as examples, Woodpecker, Redstart, Dipper, Lobefoot, Long-
spur, Thickbill, Grosbeak, &c. &c.; may be given. This isin
favour of Dr. Lindley’s upinion, that a good wnmeaning generic
name is the best,—as Lark, Pinnoc, Sparrow, Siskin, Snipe, Finch,
Ossifrage, Bustard, &c. The same may, perhaps, be said of the
Latin names. :

I will now give the British birds, as divided, by Vigors, into five
Orders, in accordance with the principles of the learned, profound
and acute Macleay.

SYSTEMATICALLY ARRANGED. 199

ORDER I.
PREYERS,—RAPTORES.

Famity IL, Vuiturre Famity,—(VouLtunrip2.)
Abern, (Neophron, Sav. )
Alpine Abern Neophron alpinus, ( W.)

Famity IIL, Faucon Famriy,—(Faiconip.)
Eagle Section,—( Aquiline. )

Eagle, (Aquila, Aniiq.)
Golden Eagie Aquila aurea, ( Will. )
Ossifrage, (Ossifraga, W.)
Common Ossifrage Ossifraga albicilla, ( W.)
Ospray, (Pandion, Sav.)
Whiteheaded Ospray Pandion leucocepalus, ( W.)

Hawk Section,—( Accipitrine. )
Gossuc, (Astur, Bechst.)

Rock Gossuc, Astur palumbarius, ( Bechst. )
Hawk, (Accipiter, Antig. )
Common Hawk Accipiter nisus, ( W.)°
Falcon Section,.—( Faleonine. )
Falcon, (Falco, Lin. )
Jer Falcon - Falco rupestris, ( W.)
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus, (Lin. )
Hobby Falcon Falco arboreus, ( W.)
Redfooted Falcon Falco rufipes, ( Bechst.) —
Kestril Falcon Falco tinnunculus, ( Lin. )
Stone Falcon Falco lapidarius, ( Will.)

Buzzard Section,—( Buteonine. )
Buzzard, (Buteo, Bechst. )

Variegated Buzzard — Buteo variegatus, (W.)
Roughlegged Buzzard ~ Buteo lagopus, (Flem. )
Pern, (Pernis, Cuv. )
Honey Pern =~ . Pernis apivorus, (Cuv.)
’ Harrier, (Circus, Bechst. )

Marsh Harrier Circus rufus, (Bris. )
Blue Harrier -' - Cireus eyaneus, ( Flem. )
Ashcoloured Harrier Circus cineraceus, ( Shaw.)

Kite Section,—( Milvine. )
Kite, (Milvus, Antig. )
Cinereous Kite - Milvus regalis,-( Bris.) -
Forktail, (Elanus, Sav.)
Whiteheaded Forktail Elanus leucocephalus, (.N. Wood. )

@HE BIRDS OF BRITAIN,

_Famity IV., Own Famiry, (Srricipz.)
Toadeater, (Bubo, Antig. )

Tawny Toadeater Bubo flavipes, ( W.)
Madge, (Asio, Antig. )
Heath Madge Asio ulula, (N. Wood.)
Ivy Madge Asio pinus, ( W.)
Scops, (Zorca, Antig. )
Tree Scops Zorca arborea, ( W.)
Snowflake, (Nictea, Stev. )
‘Gray Snowflake Nictea cinerea, (Stev.)
‘Owl, (Strix, Antig.)
Barn Owl Strix flammea, (Lin.)
Surn, (Surnia, Antig. )
Ivy Surn Surnia stridula, (Stev.)
Nightling, (Noctua, Cuv. ) 3
Brown Nightling ~ Noctua funerea, (W.)
Spotted Nightling Noctua passerina, (Se/by.)
ORDER II.

PERCHERS,—INSESSORES.

Famity L, Ber-zater Faminy,—(Meroripa.)

Yellowthroated Bee-eater Merops glandariys, (W.)
Roller, (Coracias, Lin.)
_Garrulous Roller Coracias garrula, (Lin:)

Famity II1., Swattow Famity,—(Hirunpryip2.)

Swallow, (Hirundo, Antig.)
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica, (Lin.)
Eave Swallow Hirundo urbica, (Lin.)
Bank Swallow ‘Hirundo riparia, (Aldr.)
Swift, (Cipselus, J7lig.)
Wall Swift -Cipselus murarius, (Z'em.)
Alpine Swift _Cipselus alpinus, (Z'em.)

Famity IIL, Nientsar Famity,—(VocirERaronip2.)
Nightjar, (Vociferator, NV. Weod.)
Fern Nightjar Vociferator melolontha, (W.)

Famity V., Kinerisner Famity,—(Hatcionip2.) .
Kingfisher, (Alcedo, Lin.)
Minnow Kingfisher Alcedo splendens (W.)

SYSTEMATICALLY ARRANGED. 201

Famity I., Topy Famiry,—(Topip.)
Flycatcher, (Muscicapa, Lin.)

Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa grisola, (Lin.)
Pied Flycatcher Muscicapa luctuosa, (Lin.)
Whitenecked Flycatcher Muscicapa albicollis, ( Z'em.)

Famity II., Surixe Famiry, (LaniaD2#.)
Shrike Section,—(Laniane.)
Shrike, (Lanius, Lin.)

Gray Shrike Lanius excubitor, (Lin. )
Flusher, (Collurio, Blyth. )

Redbacked Flusher Collurio rufescens, (W’.)

Wood Flusher* :Collurio rutilus, (Blyth.)

‘Famity II., Turusa Famity,—(Turpip2.)
Thrush Section,—( Turdine.)

Missel Thrush “Turdus viscivorus, ( Will.)
Mottlebacked Thrush Turdus punctatus, (#.)
Field Thrush Turdus pilaris, ( Wii/.)
Redwinged Thrush Turdus iliacus, ( Wii.)
Garden Thrush Turdus hortensis, (W.)
Rusty Thrush Turdus varius, (Horsf. )
‘Ouzel, (Merula, Wil.)
Yellowbill Ouzel _.. Merula hortensis, (W.)
Ring Ouzel Merula torquata, (Willy)

Antcatcher Section,—( Miotherine.)
Dipper, (Cinclus, Bechst.) __
Bank Dipper Cinclus rupestris, (W.)
Oriole Section,—({ Oriolane.)
Oriole, (Oriolus, Tem.)
Garden Oriole Oriolus galbula, (Lin.)

Famity IV., Warater Famity,—(Sinviap2.)
Chat Section,—( Rubetrine.)
Wheatear, (Vitiflora, Ray.)

Fallow Wheatear Vitiflora cinerea (Bris.)
Chat, (Rubetra, Bris.)
Whin Chat Rubetra migratoria, ( Blyth.)
Stone Chat Rubetra lapidaria, (W.)
Redbreast, (Rubecula, Antig.)
Robin Redbreast Rubecula familiaris, (Blyth.)

* Selby calls this bird “* Wood Chat,” but it has no more resemblance-to the genus Chat (Ru-
betra), than it has to the Crow (Corvus).

202 THE BIRDS OF BRITAIN,

Redstart, (Ruticilla, (Will.)

Wall Redstart Ruticilla luscinia, (W.)

Blackthroated Redstart Ruticilla nigricollis, (W.)
Fantail, (Pandicilla, Blyth.)

Bluethroated Fantail Pandicilla suecia, (Blyth.)

Nightingale Section,—(Philomeline.)
Brakehopper, or Locustel, (Locustella, Wiii.)

Sibilous Brakehopper* Locustella sibilaria, (W.)
Reedling, (Salicaria, Selby.)
Sedge Reedling Salicaria phragmitis, (Selby.)
Marsh Reedling Salicaria arundinacea, (Selby. aS
Nightingale, (Philomela, Antig.)
Brake Nightingale - Philomela luscinia, (Sw.)
Fauvet, (Ficedula, Antig.)
Blackcapt Fauvet Ficedula atricapilla, (Aldr.)
Garden Fauvet Ficedula hortensis, ( Blyth.)
Whitethroated Fauvet Ficedula cinerea, (Blyth.)
Garrulous Fauvet Ficedula garrula, (Blyth.)
Warbler Section,—(Silviane.)
Whinling (Melizophilus, Leach.)
Redeyed Whinling Melizopilus provincialis, (Leach.) -
Warbler, (Silvia, Awct.)
Hedge Warbler Silvia hippolais, (Lath.)
Wood Warbler Silvia sibilans, (Bechst.)
Willow Warbler Silvia melodia, ( Blyth.)
Kinglet, (Regulus, Cuwv.)
Common Kinglet Regulus auricapillus, (Selby. )
Firecrested Kinglet Regulus ignicapillus, (Mudie.)
Tit Section,—(Pariane.)
Tit, (Parus, Auct.)
Garden Tit Parus hortensis, (W.)
Blue Tit Parus czeruleus, (Gesn.)
Marsh Tit Parus palustris, (Gesn.)
Coal Tit Parus ater, (Gesn.)
Crested Tit* Parus cristatus, (Aldr.)
(Longtail, (Afedula, W.)
Common Longtail Afedula sonans, (W.)
Pinnoc, (Calamophilus, Leach.)

Bearded Pinnoc Calamophilus biarmicus, (Leach.)

* For an account of the habits of the Sibilous Locustel (Loeustella sibilans, W.), see The
Field Naturalist’s Magazine.

+ This bird must not be confounded with the Bicolored Tit (name bicolor, Lin.}, found in
North America,

SYSTEMATICALLY ARRANGED. 203

Dunnoc, (Accentor, Cuv.)

Hedge Dunnoc Accentor familiaris, (W.)
Annet, (Curruca, Bechst.)
Alpine Annet, Curruca alpina, (W.)

Wagtail Section,—( Motacilline.)
Wagtail, (Motacilla, Wiid.)

Pied Wagtail Motacilla maculosa, (W.)
Gray Wagtail Motacilla cinerea, ( Will.)
Oatear, (Budites, Cuv.)

Spring Oatear Budites verna, (Cuv.)

Grayheaded Oatear Budites neglecta, (1)
Pipit, (Anthus, Bechst.)

Tree Pipit , Anthus arboreus, (Bechst.)

Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis, (Bechst.)

Rock Pipit Anthus petrosus, (#/em.)
Lavroc, (Coridalla, Vig.)

Tawny Lavroc Coridalla fusca, (W.)

Famity V., CoatterRer Faminy,—(AMPELID..)
| pate (Bombicilla, Bris.)
Hawthorn Waxwing Bombicilla crateegus, (W.)

Famity I., Gotpwine Famity,—(CarDUuELID 2.)
Lark Section,—(Alaudine.)

Lark (Alauda, Auct.)
Sky Lark Alauda arvensis, ( Lin.)
Red Lark Alauda rubra, (Lin.)
Wood Lark : Alauda arborea, (Lin.)
Longspur, (Plectrophanes, Mey.)
Snowy Longspur _ . Plectrophanes nivalis, ( Mey.)
Rusty Longspur .., Plectrophanes mustelina, ( W.)
Seedling, (Miliaria, Blyth.)
Tawny Seedling Miliaria canescens, (W.)
Bunting, (Emberiza, duct.)
Yellow Bunting __. Emberiza citrinella, (Lin.)
Reed Bunting Emberiza scheeniculus (Lin. )
Cirl Bunting Emberiza cirlus, (Lin.)
Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana, ( Lin.)

Goldwing Section,y—(Cardueline.)
Sparrow, (Passer, Auct.)
House Sparrow Passer domesticus, (Addr. )
Tree Sparrow Passer arboreus, (Blyth)

THE BIRDS OF BRITAIN,

Goldwing, (Carduelis, Avet.)

Common Goldwing Carduelis elegans, (Stev.)

Siskin Goldwing Carduelis spinus, (Cwv.)
Finch, (Fringilla, duct.)

Chaff Finch Fringilla spiza, (Rennie.)

Mountain Finch Fringilla montana, ( Will.)

Grosbeak Section,—(Coccothraustine.)
Linnet, (Linaria, Auci.)

Garden Linnet Linaria cannabina, (Sw.)

Mountain Linnet Linaria montana, ( Will.)

Alder Linnet ‘Linaria pusilla, ( Blyth.)
Grosbeak, (Coccothraustes, Gesn.)

Haw Grosbeak Coccothraustes crateegus, (Blyth.)

Green Grosbeak Coccothraustes chloris, (Flem.)

Coathood Section,—(Pirruline.)
Crossbill, (Crucirostra, Mey.)

Pippin Crossbill -Crucirostra malum, (W.)
Pine Crossbill Crucirostra pinetorum, (Meyer.)
Coalhood, (Pirrula, Avuct.)
Hedge Coalhood Pirrula modularis, (W.)
Thickbill, (Densirostra, W.)
Pine Thickbill Densirostra enucleator, (W.)

Famity IL, Startine Famity,—(Sturnip2.)
Starling, (Sturnus, Lin.)

Spotted Starling Sturnus varius, (Mey.)

Brown Starling Sturnus unicolor, (Sw.)
Amzel, (Pastor, Jem.)

Rosecoloured Amzel Pastor roseus, ( Tem.)

Famity III., Crow Famtty,—(Corvip.z.)
Crow, (Corvus, Lin.)

Raven Crow Corvus corax, (Lin.)

Carrion Crow Corvus corone, ( Lin.)

Hooded Crow Corvus cinerea, (W.)

Rook Crow Corvus nudirostra, ( Palmer.)

Daw Crow Corvus monedula, (Lin.)

Pie, (Pica, Wiil.)

Mag Pie Pica melanoleuca (Vieill.)
Jay, (Garrulus, Briss.)

Garden Jay Garrulus glandarius, ( Selby.)

Chuf, (Fregilus, Cuv.)
Redlegged Chuf Fregilus graculus, (Cuv.)

SYSTEMATICALLY ARRANGED. 205

Nutcracker, (Nucifraga, Awct.)
Spotted Nutcracker, ' Nucifraga punctata, (W.)

Famity II., Wooppecker Faminy,—(Picip2.)
Woodpecker, (Picus, Antig. )

Black Woodpecker Picus martius, ( Lin.)

Pied Woodpecker Picus maculosus, ( W.)

Barred Woodpecker Picus virgatus, (W.)

Hairy Woodpecker Picus villosus, (Lin.)

Popin, (Chrysoptilus, Sw.)

Green Popin* Chrysoptilus viridis, (Sw.)
Wryneck, (Torquilla, Will.)

Zigzag Wryneck Torquilla striata, (W.)

Famity III, Crerrrr Famiry, (CertTuiaD4.)
Nuthatch, (Sitta, Widl.)

Gray Nuthatch Sitta czesia, (Mey.)
Creeper, (Certhia, Wii/.)
Hazel Creeper Certhia familiaris, ( Lin.)
Wren, (Anorthura, Rennie.)
Ivy Wren: Anorthura troglodites, ( Morris.)
Hoopoo, (Upupa, Antig.)
Marsh Hoopoe Upupa palustris, (W.)

Famity IV., Cucoo Famiry, (Cucutip..)
Cuccoo, (Cuculus, Antig.)
Gray Cucoo Cuculus canorus, Lin.)

ORDER III.
SeraTeHERS,—RAsoREs.

Famity L:, Prcron Faminty,—(CoLumsipz.)
Pigeon, (Columba, Antiq.)

Ring Pigeon © Columba palumbus, (Zin.)
Wood Pigeon Columba arborea (IV. Wood.)
Rock Pigeon Columba livia, (Lin.)
Dove, (Peristera, Boié.)
Turtle Dove Peristera turtur, (Boié.}
Sprigtail, (Ectopistes, Sw.)
Passenger Sprigtail Ectopistes migratoria, (Sw.)

* The Three-toed Aptern (Apternis tridactylus, Sw.)—the Picus tridactylus, of Linnseu
—is, by some, reckoned a British bird. : got 4

THE BIRDS OF BRITAIN,

Famity III., Carercats Faminy,—(Carricarip4.)
Grous, (Tetrao, Lin.)

Black Grous Tetrao empetrum, (W.)
Capercail, (Capricalea, Nils.)
Wood Capercail Capricalea arborea, (W.)
Ptarmigan, (Lagopus, Vieil.)
Red Ptarmigan Lagopus britannicus, (W.)
White Ptarmigan Lagopus mutus, (Leach).
Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus rupestris, (Auct.)
Partridge, (Perdix, Antiq.)
Gray Partridge Perdix cinerea, (Wit?.)
Quail, or Cwail, (Coturnix, Will.)
Common Quail Coturnix migratoria, (W.)
Redfoot, (Rufipes, Blyth.)
Guernsey Redfoot Rufipes picta, (W.)

Famity V., Ostricn Famity,—(StRvuTHIONID)
Bustard, Otis, (Lin.)

Turnip Bustard Otis tarda, (Lin.)
Buzzernel, (Tetrax, Leach.)
Field Buzzernel Tetrax campestris, (Leach.)
ORDER IV.

WaveErs,—GRALLATORES.

Famity IL. Crane Famity,—(Gruim.)
Trumpeter, (Psofia, Lin.)

Black Trumpeter Psofia crepitans, (Lin.)
Crane, (Grus, Auct.)
Cinereous Crane. A Grus cinerea, (Bechst.)

Famiiy IL.,) Hern FAminry,—(ARDEADZ.)'’
Hern, (Ardea, Auct.) —

Common Hern ~ Ardea cinerea, (Lath. }

Purple Hern 9) 0° Ardea purpurea, (Lin.)

White Hern Ardea alba, (Lin.)

Egret Hern €) Ardea garzetta, (Lin.}

Buftbacked Hern - _ Ardea russata, (Wagler.)

Squacco Hern , > Ardea castanea, (Gael
Bittern (Botaurus, Auct.)

Tawney Bittern Botaurus stellaris, (Stev.)

Freckled Bittern Botaurus lentiginosus, (Stev.)

SYSTEMATICALLY ARRANGED. 207

Rayed Bittern Botaurus rufus, ( Bris.)

Malmarsh, (Cancrofagus, Bris.)
Blackheaded Malmarsh Cancrophagus luteus, (Bris.)
Gray Malmarsh Cancrofagus bahamensis, (Bris.)
Stork, (Ciconia, Auct.)
White Stork * Ciconia alba, ( Will.)
Black Stork Ciconia nigra, ( Will.)
- Spoonbill, (Platalea, Auct.) ;
White Spoonbill Platalea leucorodea, ( Lin.)
Ibis, (Ibia, Antig.)
Glossy Ibis Ibis ignea, ( Steph.)

Famity III., Snrpz Famity,—(ScoLopacip#.)
Curlew, (Numenius, Lath.)

Common Curlew Numenius arquata, ( Lath.)
Whimbril Curlew Numenius pheopus, ( Lath.)
Sandpiper, (Totanus, Bechst. )
Dusky Sandpiper Totanus fuscus, ( Leisi.)
Redshank Sandpiper Totanus calidris, ( Bechst. )
Green Sandpiper Totanus ochropus, ( Tem.)
Wood Sandpiper Totanus palustris, ( W.)
Common Sandpiper Totanus hippoleucus, ( Tem.)
Spotted Sandpiper Totanus macularius, ( Tem.)
Greenshank, (Limicula, Leach.)
Spotted Greenshank Limicula grisea, (W.)
Avoset, (Avosetta, Bris.)
Blackheaded Avoset Avosetta atricapilla, (-W.)
Godwit, (Limosa, Bris.)
Blacktailed Godwit Limosa melanura, ( Leisl.)
Red Godwit Limosa rufa, ( Bris.)
Longbeak, (Macroramphus, ( Leach.)
Brown Longbeak Macroramphus griseus, ( Leach.)
Woodoe, (Rusticola, Vieil.)
Common W oodoc Rusticola migratoria, (W.)-
Snipe, (Scolopax, Auct.)
Solitary Snipe Scolopax solitaria, ( W.)
Chesnut Snipe Scolopax castanea, (W.)
Common Snipe Scolopax gallinaria, (Gmel.)
Jack Snipe Scolopax pusilla, (W.)
Ruff, (Machetes, Cuv.)
Marsh Ruff Machetes variabilis, (7).
. Dunlin, (Tringa, Auct.)

Gray Dunlin Tringa cinerea, (7'em.)

THE BIRDS OF BRITAIN,

Buffbreasted Dunlin Tringa rufescens, (Vieil.)

River Dunlin Tringa pusilla, (Lath.)

Fuscous Dunlin Tringa fusca, (Lath.)

Rock Dunlin Tringa striata, (F Jem.)

Purr Dunlin . Tringa variabilis, (Meyer.)

Red Dunlin Tringa rufus, (W.) ~
Falarope, (Phalaropus, Bris.)

Gray Falarope Phalaropus griseus, (Stev.)

Lobefoot, (Lobipes, Cuv.)
Red Lobefoot Lobipes hyperborea, (Cwv.)

Famrry IV., Ram Famiy,—(Ratuwa.)
Rail, (Rallus, Awct. )

Velvet Rail Rallus serica, ( W.)
Crake, (Crex, Bechst. )

Corn Crake Crex pratensis, (Bechst.)

Spotted Crake Crex porzana, ( Bechst. )

Olivaceous Crake Crex olivaria, (W.)
Zapern, (Zapornia, Leach. )

Marsh Zapern Zapornia pusilla, (Stev.)
Gallinule, (Gallinula, Will.)

Common Gallinule’ Gallinula chloropus, (Will. )

Coot, (Fulica, Lin.)
Common Coot Fulica atra, (Lin.)

‘Famity V., Piover Famiy,—(Puvviarip2.)
Oystercatcher, (Ostralega, Bris. )

Pied Oystercatcher Ostralega maculosa, (W.)
Turnstone, (Strepsilas, IUlig. )
Collared Turnstone Strepsilas collaris, (Tem. )
Sanderling, (Arenaria, Bechst. )
Common Sanderling Arenaria grisea, (W.)
Pratincol, (Glareola, Bris.)
Collared Pratincol - Glareola torquata, (Meyer.)
Swiftfoot, (Cursorius, Lath. )
Creamcolored Swiftfoot Cursorius isabellinus, (Meyer. )
Lapwing, (Vanellus, Wiil. )
Peewit Lapwing Vanellus capella, (Wilt. )
Squatarol, (Squatarolla, Cuv.)
Gray Squatarol Squatarola cinerea, (Cuv. )
Plover, (Pluvialis, Wiil. )
Golden Plover Pluvialis viridis, ( Will. )

Dottrel Plover Pluvialis morinellus, (#.)

SYSTEMATICALLY ARRANGED. 209

Ring Plover _ Pluvialis torquata, (Bris. )

Shingle Plover Pluvialis littoralis, (W.)
Little Plover Pluvialis pusillus, ( W.)’.
Stilt ot Longshank, (Himantopus, Mey.)
Blackwinged Longshank ' -Himantopus melanopterus, (Mey. )
Thicknee, (CEdicnemus, T'em.)
Stone Thicknee (Edicnemus crepitans, (T'em.)
ORDER V.

SwimMeERs.—NATATORES.

Famity I., Duck Famiry,—(ANaTID.)
Goose Section,—( Anserine. )
Goose, (Anser, Antig. )

Graylag Goose Anser palustris, (lem. )
Bean Goose Anser segetiim, (Steph.)
Whitefronted Goose Anser albifrons, (W.)
Bernicle, (Bernicla, (Wiil.)
Whitewinged Bernicle Bernicla erithropus, (Stev.)
Brent Bernicle Bernicla brenta, (Siev.)
Redbreasted Bernicle Bernicla rufficollis, (Stev.)
Swan Section,—( Cygnine. )
Swan, (Cygnus, Antiq.)
Whistling Swan Cygnus clangor, (W.)
Pressbilled Swan Cygnus pusillus, (W.)
Duck Section;—( Anatine. )
Sheldrake, (Tadorna, Flem.)
Greenheaded Sheldrake Tadorna ‘vulpina, (W.)
Ruddy Sheldrake Tadorna rutila, (Stev.)
Shoveller, (Spathulea, Flem.)
Bluewinged Shoveller Spathulea clypeata, (Flem.)
Gadwel, (Chaulodius, Sw.)
Dusky Gadwel Chaulodius strepera, (Sw.)
Duck, (Anas, Antigq.)
Ring Duck Anas boschas, (Lin.)
Pintail, (Dafila, Leach.)
Speckled Pintail Dafila epilobium, (W.)
Teal, (Crecca, Antig.)
Common Teal Crecca palustris, (W.)
Gargany Teal Crecca eestiva, (W.)
Bimaculated Teal Crecca glocitans, (W.)
Wigeon, (Mareca, Stev.)
Whistling Wigeon Mareca fistularis, (Stev.)

January, 1836.—vou, I11., NO. XIv. P

210 THE BIRDS OF BRITAIN,

Pochard Section,—(Fuliguline.)
sScoter (Oidemia, Stev.)

« Black Scoter Oidemia nigra, (Fem.)
Velvet Scoter Oidemia fusca, (Flem.)
Surf Scoter Oidemia perspicillata, (Flem.)
Eider (Somateria, Leach.)
Downy Eider Somateria mollissima, ( Leach.)
King Eider Somateria spectabilis, (Leach.)
Pochard, (Fuligula, Leach.)
Redheaded Pochard Fuligula ferina, (Stev.)
Rufous Pochard Fuligula rufina, (Stev.)
Olive Pochard Fuligula nyroca, (Stev.)
Scaup Pochard Fuligula marila, (Stev.)
Tufted Pochard Fuligula cristata, (Stev.)
Western Pochard Fuligula dispar, (Stev.)
Hareld, (Harelda, Leach.)
Whiteheaded Hareld Harelda glacialis, (Leach.)
Garrot, (Clangula, Fem.)
Goldeneyed Garrot Clangula bimaculata, (W.)
Harlequin Garrot Clangula histrionica, (Leach.)
Merganser Section,—( Mergine.)
Merganser (Mergus.)
Common Merganser Mergus variabilis, (W.)
Redbreasted Merganser Mergus serrator, (Lin.)
Hooded Merganser Mergus cucullatus, (Lin.)
Pied Merganser Mergus albellus, (Lin.)
Famity IL, Driver Famiry,—(Corimprp2.) ©
Grebe, (Podiceps, Lath.)
Rednecked Grebe | Podiceps rubicollis, (Lath.)
Tippet Grebe Podiceps cinereus, (W.)
Dusky Grebe Podiceps obscurus, (Lath.)
Eared Grebe Podiceps auritus, (Lath.)
River Grebe Podiceps fluviatilis, (W.)
Diver, (Colimbus, Lath.)
Northern Diver Colimbus glacialis, (Lin.)
Blackthroated Diver Colimbus arcticus, (Lin.)
Redthroated Diver Colimbus septentrionalis, (Lin.)

Famity IIL, Aux Famiry,—(A.cap2.)
Guillemot, (Uria, Bris.)
Foolish Guillemot Uria atrata, (W.)
Black Guillemot Uria lacteola, (Lath.)

SYSTEMATICALLY ARRANGED.

Velvet Rotch

Penguin Auk —
Razorbilled Auk

Common Puffin

211

Rotch, (Mergulus, Wiil.)
Mergulus melanoleucos, (Ray.)
_ Auk, (Alca, Lin.)
Alca impennis, (Lin.)
Alca clupea, (W.)
Puffin, (Puffinus, Will.)
Puffinus flavirostris, (W.)

Famity IV., Perican Famity,—(PEricanip2.)
Cormorant, (Cormoranus, Auct.)

Black Cormorant
Green Cormorant

Solan Gannet

Cormoranus carbo, (W.)

Cormoranus viridis, (W.)
Gannet, (Sula, Bris.)

Sula bassana, (Bris.)

Famiry V., Gutt Famity,—(Larip2.)

Caspian Tern
Sandwich Tern
Common Tern
Roseate Tern
Arctic Tern
Hooded Tern

Black Viralv
Marsh Viralv

Black Tarroc

Little Gull

Blackheaded Gull

Winter Gull
Kittiwake Gull
Ivory Gull
Glaucus Gull
Iceland Gull
Herring Gull

Blackbacked Gulk

Fuscus Gull
Collared Zeme

Dashing Skua

Tern, (Terna, Lin.) -
Terna, caspia, (Pall.)
Terna cantiaca, (Gmel.)
Terna cinerea, (W.)
Terna elegans, (W.-)
Terna arctica, (Tem.)
Terna pusilla, (W.)
Viralv, (Viralva, Leach.)

Viralva nigra, (Leash)
Viralva cinerea, (W.)

Tarroc, (Gavia, Bris.)
Gavia fusca, (Bris.)

Gull, (Larus, Lin.)

Larus atricilla, (Gmel.)
Larus ridibundus, (Lin.)
Larus canus, (Lin.)
Larus rissa, (Lin:)
Larus eburneus, (Gmel.)
Larus glaucus, (Brun.)
Larus islandicus, (Edmonsi. )
Larus argentatus, (Brun.)
Larus niger, (Bris.)
Larus fuscus, (Zin.)

Zeme, (Zemia, Leach.)
Zemia collaris, (W.)

Skua, (Lestris, Z’em.)
Lestris cataractes, (Z'em.)
P2

212 THE BIRDS OF BRITAIN,

Pomarine Skua Lestris pomarinus, (7'em.)

Arctic Skua Lestris parasiticus, (7'’em.)
Fulmar, (Fulmarus, Stev.)
Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis, (Stev.)
Shearwater,-(Procellaria, Lin.)
Cinereous Shearwater Procellaria cinerea, (Gmel.)
Manks Shearwater Procellaria grisea, (W.)
Sooty Shearwater Procellaria fuliginosa, (Lin.)
Petrel, (Thalassidroma, Vig.) .
Storm Petrel Thalassidroma pelagica, ( Vig.)
Forktailed Petrel Thalassidroma furcata, (W.)

Brrps nor strictLy Britisu.
ORDER II.

PERCHERS.—INSESSORES.

Finch, (Fringilla.)

Painted Finch- Fringilla ciris
Waxbilled Finch Fringilla astrilda
Rice Finch Fringilla oricivora
Amadivat Finch Fringilla amandava
Canary Finch Fringilla canaria

Grosbeak, (Coccothraustes.)
Cardinal Grosbeak Coccothraustes cardinalis
Blue Grosbeak Coccothraustes czerulea

Crossbill, (Crucirostra).

Whitewinged Crossbill Crucirostra leucoptera

Tucan Famity,—(TvucaniIpD2Z.)
Tucan, (Tucana, Bris.)

Yellowbreasted Tucan Tucana flavifrons
Preacher Tucan Tucana pictata
Brazilian Tucan : Tucana piscivorus

Parrot Famity;—(PsitrtTacip2.)

Macaw, ( Macao.)
Blue Macaw Macao splendidus
Coccatoo, (Plictolofus.)
White Coccatoo Plictolofus flavicristatua
Parrot, (Psittacus.)

Gray Parrot Psittacus erithacus

oad

ee

SYSTEMATICALLY ARRANGED. 213

Lory, (Lorius.)
Garrulous Lory ‘Lorius garulus
Paroket, (Petacula.)
‘Bluecapt Paroket Petacula canicularia
Grakle, (Gracula.)
‘Minor Grackle Gracula religiosa

Cucoo’ Famity,—(Coucurrp..)
American Grayling “Coccyzus Americanus

ORDER. _ IH.
ScraATCHERS.—RASORES.

Pavo Famity,—(PAvonip4.)

Common Pavo Pavo ceeruleus
Javanese Pavo Pavo muticus
Argus, (Argus.)
Russet Argus Argus giganteus
Fowl, (Gallus.)

Common Fowl Gallus variabilis

Gigantic Fowl* Gallus giganteus

Bantam Fowl -Gallus pusillus

Featherfooted Fowl Gallus plumipes

‘Pheasant (Phasianus.)

Ringnecked Pheasant Phasianus torquatus

Golden Pheasant Phasianus pictus

Silvery Pheasant Phasianus argentatus

Pintado, (Numida.)
Pearled Pintado Numida punctata
_. Turkey, (Meleagris.)
Lommon Turkey Meleagris silvestris
Pickton Famity,—(CoLuMBID#.)

‘Palumb, (Palumbus.)

Tambourine Palumb Palumb timpanistria

Coppercolored Palumb Palumbus martinica

Whitebellied Palumb Palumbus rufraxilla
Fancrest, (Lophyrus.)

Blue Fancrest Lophyrus ceeruleus

*{ have a fine specimen of the Gigantic Fowl in my collection. I kept it among a flock of
poultry, with whom it lived on the best terms imaginable ; but it was one day found drowned in
‘@ pond, into whieh it was supposed to have been driven by a quarrelsome pair of Pintados.

214 THE BIRDS OF BRITAIN,

Colin, (Ortix.)
Virginian Colin Ortix borealis.

ORDER V.
SwimMMErs.—NATATORES.

Duck Famity,—(AnaTip4,)

Canada Goose Anser canadensis
Cape Goose Anser capensis
Swan, (Cignus.)
Mute Swan Cignus olor
Carin, (Carina.)
Musk Carin Carina moschata
‘Woodard, (Dendronessa.)
Tufted Woodard Dendronessa sponsa
Gambo, (Gambo.)
Spurwinged Gambo Gambo galaria
Perican Famity;—(PELicanip2.)
White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus
Cormorant, (Cormoranus.)
Crested Cormorant Cormoranus cristatus

GuLL Famity,—(Larip#.)

Skua, (Lestris.)
Richardson Skua Lestris obscurus
Petrel, (Thalassidroma.)
Surt Petrel Thalassidroma wilsonia.

In the foregoing list I have strictly attended to the rule laid
down in the twenty-sixth volume of The Mirror, page 69: ‘Each
genus should have an English name peculiar to itself.” It is not
essential that the generic name should have any meaning ; perhaps,
indeed, it is preferable that it should not. Thus, Abern or Abarn
(Neofron), Fauvet (Ficedula), Snipe (Scolopax), Duck ( Anas ),
&c., have no meaning; but they answer their purpose as well as,
and, perhaps, better than, the following names, which have a mean-
ing :—Shearwater (Procellaria), Diver (Colimbus ), Creeper ( Cer-
thia), Longbeak (Macroramphus), &c. With regard to specific
names, I have avoided, as much as possible, taking them from the

SYSTEMATICALLY ARRANGED. 915

country in which a bird is discovered. Such names can only be
given, with propriety, when a bird is found exclusively in a coun-
try, not inhabited by another of the same genus. Thus, the Red
Ptarmigan ( Lagopus Scoticus, Lzacu), is, I believe, found only in
Britain; but then, other birds of the genus are, also, found in the
same island: thus the term “ British” and “‘ Britannicus,” to which
it would otherwise be entitled, is inapplicable. The practice of giv-
ing the names of persons has, also, been discountenanced. “ In sci-
ence, the practice of distinguishing persons rather than facts ought
to be discarded,” says Mr. Jennings, and I fully concur in the re-
mark, ‘‘Common” and “ vulgaris” are, also, objectionable specific
titles ; for a bird which is common in one country may be very rare,
and, perhaps, not found at all, in another. ‘ Great” (magnus), and
* little” (parvus), and “‘ greater” (major), and “ lesser” (minor),
are, also, objectionable ; for another species may be discovered which
is yet greater, or smaller, than that to which the epithet is applied.
Such generic names as Philomeloides, Meruloides, Milvulus, Lani-
ellus, should, also, be avoided, as implying a relationship to those ge-
nera from which the names are derived, namely, Philomela, Merula,
Milvus, and Lanius. Such compounds as Haliaetos, Chrysaetos,
Gypaetos, Montifringilla, Nycticorax, are inadmissible ; for a ge-
neric name should not be a compound of a generic and specific (as
those are), but a generic only.

The specific name should not be founded on a generic character,
We frequently see “ Loxia curvirostra:” the term crucirostra, how-
ever, applies equally to all the Crossbills (Crucirostre), and has
been very properly used as a generic name by Wilson, Cuvier, and
others. We frequently, also, see “Common Avoset ( Recurvirostra
avosetta, )” “ Black Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax cormoranus ),” &c. ;
this is making the Eitglish generic name into the specific one in
Latin: it would be preferable to write Avosetta atricapilla, and
Cormoranus carbo. Authors, likewise, frequently give generic and
specific names, which have the same meaning conveyed in different
languages ; for example, Erythaca rubecula, Caryocatactes nucifra-
ga, Phenicura ruticilla : it would be acting more in accordance with
veason to name these birds thus,~Rubecula familiaris, Nucifraga
punctata, Ruticilla luseinia. Mr. Blyth says: “ For reasons already

216 THE BIRDS OF BRITAIN,

mentioned, I prefer the designation Rubecula, and have termed the
Robin Redbreast, Rubecula familiaris, a name to which none can
object.” This title is singularly appropriate, as applied to our little
friend “ with bosom red,” besides being far more euphonious than
the harsh name “ Erythaca.” Greek names should be avoided as
much as possible, it being desirable to draw the scientific nomencla-
ture from one source.

Selby says he adopts Cataractes in preference to Lestris, on ac-
count of the priority of the former ; Cataractes:having been given by
Willughby, and Lestris by Illiger and Temminck. Then why has
he not adopted Pluvialis instead of Charadrius, and Ficedula in-
stead of Curruca? Those names have the claim of priority and
euphony too. With regard to the Fauvets, Blyth remarks: “ The
best and most appropriate name that has hitherto been applied to
the Fauvettes, -is the term Ficedula, of Aldrovand. The appellation
Curruca (derived from the Latin word curro, to run), cannot, with
propriety, be affixed to any genus of warblers, inasmuch as they all
move forward by hopping ; it would, therefore, I think, be better
to reject altogether the term Curruca, as objectionable and inappro-
priate, and to eall the genus Ficedula.” Curruca-I-have applied to
the Annets, as these birds may -be appropriately so called. There
is only one British species, the Alpine Annet (Curruca collaris,
W.). “Wild” and ferus can of course, never be made a specific
name, for domestication does not change the species of a bird. Mr.
Neville Wood, in his accurate account of the Brake Nightingale,
(see Analyst, vol. ii, p. 394), has committed this error : -he calls the
Ring Duck (Anas boschas, Lin.), the ‘Wild Duck.” ‘There are,
however, many species of wild Duck: if he had intended to specify
the wild .bird in contradistinction to the tame, he should have said
the “ wild Ring Duck (Anas.boschas, var. ferus.) ;’’ or, for the do-
mesticated variety, the.‘‘ tame Ring Duck ( Anas boschas, var. do-
mestica). When it is necessary to mention the birds often, the spe-
cific term “ Ring,” or whatever else it.is, may, of course, be omit.
ted, but “ wild” and “ tame” can, in no case, be admitted as specific
names.

A new mode of designating birds is now practised by some Orni-
thologists: for instance, suppose they .wanted to designate the

SYSTEMATICALLY ARRANGED. * OF

White Ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus), they would write Whité
' (Ptarmigan) Grous, ( Tetrao ( Lagopus ) mutus) ; the Snow Long-
spur ( Plectrophanes nivalis), they would call the Snow (Longspur)
Bunting, (Emberiza (Plectrophanes ) nivalis) ; the Cinereous Os-
sifrage ( Ossifraga cinerea), they would call Cinereous (Ossifrage)
Eagle, (Aquila (Ossifraga) cinerea) ; the Whiteheaded Abern
(Neofron Alpina), they would call the Whiteheaded (Abern) Vul-
ture, (Vultur (Neofron) alpina). However pretty this may be in
theory, it would be found a very bungling method for practical pur-
poses. These Ornithologists contend that, besides the generic and spe-
cific name now universally given to each bird, there should also be a
sub-generic appellation, which they place, as above, between parenthe-
sis. I cannot, however, see a single practical advantage to be derived
from these ‘ sub-genera,” however they may serve to amuse the
systematist in his closet. They entirely destroy the beautiful sim-
plicity of the binary system of Linneus, and, so far from being a
help to, appear to me calculated to retard, the student. They will,
doubtless, be found as useless, for all practical purposes, as the sec-
tions of Temminck. —

If I have not rendered the foregoing remarks perfectly clear, I
shall be most happy to give further explanations, as discussion fre-
quently elicits truth. I shall be equally ready to attend to sugges-
tions respecting the names of any birds, as I am aware that several
of the specific ones are objectionable, and it is not to individual
things, but to broad principles, that I am attached.

S. D.W.

Derbyshire, Nov. 9, 1835.

218

ON THE INFLUENCE OF COMETS.

« Canst thou the skies’ benevolence restrain,

And cause the Pleiades to shine in vain ?

Or, when Orion sparkles from bis sphere,

Thaw the cold season, and unbind the year ?

Bid Mazzaroth his destined station know,

And teach the bright Arcturus where to glow ?
Mine is the night, with all her stars ; I pour
Myriads, and myriads I reserve in store.” -Youna.

A CONSIDERABLE proportion of the public may, perhaps, think
that this is a subject which might safely be left in the hands of
Mr. Francis Moore ;—a sentiment in which that personage, for
a very different reason, may, probably, acquiesce. It may, how-
ever, happen that a popular opinion, exploded and derided by
the scientific, and cherished by those who make an unworthy gain
of the superstitious terrors of mankind, may be established upon a
more solid foundation than either party are aware of. What !—the
reader will exclaim, are we then to have a defence of the contemptible
follies of judicial astrology >—by no means; but it does not follow
that because Comets and other celestial bodies have no astrological
influence, they have, therefore, no influence at all. The character
of science in the present day, is somewhat dogmatical and assuming;
we are rather in danger of dictating to Omnipotence the laws and
rules by which alone the world must be governed ; and we are ex-
cessively unwilling to believe that there can be anything, either in
heaven or earth, that is not only not dreamt of, but not ascertained
and fathomed to the uttermost, in our philosophy. This tendency
to deny what we cannot demonstrate,—to disbelieve what we can-
not comprehend, is less characteristic of the spirit of true knowledge
than of a self-complacency which is the natural inmate of the heart
of man, springing from ignorance alike of himself and of his Maker.
The bold assertion that Comets have not, and cannot possibly have,
any influence whatever upon the earth, appears to be, in some mea-
sure, the fruit of this “ philosophic pride ;” and though more justi-
fiable, yet little more unquestionable, than the confident predictions
of those who pretend to penetrate into futurity, from the aspect of
the heavens. In answer to this assertion, my object is not to shew

ON THE INFLUENCE OF COMETS, 219

what kind of influence Comets may possess, nor even that they do
absolutely possess an influence, but simply to point out that, as we
hayve-no proof to the contrary, so we have some inducement to sus-
pect its existence.

It has been always a commonly received opinion, whose origin
may be plainly traced in the melancholy anticipations of this state
of mortality, that a Comet is the unfailing precursor of calamity
and trouble. Those who could not perceive the mode of the con-
nection did not fail to acknowledge its certainty ; but some there
were whose powers of imagination carried them much farther, and
enabled them to comprehend, with the most satisfactory distinctness,
the whole progress of the mischief. So curious a specimen of the
scientific discoveries of the followers of Aristotle, in the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries, has been given, by Pingré, from Fortu-
nius Licetus, that I shall here transcribe the substance of them.

The light and heat of a Comet being incapable of producing the
effects attributed to it, its influence must be derived from the matter
of which it is composed.

1. This matter consists of terrestrial exhalations, not such as are
continually evaporated from the surface, but derived from the inte-
rior ; such as issue from volcanos, hot, dry, sulphureous, and bitu-
minous. When very abundant, their efforts to escape are the cause
of earthquakes, tempests, and hurricanes.

2. Having escaped, they heat and dry the air in their passage,
thus producing the most powerful effects upon men in general, espe.
cially those of a warm and melancholic temperament ; hence pro-
ceed anger, hatred, sedition, conspiracy, war, sickness, and epidemic
diseases.

3. These materials having risen to form a Comet in the upper
regions of the air, cease to affect us otherwise than by continually
drawing up fresh supplies fronsithe earth.

4. Of these additional exhalations, the heavier particles, less lofty
in their ascent, corrupt the air we breathe ; the lighter seize upon,
volatilize, and dissipate the humidity of the atmosphere, thus pro-
ducing winds and drought: the latter is the cause of famine and of
atrabiliary complaints, to which princes, according to Aristotle,
being remarkably subject, must, of course, be most affected by the

220 ON THE INFLUENCE OF COMETS:

influence of a comet. The humid particles are, however, sometimes
so abundant, as to mollify the exhalations, and deprive the comet of
its malignity, which is the reason why they are not constantly
accompanied by some disaster.

5. The comet is on fire; and being composed, according to Aris-
totle, of earth and air, the earth is consumed, and the air is changed
into a very volatile fire, which ascends and hurts nobody.

. 6. The earthy part is reduced to ashes, which fall to the ground
in the form of motes, reducing the air to still greater dryness: they
may employ some time in their descent, whence the famines, dis-
eases, and wars, may not follow immediately upon the Comet’s ap-
pearance ; but the longer their effects are deferred, the more terri-
ble they will be.

Licetus attributes the wars and deaths of princes, under such cir-
cumstances, to their melancholy temperament ;* others think that
their delicate constitution exposes them more to the Comet’s influ-
ence ; and others, that the volatile articles which they are in the
habit of consuming convey to them, in particular, a greater degree
of the poison which they imbibe from the infected air.t

The reader need not be alarmed at the prospect of my undertak-
ing the defence of this most ingenious, and connected, and satisfac.
tory theory, which is perfectly capable of resting upon its own merits;
although it has the advantage over some of the notions of the astro-
logers, in assigning a physical cause for the results which are stated
to attend upon a Comet. I shall not even assume, as a fact, that
Comets are accompanied by any perceptible effects whatever ; but I
cannot help looking upon it as probable that all the bodies in the sys-
tem may be connected by a common bond of mutual influence, and that
upon this combination of the whole may depend the welfare of every
individual portion ; and that the wisdom of the Creator has not only
made nothing in vain as far as itsélf is concerned, but even as re-
gards the system of which it forms a component part. That this is
the case, in instances of greater proximity, is evident to observation:

* « Eraste dit qu'il seroit & souhaiter que la melancholie et la bile des
princes fit la vraie cause des guerres: quelques gros de rhubarbe épargneroi-
ent bien de sang.”

+ Pingré, Cométographie, i., 75, et seqq.

ON THE INFLUENCE OF COMETS 921

the close connection and mutual dependance of all classes of animate
and inanimate beings upon the surface of the earth, is too familiar
to require illustration : and may we not admit a similar interchange
of necessary and kindly influences among the various bodies which
are grouped in the same system, or even dispersed throughout space ?
But they are not in eontact—the objector may assert. Neither is
the magnet in contact with the needle which it attracts, nor the
moon with the ocean which it rules, nor the sun with the earth
which it vivifies and cheers. Even were we ignorant of any influ-
ences which could be transmitted through the immense distances
around us, what is distance in the hand of the Creator, who
** stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out
as a tent to dwell in?”’* But while we perceive that light, and
heat, and gravitation, are continually penetrating through spaces of
wonderful extent, and the effect of the former, in particular, is sen-
sensible at distances that are almost beyond all assignable limits, how
can we venture to assert, in positive terms, that no other influence,
at present unknown to us, is:capable of traversing the same exten-
sion, and operating as independently of contact or proximity >—
The transmission of light and heat from the sun, was obvious to
the earliest inhabitants of the earth; but century after century
passed away, and the universal principle, which governs alike the
fall of a stone, and the revolution of the planetary globes, continued
shrouded in impenetrable obscurity. And is it improbable that
many more such discoveries may remain to be made? and that’ many:
more principles will for ever remain beyond the reach of disco-
very ? Does it not approach to presumption to suppose- that we
have entered into the adytum of nature, the very holy- of holies, if
I may so speak, of the great temple of the world ?

“ 'Tantane vos generis tenuit fiducia vestri ?”+-

Such is but too frequently the disadvantage attendant upon scien
tific research ; it leads us to forget our profound ignorance: and in
our eagerness to possess ourselves of the secrets of the Almighty, we
may sometimes expose ourselves to the rebuke which he gave to his

* Isaiah, xl, 22.. + MBneid, i, 136.

999 ON THE INFLUENCE OF COMETS.

erring servant,—‘ Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words
without knowledge ?”* Can we comprehend the principle of vita-
lity >—can we explain the development of the tree from the seed ?
—the bird from the egg?—can we trace the subtle and inscrutable
processes that take place, as in the most exquisite laboratory, in
every leaf and flower, and by such insignificant means supply all
the animal kingdom with vital air and sustenance ?>—or have we
even the slightest conception of that profound mystery, the connec-
tion of mind and matter, and their mutual influence,—the secrets of
life and death, of dissolution and reproduction ? The proudest intel-
lect will be humbled in the dust in the attempt to grasp even one of
the least of the processes which are every moment going on around
us, and by which we live and move: and so long as these remain
unexplained, the language of dogmatical assertion is equally unsuit-
able and unavailing ; and it is more fitting to confess that what we
know is nothing, in comparison of what we know not. But since,
from those operations which we are able, in some measure, to com-
prehend, we have deduced with certainty the existence of their proxi-
mate causes ; since, from the revolution of the planets, we have
inferred the force of gravity,—from the polarity of the needle, that
of magnetism,—from the decomposition and re-combination of bo-
dies, that of chemical affinity, may we not also admit the possibility
that such unknown processes as have been alluded to may be the re-
sult of equally unknown, but most energetic, influences, and that
these influences may depend upon the arrangement and adaptation of
all the parts of the system to which we belong, or of the universe
itself? and is it not within the bounds of credibility that every in-
dividual body may be contributing, in its appointed station, to the
maintenance and welfare of the whole? We have no reason to sus-
pect the immediate presence of the Deity among the inanimate works
of his hands, since the time when the laws of nature were suspended,
to bear testimony to the truth of revelation. He warms the globe
—but it is through his instrument the sun ; he visiteth the earth
and blesseth it—but not without the intervention of the chemical
processes of evaporation and precipitation : and even so we may, per-

* Job, xxxviii., 2.

ON THE INFLUENCE OF COMETS, 293

haps, imagine that, in other more recondite operations, he may, also,
work by intermediate principles, such as his unsearchable wisdom
has ordained for his own glory, and his unbounded beneficence di-
rects to the good of his creatures.

The argument then reduces itself to this :—that since the number
of effects which we are able to refer to known principles is very far
from comprising the whole of the operations of nature, we may very
fairly infer, from effects hitherto unexplained, the existence of prin-
ciples as yet undiscovered: and since, in the former instance, seve-
ral of the most dominant agents affect us at an immense distance,
there is no antecedent improbability that such may be the case in
the latter, and that the heavenly bodies may mutually communicate
to each other many very powerful and essential influences, among
which those of Comets, from their magnitude, and the peculiar
distribution of their orbits, may be ordained to act a very important
part ; though, at the same time, the exact nature of these influ-
ences is, at present, entirely beyond our comprehension.

These reflections, though they may not be opposed to any of the
rules of legitimate induction, might, notwithstanding, be regarded
as little more than a sketch of a philosophical romance, if they were
entirely unsupported by the evidence of facts. To some persons this
will appear to be the case ; and the falsely denominated march of
intellect—which, at best, is but the march of information, and very
frequently of dogmatical presumption—is sufficiently opposed to
the reception of any statement which appears to militate against
its infallibility and perfection. To allude to the opinion of Lu-
nar Influence may subject me to the censure of an elegant writer,
who has asserted that “such prejudices, if they yet linger in
some places among the shattered remnants of that ignorance and
superstition which once overspread Europe, are now rapidly dis«
appearing before the advancement of science: they resemble the
shadows of the night, that flit, for a while, amid ruins, though
the general darkness has passed away; but which, ere long, also
vanish, by the progressive and brightening influence of the sun.’*
Nay, there may possibly not be wanting, among the sciolists of the

* Milne’s Essay On Comets, p. 180.

994 ON THE INFLUENCE. OF COMETS.

age, some who may suspect that, if there is any such influence, its ©
effects are to be traced in the brains of those who defend it. But
as it is sufficiently evident that, if the principles, which I have
alluded to, exist, by far the greater portion of their results may,
probably, be referred to the companion of our orbit, and the great
luminary which occupies its centre, so I conceive that we are not
destitute of some evidence which tends to establish the fact.

We may easily perceive that a satellite would not have been
granted to us, except for some great and worthy end; but if we
proceed to enquire what this end may be, we shall net so easily dis-
cover it. That it was not principally intended to reflect light upon
us, is plain from the little inconvenience we experience in its ab-
sence. The quantity of heat we receive from it is known to be
insensible. The elevation of the tides can hardly be thought a
primary end of its creation, because they would still have existed,
though in a minor degree, from the attraction of the sun, and
their absence in the smaller seas proves that they are not so
indispensible as has sometimes been supposed.* What, then, is
the great design of the moon? May we not suppose that its
presence is essential to the functions of organized bodies, the opera-
tions of animal and vegetable life, and the variations of the at-
mosphere? Such an hypothesis might not appear improbable, even
a priori, to those who are not deterred from the exercise of their
understandings, by the popular outcry against every thing that sa-
vours of antiquated opinion and feeling: but when we find this an-
tecedent probability confirmed by the unanimous belief, founded
upon observation, of a great part of mankind, we cannot surely help
feeling that- such a supposition ought not rashly to be rejected as
mere prejudice or superstition: it is true that it is unsupported by
philosophical experiments, but for this plain reason, that such expe-
riments seem never to have been tried.t In Herefordshire, the pre-

* This argument may be analogically applied, with even greater force, to
the other planets: it is not probable that the satellites of Saturn can add
much light to that reflected by the ring; and neither they, nor the satellites
of Jupiter, can raise any considerable tides in the seas (if there are any) in
those planets, because their attractions would generally neutralize each
other, and maintain the whole mass nearly in equilibrio.

+ Itis much to be desired that some enterprising and unprejudiced student
of nature, would undertake a series of experiments calculated to establish or
refute the fact of the lunar influence, and to ascertain its peculiar nature.

@N THE INFLUENCE OF COMETS. 995

servation of apples is thought to depend upon the season of ga-
thering, with regard to the moon; in the western islands of Scot-
land, the peat dug in the increase of the moon is said to continue
moist, and never burns clear, while the contrary is observed of that
cut in-the decrease ; andthe earthen dykes thrown up in the latter
season.alone are found to possess stability.* It is, also, stated that
if an atiimal fresh “killed be exposed to'the moon’s rays, it will, in a
few hours, become putrid; while another animal, only a few feet
distant, protected from their influence, will not be, in the least, af-
fected; that fruits exposed to moonlight have been known to
ripen much more readily ; that plants, bleached in the dark, recover
their colour from the ‘beams of a full-moon ; and that, in South
America, trees cut at the full of the moon split almost immediately,
as if torn asunder by great external force: “ all these,” it is added,
“are remarkable and well-established facts ;’+ and such, at any rate,
is that of the rapid decomposition of fish, in the West Indies, which
are taken by moonlight.

Several additional instances, of the same kind, might be given
with respect to animals and vegetables: it may be said that some
of them are not sufficiently ascertained—but it cannot be asserted
that they have been disproved ; neither will it be so easy to invali-
date, as to deny, what is matter of ordinary observation, the lunar
influence upon the human constitution.|| But, whatever may be
the fate of some of these assertions, the connection between the
state of the weather and the changes of the moon is unquestionably
verified by the continual experience of those who possess the best
opportunities of remarking it: it may easily be discredited by the
inhabitants of populous cities, to whom the aspect of the open

* Martin’s Description, in Mechanics’ Magazine, xi., 426.

+ Mechanics’ Magazine, iv., 381.

+ Many of the same facts have been remarked by Pliny, who elegantly
terms the moon * a feminine and soft star ;” he attributes to it the liberation
of the damps of night, the “Seg of sleep, and the increase and decrease
of animal and vegetable substances: he expressly mentions the putrescence
of slaughtered beasts, and has given full directions to render its aspect avail-
able in the various labours of agriculture.—(1. ii., c. 99, 101., xviii. 32.)

|| The objection which has been triumphantly alleged against the action of
the moon upon the human body,—that it ‘has no effect upon the most deli-
cate barometer,—is about as pertinent as it would be to complain that a rain-
guage aa not be emptied by a magnet, or a clock set agoing by a dose of
calomel.

January, 1836.—vou. I1., NO. XIV. Q

226 ON THE INFLUENCE OF COMETS.

heavens is “ something rich and strange ;” the closely-pent artizan
and the laborious student are little interested or concerned in the
variations of the weather ; but they whose prosperity is immediately
connected with it, and who look with anxiety and eagerness upon
the tokens of the sky, will be the last to treat such an opinion with
doubt or ridicule.

An impartial review of the evidence in favour of “ the precious
things put forth by the moon,”* may lead us to admit that it esta-
blishes, at least, a considerable degree of probability: with regard
to the solar influence, our certainty arises almost to that of demon-
stration. At once we perceive that the action of the sun is incaleu-
lably more important and universal than can be attributed to its
light and heat alone ; or, at least, that these emanations—the form-
er especially—must be possessed of properties far more various than
have, as yet, been accurately ascertained, in order to produce those
wonderful effects in renewing the face of the earth, which so clearly
demonstrate the superintendence and bounty of an unfailing Pro-
vidence. ‘These unknown properties may, in fact, be said to be
some of the identical influences of which we are in search ; since
they may be more philosophically ascribed to emanations, contempo-
raneous and similar to light—but imperceptible to our organs—
than to light itself. We are passing entirely beyond the bounds of
certainty, when we attribute to light any other properties except
those by which it becomes the medium of vision, and without which
its existence would be wholly unknown to us. We immediately
perceive the impropriety of ascribing the peculiar effects of heat to
the action of light, though they are closely connected, and governed
by the same laws; and we should be guilty of nearly the same in-
accuracy, in referring the vivifying influences of the sun to his
luminous rays. The solar emanations appear to be compounded of
many distinct principles, of which we have succeeded in insulating
only the luminous, the calorific, the deoxydizing, and, perhaps, the
magnetic rays; but it is very possible that a future analysis of the
spectrum, conducted by methods hitherto untried, may enable us
to detect others, of which we have, at present, no conception: at

* Deuteronomy, xxxiii., 14.

ON THE INFLUENCE OF COMETS. 227

least, the separate existence of an invisible chemical emanation
being now established, we may fairly infer the presence of others,
which ‘are not the objects of our senses, but whose ne may
be alike important and widely extended.

The application of the foregoing reflections to the subject is obvi-
ous. The influences, which we have supposed to reside in the sun
and moon, may, with equal probability, be conceded, in a smaller
degree, to the other celestial bodies ; and the peculiarity of the con-
stitution of comets may lead us to imagine that the influence they
exert may be dissimilar to that of the other parts of the system.

But here we must pause: observation alone ought to be our guide
in our farther advance ; and it may be very long before we can dis.
tinguish real effects from such mere coincidences as are perpetually
mistaken for them. ‘That the latter has been, hitherto, in general,
the case, we cannot doubt ; though we may not affirm that all the
circumstances, which have accompanied the appearance of comets,
have been solely of this nature. Warmth, and fertility, and a
superior vintage were the effects attributed to the great comet of
1811 ; but probably upon no sufficient foundation: in these respects,
its similarity was remarkable to that very conspicuous one which
attended the apotheosis of Julius Cesar, if we may believe that
beautiful apostrophe of Virgil,—

“‘ Ecce, Dionzei processit Czesaris astrum :
Astrum, quo segetes gauderent frugibus, et quo
Duceret apricis in collibus uva colorem.”—Eelog. ix., 47.

‘* See, Ceesar’s lamp is lighted in the skies :
The star, whose rays the blushing grapes adorn,
And swell the kindly ripening ears of corn.” —Dryden.

It is scarcely necessary to add, that a hypothesis of this kind has
not the remotest connection with the absurdites of astrology. Both
are raised upon the same foundation ; and that foundation may be
truth: but they who, not content with the existence of an influ-
ence, have, without the slightest reason, defined its nature, its quan-
tity, its distribution, and the laws which it obeys, have erected a
superstructure which, contrasted with the magnificent. dimensions
and harmonious proportions of the true theory of nature, has as

Q 2

228 ON THE INFLUENCE OF COMETS.

incongruous an aspect as a paltry.Chinese pagoda beside the solidity
and elegance of a towering cathedral.*

A subject of this nature requires to be discussed upon its own
merits: the highest authority may not be the safest guide; and
those ancient lords of the intellectual reign, whose names we revere,
were frequently deficient in that degree .of information which is
necessary in.order to form a,correct (lecision. . Yet how can I refer
without pride, to the sentiments of Bacon and of Newton in support
of the view which I have taken? It was the opinion of the former,
that ‘ comets have some power and effect over the gross and mass
of things ;” while the latter explicitly states his suspicion, that the
exhalations of comets are instrumental in restoring the humidity,
which he supposes to diminish, upon the surface of the earth, and
that from them may proceed the supply of that refined spirit,—the
least, but purest part of our air,—which is requisite for the exis-
tence of all vitality.t The erroneous nature of this conjecture is
immediately apparent; but it is, at the same time, evident that
neither of these fathers of science considered a belief in the influ-
ence of comets to be an indication of unbridled extravagance, of
illiterate prejudice, or of imbecile superstition.

M. Arago has stated, that a comet can act on the earth only in
three manners ;—by attraction, by its luminous and calorific rays,
or by the union of its tail with the atmosphere of the earth. It
will be seen that the line of argument which has been taken, re-
duces his assertion to a mere petitio principti. His inferences, how-
ever, are well worthy of attention. Having shewn that the results
produced by the two former causes would -be -insensible, he adds,
that not only cometary ‘matter may fall into our atmosphere, but

* It is highly gratifying to me, to find that a sentiment remarkably similar
was expressed by Tycho Brahe: “Astrologorum vanitatem, inertiam, igna-
viam, et sordes plurimum et deridere et detestari est solitus: sic tamen, ut
siderum effectus in sublunaribus ones philosophize preestantissimam nequa-
quam negaret: gnarus effeetus illos siderum generales, ab eventibus ipsis in
rebus humanis individuis, accuratissimo judicio distinguere.”—Vita, a Gas-
Tne anadietion of Fromond, (who was no friend to astrology), and Pingré’s
comment upon it, deserve insertion : “La cométe de 1618 a annoncé et doit
opérer un grand désastre, la ruine entiére de la Philosophie d’Aristote. C’est
la seule prédiction, fondée sur les apparitions des cométes, qui ait été bien

certainement accomplie.”—Cométographie, i., 104. :
+ Milne’s Essay, pp. 112, 180.

ON THE INFLUENCE OF COMETS. 229

that this phenomenon is of a nature to occur frequently, and may
possibly produce those epidemic diseases which have been attributed
to it.* Thus, also, Mr. Herapath has considered the subject :
“history furnishes us with numberless instances of the great atmos-
pheric changes which have accompanied or succeeded the apparition
of large and notorious comets; and unless we reject altogether its
often iterated testimonies, I do not see how we can refuse our assent
to influences so manifest, and yet so simple and perfectly philosophi-
cal. That comets may produce very sensible effects, in the way
alluded to, not only in the meteorological state of the air, but in its
salubrity, our best philosophers admit ; but these effects must always
be concurrent or posterior—never, I apprehend, anterior—to their
appearance.” +

Without offering any opinion upon’ the views thus stiggested;
which, it must be confessed, have been lately placed in a very unfa-
vourable light by Professor Littrow, I may remark that this is a
most important and interesting portion of the subject, and totally
distinct from: that which: has formed the object of our reflections :
the influence, whose possibility we have been contemplating, would
be as independent of proximity or contact, as that of light or gravi-
tation ; but that indicated by M. Arago is an action resulting from
the real combination of a heterogeneous substance with our atmos-
phere. That such an union may occur, is indisputable, from the
disposition of the paths of comets, the immense extent of their
tails, and their feeble gravitation towards their nuclei ; and it is
highly probable that events of this kind have actually taken place :
but whether any effects are thus produced, and what those effects
may be, are questions which cannot be determined otherwise than
by observation and experience.

THOMAS WILLIAM WEBB.
Tretire, near Ross, Dec. 3, 1835.

* Mechanics’ Magazine, xviii, 28, 60.
+ Mechanics’ Magazine, xviii. 63.

230

CURSORY OBSERVATIONS

ON CERTAIN INCONSIDERATE CRITICISMS RESPECTING
PAINTING AND SCULPTURE.

By Wiiiiam Carey.

THERE is no mistake more common, in forming a judgment of
fine ideal works of art, or those which are imaginative representa-
tions of incidents in general nature, than that of approving or cen-
suring those performances by comparisons which the critics have
founded on their own views of particular nature. They set up
whatever they have seen and been struck with, in ordinary or fa-
miliar life, as a standard for art, every deviation from which they
conceive to be a defect in the picture, and a want of judgment or
genius in the painter. But, in passing this censure, they overlook
the fact that there are various modifications of persons, manners,
and accéssories, in every rank and degree of society. They also
forget that unless the artist had been always, or generally, present
with them, he cuuld not have seen those particulars, which they re.
quire, or, by any possibility, have painted them. Even if he had
been with the censors, there are very few who agree in their views
or relish’ for the same objects, and, in case of such a disagreement;
the designer must either exercise his own judgment, or servilely
follow that of another contrary to his sentiments.

_ The misconception to which Ihave adverted is very prevalent,
and I am induced to notice it particularly, because it has proved an
obstacle to the progress of taste and patronage, and the best interests
of the British school. Unfortunately, it is not confined to indivi-
duals of’ a limited understanding and education, or such as are new
to the inspection of painting and.sculpture. Very many persons of
liberal education, good abilities, and extensive acquirements in other
intellectual departments, on visiting the exhibitions of modern art,
adopt this erroneous mode of comparison, in judging the perform-
ances under their inspection. It is certain that great scholastic at-
tainments alone, even of the highest order, do not constitute a qua-
lification to judge correctly of the productions of the pencil and

CURSORY OBSERVATIONS. 231

chisel, although, combined with an early and intimate access to fine
collections, an accomplished scholar possesses important advantages in
justly discriminating the beauties and defects of pictures and statues.

Boswell, the enthusiastic admirer and friendly biographer of Dr.
Johnson, has admitted that the distinguished subject of his eulogium
“« had no taste for painting.” (vol. iv., p. 310). In the usual accep-
tation of words, the declaration here quoted amounts, in effect, to
this, that “‘the great literary Colossus” had no liking for pictures,
having no acute perception of their beauties, and, from this circum.
stance, was indifferent to painting, and under-rated its powers.
This trait of character having been published by a man of letters,
of unimpeached veracity, who, in his own phrase, “ had the honour
and happiness of his (Dr. J.’s) friendship for upwards of twenty
years,” it has been received with all the weight of an undisputed
truth, corroborated by relative evidence. The opinion of Dr. John-
son, on almost every subject, was, and is, justly held to be of the
highest authority, and his known distaste for painting was not cal-
culated to raise that art in the public esteem, or to abate the anti-
contemporarian and anti-British prejudices against modern art,
which were nearly at their height in his time:

In the years 1824 and 1825, when obtaining materials from the
rich fund of Northcote’s recollections, for my “ State of the Arts in
the United Kingdom,” 1 wrote regular notes of his communications,
of which I made large use in my “* Varie-; important Evidences in
favour of British Historical Painting,’ an: octavo of 112° pages,
which I published in the latter year. In those conversations, we
often spoke of Dr. Johnson, as the friend of: Reynolds; and North-
cote, with marked emphasis, said; “He (Dr. J.) knew nothing of
the arts.” I enquired what he meant ‘by “knew nothing?” and he
replied, “ He (the Doctor) did not like to speak on the subject : he
never introduced it in my hearing ; and whenever it was introduced
by others, he remained silent, or, if he spoke of any. particular
picture, or painting in general, he was wrong in his judgment.”
This is much to the same effect as Boswell’s declaration, that. his
illustvious friend “ had no taste for painting.” But it appeared to
me, that Northcote’s self-love and professional pride had taken
offence at what he considered an undue estimate of his art, by one

232 CURSORY UBSERVATIONS

whom he, otherwise, looked up to and venerated as the most
learned character and greatest mind of the age. He thought, and
perhaps justly, that if the Author of Zhe Rambler had a due
perception of the beauties of historical and poetical painting, and of
the moral instruction which they convey, and had employed his
great powers to awaken the public to a sense of their excellence ;
the British arts would have been greatly benefited. In this I
agreed with him. And he seemed to think, that the known indif-
ference of so eminent an authority, had a considerable tendency to
keep the public apathy in countenance. I enquired of him if he
had heard a current story, that Dr. Johnson once said, “if a col-
lection of paintings were before him, with their faces turned to the
wall, he would not be at the trouble of turning them to look at
them?” He said, he had heard it often, but could not say whether
it was true or not. There may be some exaggeration in this report,
and, after all, it may be destitute of foundation. The important
point to which I call attention, is the main fact, that, notwithstand-
ing his wonderful extent of mind and literary pre-eminence, Dr.
Johnson had but a slight or inferior opinion of the powers of histo-
rica] painting, the highest class of the art.

Boswell tells the following story : “‘ When I informed him (Dr.
J.) that painting was so far inferior to poetry, that the story, or
even emblem, which it communicates must be known, and mention-
ed, as a natural and laughable instance of this, that a little Miss,
on seeing a picture.of Justice with the scales, had exclaimed, ‘ see,
there’s a woman selling sweetmeats,’ he (Dr. J.) replied,—‘ Paint.
ing, Sir, can illustrate, but not inform.’” Boswell here intro-
duces himself as giving,-not receiving, information ; a character very
unusual with him, when conversing with his illustrious friend:
but, probably, he ventured to take that liberty, on the subject, it
being one which, from long intimacy, he well knew the Doctor had
little ‘studied. That a child, who probably had sweetmeats weighed
to her, should, on seeing the scales in: the picture, mistake an alle-
gorical or emblematical figure of Justice for a woman selling those
dainties, is no way surprising; but that Boswell should cite this
solitary instance of a puerile mistake as an argument to prove the
inferiority of painting to poetry, is somewhat extraordinary. The

ON CERTAIN INCONSIDERATE CRITICISMS. 233

meaning of allegorical and emblematical poetry and painting is very
frequently misunderstood by artists, eminent literati, and critical
commentators. It is still more surprising, that the great philologer,
in his inferior estimate of painting, drew so strange and wide a dis-
tinction between illustrate and inform. So much stress is laid on
this distinction by critics, who have derived from thence an inference
not very favourable to painting, that I hope to be pardoned the pre-
sumption of analyzing it candidly—not with the vanity and folly of
expressing a dissent from the most learned authority of his time, but
to submit, to the better judgment of the readers, some thoughts in
vindication of a noble art from present misconception and prejudice.

In that triumphant proof of his comprehensive powers, his Dic- —
tionary, we find the following explanations :—

“ TLLU’STRATE, v. n. [illustro, Lat., illustrer, Fr.] 1. To brighten with
light. 2. To brighten with honour. 3. To eaplain ; to clear; to elucidate.”

“ ILLUSTRA/TION, n. s. [illustration, Fr.,—from illustrate]. Explana-
tion ; elucidation; exposition. It is seldom used, in its original signification,
for material brightness.”

Now, how a painting can illustrate, that is, explain, elucidate, or
expound, and not inform, is a question which Dr. Johnson, were he
living, could best answer. The Latin and French verbs from which
illustrate is derived, bear the same signification. It appears to me,
the verbal distinction, in Boswell’s statement, is not easily recon-
cilable to reason, or to the direct meaning of the words, illustrate
and inform, in Dr. Johnson’s pages. ‘Taking his Dictionary, the
highest philological authority in the English language, for our
guide, it warrants an affirmation that painting cannot illustrate with-
out conveying new or additional knowledge, and giving a more
_ striking and splendid view of the story which it represents. But,
independent of all verbal distinctions, and apart from those here re-
ferred to, what is the fact? The painting of the death of General
Wolfe not only illustrates that memorable catastrophe, but it in-
forms the spectator of the mode of his death ; it shows that he was
not slain in close combat, by the sword or bayonet, but received a
mortal wound from a distant gun-shot, and died soon after, in the
moment of victory, surrounded by his officers. 'The uniforms show

234 CURSORY OBSERVATIONS

that the general and his army are British, and the tattooed Indian
warrior tells the country in which the battle was fought. If all
this be not information, then I may be allowed to add—take away
the American Indian, and the British uniforms ; strip off the cloth-
ing of the dying general and his officers, and exhibit all present in
the same attitudes, ina state of nudity, and the picture would be no
illustration ; it could not convey any information what battle it re-
ferred to, or of what nations the contending armies were composed.
Ridiculous as this supposition may appear, it was realized by Barry,
who, about the same time, in the pride of his anatomical science,
painted a battle of naked warriors, and exhibited it as a representa.
tion of the death of General Wolfe. This strange production was
looked on to be altogether so deficient in the information which
it ought to convey, that it was generally censured and treated with
public derision ; in consequence of which, the mortified painter
never after exhibited any of his works at the Royal Academy.

Mr. Galt has stated that, when West was commencing his paint-
ing of the death of General Wolfe, Sir Joshua Reynolds urged him
to paint the actors “ in the classic costume of antiquity,” being that
of Greece or Rome, as most dignified. This reasoning was rather
singular from the first president, whose good sense, and fine taste,
were prominent features of his mind. But West justly considered,
if he were to adopt the advice, his picture would: not convey any
information of “ the time and people” to be represented, and, there-
fore, would be an untrue story. He said, “I consider myself as
undertaking to ¢ell this great event to the eye of the world; but if,
instead of the facts of the transaction, I represent classical fictions,
how shall I be understood by posterity ?” He, therefore, deeming
it his duty to convey correct information by his pencil, followed his
own views, and, after the painting was finished, received the appro-
bation of Reynolds. There is no’ question but the rejected advice
far exceeded any: justifiable license allowed to painting; for an ad-
herence to propriety of costume, in historical representation, had
been Jong established, as a first principle, in the old schools.

Northeote gave me a different version of this’ advice, which he
said he had received from Reynolds’ himself; it was that the latter
advised West not to undertake a subject:which would require him

ON CERTAIN INCONSIDERATE CRITICISMS. 935

to paint cocked hats, coats, boots, and all the unpicturesque details
of regimental uniforms. This certainly seems more consonant with
Sir Joshua’s fine taste and sound judgment. But, between the two
statements, the reader will decide according to the degree of proba-
bility.

There was, also, a positive mistake in Sir Joshua’s supposition
that West’s death of General Wolfe “ would produce a revolution
in the art,” which implied that it was the first battle painted in the
modern dress. But, so far, the revolution had been begun long be:
fore West was born. Excepting in the ignorant dawn of the arts,
artists never ran to the extreme absurdity of representing modern
stories in the dresses of nations extinct one or two thousand years
before. As to battles being an exception, it is not a fact. Without
losing time to refer to examples of ah early period, I shall here refer
to some well-known pictures. Vander Meulen, who died in 1690,
attended Louis XIV. in his campaigns, and painted, in the Royal
Chateau, at Marly, the principal battles of that monarch, with a
correct representation of the military dresses of the time. Bryan
laments, very injudiciously, that the painter was restricted to the
modern habiliments; but the advantage of dignified effect to be
gained by the Grecian or Roman costume, would be overbalanced
by the falsification of the dresses and military weapons. A person
who has to give evidence of historical facts, is not allowed to utter
untruths for the sake of eloquence. . John Hugtenberg, who died
in 1702, painted, for Prince Eugene, the battles which that com-
mander fought, in co-operation with the great Duke of Marlborough.
In these pictures, he copied the dresses of the combatants. John
Wyck did the same in the battle of the Boyne, and, also, inthe
sieges of Naarden and Namur, which he painted for king William.
He observed a similar attention in the battle which he painted as a
background to Sir Godfrey Kneller’s equestrian portrait of Duke
Schomberg. This artist died in 1702, thirty-six years before West
was born. The silly story that West was the first who introduced
the proper costume in a modern battle is still current. In 1819, West
mentioned it to me, and he and his friends believed it. In-The New
Monthly Magazine, June 1, 1820, p. 695, I furnished, in my me-
moirs of that artist, all the necessary evidence to correct it. But it

236 CURSORY OBSERVATIONS

has since been re-printed, in a memoir of Mr. West, with as much
gravity as if all modern battles had been painted in antique dresses’
‘up to the year 1770, when the death of Wolfe was exhibited by
West.

West’s determination was a proof of his good sense and moral
courage. He chose to encounter a serious disadvantage in point of
pictorial dignity and grandeur, rather than tell an untruth on the
canvas. He could not reconcile it to his feelings and sense of duty,
as an historical painter, in representing an action which had taken
place in the year 1758, to exclude a portion of the true particulars
by which only it could be known, and to substitute particulars
which could have no possible relation whatever to it ; which had
fallen into disuse a thousand, or twelve hundred years before, and
which must render it impossible, in a few years, for any person to
discover to what battle the picture referred. His words, which I
here quote as reported by his biographer, show that, in opposition
to Dr. Johnson’s opinion, he considered painting an organ of correct
historical information.. “ Ht is a:topic that history will proudly re-
cord, and the same truth that guides the pen of the historian should
govern the pencil of the artist.” Again, he says—“ I want to mark
the date, the place, and the parties engaged in the event,and if I
am not able to dispose of the circumstances in a picturesque manner,
no academical distribution of Greek or Roman costume will enable
me to do justice to my subject.” In effect, if he had done so, he
would have offered a painting to the world, as the death of General
Wolfe, to which, if I may venture so strong an expression, the eye
of the spectator would instantly have given the lie.

It is very true that the information communicated: by painting
requires to be generally preceded by some knowledge of the story or
emblems which it represents. Boswell speaks of this as if it were pe-
culiar to painting, and in no degree necessary to-poetry. He compla-
cently assumes it as a proof of the inferiority of the former to the latter.
But if it be so,.it is an advantage which the dullest drudge in The
Dunciad so far, according to his reasoning, enjoyed over Raffaelle,
Michael Angelo, and all the renowned sculptors and painters of
Greece and Rome. Yet, surely, we are not, on this narrow suppo-

ON CERTAIN INCONSIDERATE CRITICISMS. 237

sition, to canonize Gildon, Oldmixon, and the other heroes of Grub-
street, who are

“ Damned to everlasting fame,”

in the pillory of Pope’s satirical castigation. Are we, therefore, to
prefer those wretched ballad-mongers and libellers in prose, to Myron,
Phidias and Lysippus; to Apelles, Zeuxis, Parrhasius, and all their
great rivals and contemporaries? But from this alleged inferiority
or disadvantage, the most inspired poetry is not free. Certainly, ac-
cording to Boswell’s confined view of this subject, we must know
that there is such an animal as a horse—such weapons as swords,
spears, shields, helmets, and other defensive armour, before we can
understand the battles of Homer and Virgil, or those of Constantine
painted by Julio Romano, from Raffaelle’s design ; or of the same
emperor, by Rubens. If the Iliad and Aineid had been translated
into the Mexican language, prior to the arrival of the Spaniards,
the Mexicans, who had never seen a horse in their country, would
have required information to understand the passages in which those
animals are introduced. I lay very little stress on this isolated sup-
position, but merely as it instances that every object in nature and
art, which men have not seen, and of which they are ignorant, are
liable to be misunderstood in poetry, and require an interpreter.
The most sublime parts of Milton’s Paradise Lost—those in which
the Deity is introduced, and the war of the Angels with Lucifer and
his host—would be wholly unintelligible if we had not the mosaic
history for our guide, and even with the information derived
from that sacred authority, much of that noble poem must, from the
super-human nature of the subject, for ever remain a mystery to the
general mass of readers. ~ -

Although epic poetry is a vivid description of general nature,
which exercises an almost supreme dominion over the mind of those
in whose native tongue it is written, it does not speak an universal
language. Without a translation, those two sublime productions
of the Grecian and Latin muses already mentioned, would be un-
derstood only by the learned few. There must be as many transla-
tions as there are nations in the universe, to make them everywhere
understood. The fact, that much of the force and meaning of an

938 CURSORY OBSERVATIONS

original is lost, even in the best translation, needs no argument.
But even if those translations were ever so well executed, a vast
majority of mankind continue, at this day, in blind ignorance—in-
capable of reading and writing. I am well warranted in a belief
that the Iliad and AMneid, in their original languages, convey no
more information to nine hundred and ninety nine out of every
thousand persons in the world, than a brick, a stone, or clod of the
valley. This does not arise from any want of fervour or beauty in
the poecry, but from the diversity of languages, and the backward
state of civilization in so many divisions of the globe.

On the contrary, if those noble epics on canvass, the battle of Con-
stantine, by Raffaelle and Julio Romano, and the battles of Alexan-
der, by Le Brun, were placed before the most ignorant tribe of sa-
vages, they would derive a degree of information from them. They
would, at once, see that the work of death was going on—that men
were the combatants—and that the furious passions expressed, with
so much intensity, by the pencil, were those into which they them-
selves were wont to be hurried in their wars. They would discover
in the scenery of those paintings, woods, grounds, rivers, mountains,
and skies, which represent the general aspect of nature. From every
well-painted historical picture, they would derive a portion of similar
information, although everything conventional in the manners, cus-
toms, dresses, and accessories, must be wholly unintelligible to them.
If we pass from the savage state, to the middle ranks of society in
civilized nations, we shall find it probable that the great majority
of those classes, although without any cultivation of the arts, would
feel their curiosity excited by the inspection of fine historical pic-
tures, and receive, in a greater degree, some such information as
that already noticed, from their details.

Painting, sculpture, and poetry, have each distinct advantages
arising from the circumstance that the two former enter into the
mind and passions through the eye, the latter through the ear. I
leave it to some far more competent pen to settle the balance. If I
had all the neeessary ability, the limits of The Analyst forbid the
attempt here. I have not adverted to the subject to lower one of
the three by comparison with the others. ‘They owe each other
mutual obligations. The Greek sculptors and painters drew their

ON CERTAIN INCONSIDERATE CRITICISMS. , 239

ideas of beauty, grandeur, and sublimity, from the poems of Hesiod
and Homer, and they returned the favour. Although Dryden, in
one part of his parallel between poetry and. painting, as a poet,
gives an advantage to the former, as to extended narration, he agrees
in another page, with Plato and Cicero, that the chisel and pencil
produce forms superior to nature. ‘ Upon this account,” he says,
“‘ the noblest poets and the best orators, when they desire to cele.
brate any extraordinary beauty, are forced to have recourse to sta-
tues and pictures, and to draw their persons and faces into compa-
rison.” He also adds, further on, “ I must say this, to the advan-
tage of painting even above tragedy, that what this last represents
in the space of many hours, the former shows us in one moment.
The action, the passion, and the manners, of so many persons as
are contained in a picture, are to be discerned at once, in the twink-
ling of an eye : at least, they could be so, if the sight could travel
over so many different objects, or the mind digest them all, at the
same point of time.” Leon Battista Alberti has put this in a very
strong point of view, to the advantage of painting, as addressed to
the eye. He says—‘ The idea of eloquence is as inferior to that of
painting as the force of words is to the sight.” That writer con-
ceived, with Othello, the “ ocular proof” to be the strongest. | It is
certain. that the effect of a noble. picture is produced at once, al-
though. the principal details come in for their share of admiration,
in the ensuing moments of continued inspection. As painting pos-
sesses this. power above the poetry of tragedy, the great end and mo-
ral aim’ of which is to give lessons of instruction, it is an admission,
on the part of Dryden, that painting can both inform and instruct,
the point to which, as an admirer of the latter, my reasoning is di
rected, without any desire for a superiority.

8

I must own I cannot conceive how any educated and considerate
person can think that there is no information, nor instruction, con-
yeyed by Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, at Milan ; Michael An-
gelo’s sublime frescos in the Sistine Chapel; Raffaelle’s biblical se-
ries and additional historical works, in the Vatican, his cartoons and
his other admirable pictures; by Poussin’s Seven Sacraments, Bour-
den’s Works of Mercy, and all the splendid historical and poetical
pictures painted during the last four hundred years. I hope that

240 CURSORY OBSERVATIONS

a few minutes’ reflection will reject the supposition as altogether
unfounded, and derogatory to the powers of painting. :

To look at home: can any unprejudiced person retain an opinion
that there is no information, no moral lesson, to be derived from
Hogarth’s Marriage a-la-mode—his Idleness and Industry—Harlot’s
and Rake’s Progress, and his other admirable works? Is there no
information to be gained from all the works of Reynolds—from
West’s battles of the Boyne and La Hogue—and Cromwell dissolv-
ing the Parliament? My restricted limits, not my will, prevent me
from referring to a number of other striking instances of speaking
productions, from the pencils of living British artists.

Here I adduce the opinion of an eminent living painter, Sir Mar-
tin Archer Shee, the president of the Royal Academy, the most com-
petent and eloquent modern writer on this subject. ‘ The advan-
tage which poetry possesses over painting, in continued narration |
and successive impression, cannot be advanced as a peculiar merit of
the poet, since it results from the nature of language, and is com-
mon to prose. The eye of the painter is required to be as much
more sensitive and acute than the eye of the poet, as the accuracy
of him who imitates should exceed that of him who only describes.
What is the verbal expression of a passion, compared to its visible
presence? the narration, to the action itself brought before your
view? What are the verba ardentia of the poet, to the breathing
beauties, the living lustre of the pencil, rivalling the noblest produc.
tions of nature, expressing the characteristics of matter and mind,
the powers of soul, the perfection of form, the brightest bloom of
colour, the golden glow of light? Can the airy shadows of poetical
imagery be compared to the embodied realities of art ¢”

From the preceding observations on the powers of painting, I
shall now advert to the prejudice respecting the license allowed to
painters, noticed in the commencement of this essay ; and I will ex-
emplify it by a censure passed upon some parts of Mc‘Clise’s won-
derful painting, ‘‘ The Installation of Captain Rock,” which has
been exhibited at the Atheneum, in Worcester, and is now in the
Birmingham Exhibition. An objection has been particularly made
to the introduction of the bevy of very handsome girls, on the right
side of the canvass. Their youthful bloom and playful vivacity are,

ON CERTAIN INCONSIPERATE CRITICISMS. 24}.

in the principal censor’s judgment, improprieties ; and where beauty
is displeasing, it is not unreasonable to suppose homeliness would.
be welcome. The censor erroneously supposed this subject was ex-
hibited as a representation of a real occurrence and real agents.
Haying this mistaken notion, he expected to find in it persons and
things which exist only in his own mind.” But the actors, circum-
stances, and every part, are all adaring and vigorous stretch of in-
vention—the pouring out of a young and ardent genius, overflowing
with poetical abundance and variety. The entire is a fiction, and
entitled to the ample license which, in all ages, from the times of
Hesiod and Homer, has been allowed to works of fancy. Moore’s
Captain Rock, and Mc‘Clise’s Installation of the Captain, are crea-
tures of the pen and pencil. The picture was never offered to the
public as a representation of reality. That the captains of the pre-
dial bands, in Ireland, are sworn in with the utmost secrecy, by a
select committee, is, I believe, a fact. But that any such formal
installation, eoupled with a wake of the newly-elected leader’s
predecessor, ever took place, is denied. Even if we were, for a mo-
ment, to suppose that such a crowded investiture and- wake had
taken place together, as. none of the agents were, or are, known, it
is surely unreasonable to expect a representation of persons, dresses,
and incidents, as if the captain and all the agents were living and
well known, and the ceremonial as established a form as the instal.
lation of a knight of the garter.’ There is something, so strange in
this expectation, that it shifts the eharge of incongruity from
Mc‘Clise to the too rigid critic. It is rather probable he forgot the
extent of an artist’s license :—

“ Pictoribus atque poetis,
Quidlibet audendi semper fuit equa potestas.”—~ Horace.

“ Painters and poets our indulgence claim,
Their daring equal, and their art the same.” Francis.

In a picture of the coronation of George the Fourth, or his pre-
sent majesty, this sort of eritical serutiny would be perfectly just.
A correct likeness of the king—of the archbishop who crowned him
—of the principal nobility and gentry present at the ceremony—
and of the interior of Westminster Abbey, ought to be painted with

January, 1836.—vou. UI., NO. XIv. R

249 CURSORY OBSERVATIONS

such fidelity and spirit, as to be recognized at first view. Copley’s
death of the Earl of Chatham was an historical picture of this class.
Every figure was a portrait from the life. The head of the earl
was copied from a likeness painted some years before. If, instead of
this lively truth, an artist were to draw a king from his own brain,
with fancy heads, persons, and dresses, for the archbishop, nobility,
and gentry, and to transfer the scene from Westminster Abbey to
St. Paul’s Cathedral, or York Minster, in such a case, to offer his
coinage to the world as a representation of the coronation of George
the Fourth, or William the Fourth, would subject him to the charge
of a glaring incongruity, and an entire falsification. The whole
might be admirably executed, as far as the pencil and colours could
excel, but that would be no defence against a just censure.

Where a picture is not offered as a representation of a reality, and
there is not a prototype in existence, or that its existence is only a
matter of report, doubted and denied, to censure a noble production
of genius, and charge the artist with incongruities, on account of a
supposed want of fidelity or vere-similitude, is surely not justifiable?
I repeat, it appears to me the error and incongruity, in such an in-
stance, is in the mind of the censor who is so inconsiderate as to ex-
pect an impossibility, that is, he would have the canvass to contain
likenesses of persons and things which exist only in his own fancy,
and never entered into the mind or plan of the painter. His objec-
tion is not that those young and lovely girls are ill drawn, ill co.
loured, or grouped, ill painted, or at all indecorous. Oh, no !—it is
that they are too beautiful, and beautifully painted. But it is not
asserted that nature has withheld beauty from Ireland, or that young
and lovely females are not frequent in that island. Their introduc-
tion, therefore, in Me‘Clise’s picture, is perfectly consistent with a
painter’s license, and the objection falls to the ground. As I have
already observed, in all works of fiction, even in those which are
founded in historical events, a writer, or painter, is allowed to in-
troduce such probable agents and accessories, from general society,
as are calculated to render his work more pleasing and interesting.
This license is not exceeded by the introduction of these ‘beautiful
girls in the Installation; on the contrary, the artist, in availing
himself of his lawful privilege, has proved the richness of his inven-

ON CERTAIN INCONSIDERATE CRITICISMS. 243

tion, the correctness of his judgment, and the delicacy of his taste.
He had his choice between homeliness and beauty, and he preferred
the latter, as most pleasing to him and, with some very rare excep-
tions, to all mankind.

If the artist, to excite surprise, and produce a more striking vari-
ety, had introduced an elephant or rhinoceros, quietly indulging its
euriosity as a looker-on, among the other spectators ; a lion tearing
‘one of the peasants in pieces, or a prodigious boa serpent crushing
Captain Rock in its enormous folds ; as none of these are natives of
the emerald isle, or to be found there, their introduction so remote
from their proper climate and element would have been an incon-
gruity, and a gross violation of probability. Such a heterogeneous
medley would have been an instance of the extravagant folly which
Horace ridicules in The Cypress in the Sea, and in the satirical
verses,

* Qui variare cupit rem prodigaliter unam
Delphinum sylvis appingit, fluctibus aprum.”

*‘ While he who tries,

With ever-varying wonders, to surprise,

In the broad forest bids his dolphins play,

And paints his boars disporting in the sea.”—-F'rancis.

Mc‘Clise’s object was, to render his picture more interesting and
‘pleasing, without any violation of general probability, by. the intro-
‘duction of those beautiful girls, who, so far from being wn-Irish and
an incongruity, are one of the most-excellent and delightful, features
of his wonderful performance. Even on the dreary shore of the
Solway Frith; Sir Walter Scott has introduced, in the miserable
‘hut of ‘a poor and savage fisherman, ‘a young and beautiful lady of
family—the «green-mantle heroine of his romance—dancing with
the ignorant and boorish inmates and their associates, in one of
their merry-makings.

‘I here quote the authority of Sir Walter, as to the general license
allowable to a poet or painter. . “I ought to have mentioned, in the
former edition of this Romance, that Charlotte 'Tremouille, Coun-
tess of Derby, represented as a catholic, was, in fact, a French pro-
testant. For representing the noble Dame in this manner, I have

R2

244 CURSORY OBSERVATIONS

only Lucio’s excuse,—‘ I spoke according to the trick.’ In a story
where the greater part is avowedly fiction, the author is at liberty to
‘introduce such variations from actual fact as his plot requires, and
which are calculated to enhance it.”* In this instance the author
of Waverley justifies an actual deviation from, or rather a falsifica-
tion of, an historical fact ; and in Greece and Rome, the license of
poets, painters, and sculptors, to introduce variations from fact, was
generally established. According to Virgil, Laocoon, the priest of
Apollo, was surprised by the serpents when in the act of sacrificing
to Neptune; and, upon the principle of mere congruity, he should
‘have been represented in his sacerdotal vestments; but, as all the
anatomical details which constitute grandeur and beauty of form,
which are, also, the supreme test of an artist’s skill, are concealed by
drapery, the three famous sculptors, Polydorus, Athenadorus, and
Agesander, represented him naked. Here was a departure from
the poetical description ; and if those great artists had been fettered
and intimidated by censors ready to cry out against incongruities
for the better, the world would have been deprived of one of the
finest groups of sculpture in existence. Upon the same principle of
license, the Roman consuls, emperors, and heroes are represented
naked by the sculptors. It would have been condemned as a mon-
strous incongruity and offence against morals, for the Roman em-
perors or magistrates to have appeared in their public functions
undraped: but that which would have been so heinous in life, was
deemed perfectly congruous in the arts, and honoured with the
approbation of the Roman critics, historians and people. This com-
prehensive license was in the spirit of those ages ; but a naked sta.
tue of George IV., of Nelson, Dr. Johnson, or of any other modern
king or worthy, would be justly censured, as being contrary to our
modern notions of propriety and decency: therefore our British
sculptors conform, in this respect, to the spirit of the time and the
religious sense of the people. Montesquieu has justly observed,
and Blackstone and Paley concur with that eminent authority, that
there is a right reason in all things, which right reason constitutes
the law by which each exists and is regulated. The right reason

“ Introduction to Peveril of the Peak.

ON CERTAIN INCONSIDERATE CRITICISMS. 245

and law of poetry, painting, and sculpture is to please and interest
the mind and feelings, without exceeding decorum, general probabi-
lity, or general nature. I have instanced where historical truth is
necessary, and with this reserve, the universal practice of Greece
and Rome proves this law to be founded in unerring principles.
An attempt to judge of the arts and to rule artists in all things by
the conventional and fluctuating congruities of modern society, is
an endeavour to set up a cold “ punctilio of reason” against the
practice of all ages or countries, in which the arts have flourished.
It is calculated to dull the imaginative powers of genius and de-
grade the arts.

As “The Installation” is an extraordinary manifestation of va-
rious powers by one of the most extraordinary geniuses of the pre-
sent day, I am anxious to prevent any ill effect from this charge of
incongruity, and I shall add one more authority—that of Sir Joshua
Reynolds—in the following extract from his Discourses: “ In all
the pictures which Raffaelle painted of the Apostles, he has drawn
them with great nobleness ; and he has given them as much digni-
ty as the human form is capable of receiving; yet we are expressly
told, in Scripture, they had no such respectable appearance; and of
St. Paui in particular, we are told by himself, that his bodily pre-
sence was mean. Alexander is said to have been of low stature; a
painter ought not so to represent him: Agesilaus was low, lame,
and of a mean appearance; none ef those defects ought to appear
in a piece of which he is the hero. * * All this is not falsifying
any fact, it is only taking an allowed poetical license.”*

Sir Joshua Reynolds also remarks, ‘the conduct of Rubens in
the Luxembourg gallery, where that great master has mixed alle-
gorical figures with the representations of real personages, which
must be acknowledged to be a fault ; yet if the artist considered
himself as engaged to furnish this gallery with a rich, various, and
splendid ornament, this could not be done—at least in an equal
degree—without peopling the air and water with those allegorical
figures ; he, therefore, accomplished all that he proposed. In this
case, all lesser considerations, which tend to obstruct the great end of

* Piscourse IV.

246 CURSORY OBSERVATIONS

the work, must yield and give way. The variety, which portraits
and allegorical figures produce, is not to be slightly given up upon
a punctilio of reason, when that reason deprives the art, in a man-
ner, of its very existence.”

In this instance, the exploded Heathen Mythology supplied Ru-
bens with his allegorical figures. The materials, thus obtained,
were not only contrary to probability, but to possibility ; yet their
introduction is justified by Sir Joshua, on the broad ground that
they contributed essentially to the end which the painter had in
view, of rendering his series of pictures more interesting and agree-
able. It is true those allegorical figures had a symbolical applica.
tion to the real or supposed qualities of Mary of Medicis, and to the
most remarkable events of her life. Rubens was, also, kept in
countenance by the spirit of the age; for all the poets and painters,
his contemporaries, were accustomed to introduce these fabulous
deities, with an emblematical signification, in their works. Shak-
speare, with a similar view and license, but with infinitely more
effect, introduced ghosts and witehes in Macbeth and Hamlet: but
in doing so, he, also, availed himself of the spirit of the age ; and,
probably, he, likewise, partook of the belief in those apparitions and
demoniac mysteries which then prevailed all over the world. These
supernatural agents possessed a fearful interest in his scenes, at that
time: at present, when they are disbelieved and laughed at, our
dramatic writers have laid them aside as worse than useless. In
any modern tragedy, they would be hooted off the stage; and the
piece damned. 7

Shakspeare uniformly violated the unities of time and place to
suit his purpose, and render his dramas more effective. If his daring
imagination had been cribbed in and confined by an unseasonable
punctilio of reason, and a fear of incurring an inapplicable charge
of incongruity, he would, probably, never have merited Dr. John-
son’s admirable descriptive lines,

* He looked through nature at a single view,
Exhausted worlds, and then imagined new.”

* Discourse VII.

ON CERTAIN INCONSIDERATE CRITICISMS. 247

If his lofty genius had been reined in and curbed with the
bridle of frigid and mistaken criticism, he would not have dared
a flight beyond “ this visible diurnal sphere.” There can be little
doubt but his fiery spirit would have been tamed down to the dull
jog-trot of an ordinary play-wright.

I have, in these remarks, endeavoured, to the best of my humble
abilities, to answer an objection which is so frequently urged, with-
out just consideration, against almost every British historical or
poetical picture ; and I hope I have satisfied the readers that the
charge of incongruities in the Installation is groundless. The sanc-
tion of Greece and Rome, in their purest ages—of Raffaelle and
Rubens—of Reynolds, Dr. J ohnson (in the last quotation respecting
Shakspeare), and Sir Walter Scott, fully prove there is a noble
congruity or fitness in the arts founded in general nature, in accord
with religious propriety and the spirit of the time; but far more
elevated and comprehensive than the conventional congruity (so ne-_
_cessary and commendable in its proper place) or decorum of the
social classes, at the present day. The former, according to the
precept of Shakspeare, tempers its divine heat with method and
judgment. It is that sublime fervour which, on great and noble
occasions, enkindles

“Thoughts that breathe and words that burn,”

and

“ Snatches a grace beyond the rules of art ;”

that is, beyond the mere formal rules of pedantic criticism, which,
by injudiciously enforcing what Sir Joshua Reynolds has so aptly
termed “a punctilio of reason,” out of place and unseasonably, ope-
rates, it is to be feared, too frequently, like the film of a cataract on

“ The painter’s eye, in a fine frenzy rolling,”

and dims, or extinguishes, its power of vision. Each of these con-
gtuities has its distinct province and separate license. The one ap-
plies to Michael Angelo, Raffaelle, and the grand style of historical
and poetical painting—the other, to Teniers, Wilkie, Mulready,

248 CHEMISTRY.

Me‘Clise, and all pictures on the level of familiar life. The great
error of criticism lies in applying or judging by either of those con-
gruities out of its proper department.

November 11th, 1835.

[Neither my limits nor my time permit me to enter into the objection
against the Installation of Captain Rock, on account of its tendency as a real
or supposed party picture. My admiration of its various excellences does
not at all imply any approbation of the choice of subject. Struck with the
extraordinary power of genius which it displays, I endeavoured te counteract
erroneous criticism, and doe justice te its details, in two of my critical letters,
under the signature of Lorenzo, published in The Worcester Herald ; and I
subsequently made a similar effort in The Analyst. 'The London newspapers
have last week announced the election of Mc‘Clise to the tank of an associate
of the Royal Academy; and the provincial publications here mentioned
have had their full share in the duty of heralding this shining star of the
British school to.that well-merited dignity.]

CHEMISTRY.

Tue decline of science in this country has ‘been strongly repre-
sented, and deeply lamented, by scientific men. The paths of gci-
ence, it has been said, are crowded by triflers ; few individuals at-
tain the termination of the beaten track ; while the labourers who
are employed in extending it into unexplored regions, are in number
fewer, and in their exertions less strenuous, than in former periods:
but the traveller who now treads the stupendous road across the
Simplon, must not be condemned, though he have no intention of
extending it over yet untrodden. mountains, and has, perhaps, no
higher object in view than to visit foreign lands in order to enjoy
their “ goodly prospects.” ‘The times are characterized not by vast
individual accumulations of knowledge, ‘but ‘by its general diffusion ;
and though fewer profeund works on science may of late have been
produced, those of a popular description have greatly increased.
The amount of knowledge thus diffused, is generally under-esti-

as

CHEMISTRY. 249

mated. Accumulated capital is essential to the profitable employ-
ment of labour ; and if this maxim be applicable to political econo-
my, how much more so to the economy of knowledge. Each suc.
cessive generation is in possession of the resources, the accumulated
labour, of former generations; and more knowledge is now easily
acquired, than the labour of a life could formerly have secured. He
would now be denominated poor, who is not really richer than the
wealthy of two hundred years ago; and that man would be consi-
dered as ignorant, who is not possessed of more valuable information
than the learned of an earlier periud. There was then no “ Royal
road to learning ;” but now, the forests are cleared, the morasses
are drained, the hills are levelled, and such suitable conveyances
have been provided, that a journey, formerly toilsome and tedious,
is now easy and agreeable. The traveller has no longer to trace for
himself a path through an unsurveyed wilderness, sometimes lying
down in despair, and at others threading, with indefatigable per.
severance, a maze terminating far wide of the track he ought to
have pursued. The path, now, “is so smooth, so green, so full of
goodly prospects and melodious sounds on every side, that the harp
of Orpheus was not niore charming.” And are the multitudes who
are in pursuit of knowledge, because they have climbed no rugged
steeps, and have ascended by easy acclivities, to be told that they
are loiterers, and have attained to nothing? General readers on
science are situated like the inhabitants of Mexico, who, it is
true, dwell upon a plain, but it is a plain elevated, indeed, above
the tops of the mountains with which our forefathers were ac-
quainted. :

Among the sciences there is none which has become so ‘popular
as Chemistry, and for this it is by no means difficult to account.

The commencement of most studies is tedious, but the very rudi-
ments of Chemistry are interesting, and are enlivened by curious

and beautiful experiments. Most ailerices are of remote origin, and
their advancement is slow, but ‘Chemistry, as a science, is altogether
_ of recent creation, while the rapidity of its progress, the brilliancy
of its discoveries, and the astonishing facts which it reveals, con-
stantly excite, in the mind of the student, the pleasure arising from
novelty and — |

250 CHEMISTRY.

The splendid progress of Chemistry is well depicted in a quaint,
but beautiful, description of a sunrise, by Bishop Taylor. The sci-
ence had long been hidden during the dim star-light of a dreary
night, occasionally lighted up, perchance, for a moment, by the
quick passage of a fiery meteor, and relapsing again into a deeper
darkness. ‘ But when the sun approaches towards the gates of the
morning, he first opens a little eye of heaven, and sends away the
spirits of darkness, and gives light to a cock, and calls up the lark
to matins, and, by and bye, gilds the fringes of a cloud, and peeps
over the eastern hills, thrusting out his golden horns like those
which decked the brows of Moses, when he was forced to wear a
veil because himself had seen the face of God; and still while a
man tells the story, the sun gets up higher, till he shews a fair face
and a full light.” Such was the state of Chemistry during the long
night of alchemy—such its sudden rise and development ; and
it still may be considered but as in the early dawn of a glorious
day.

It may not, perhaps, be uninteresting to take a rapid survey of
the progress of Chemistry. The ancients practised many of the
arts dependant upon Chemistry—as those of dyeing and smelting—
but in profound ignorance of the principles upon which they de-
pended. Then arose Geber, the Arabian, the father of the most
indefatigable race of men which the world ever produced.* Their
researches were, however, principally confined to the visionary pur-
suit of the philosopher’s stone, and that of the elixir of life, which
were to confer upon the possessor unbounded wealth, and an immor-
tality of blooming youth. Upon this subject, five thousand volumes

* ‘The style in which the earliest of the chemists wrote, was not particu-
larly lucid and simple. The names of two of these writers, that of Geber,
and that of Phillippus Aureolus Theophrastus Parocelsus Bombast ab
Hohenheim, are immortalized in our English words gibberish, correctly ge-
berish, and bombast. The following is Geber’s account of that grand deside-
ratum, the philosopher’s stone. “ We endeavour to make one substance,
yet compounded and composed of many; so permanently fixed, that bein
put upon the fire, the fire cannot injure; and that it may be mixed wit
metals in flux and flow with them, and enter into that which in them is of
an ingressible substance, and be fermented with that which in them is ofa —
permeable substance, and be consolidated with that which in them is of con-
solidable substance, and be fixed with that which in them is of a fixable sub-
stance, and not be burnt by those things which burn not gold and silver, and
take pie! consolidation, and weights with due ignition.” —History of Chemis-
try, i, 132. .

CHEMISTRY. 251

have been written ; and it is melancholy to reflect upon the misdi-
rected talent, the unsubdued industry, the life-consuming energy,
with which every object under heaven was tortured to reveal the
grand secret. So completely were these deluded men absorbed in
their golden visions, that friends, fortune, reputation, health, were
sacrificed, and life itself was forfeited without a murmur. To their

. heated imaginations, not only the celestial bodies seemed to influence

their pursuits, but angels and demons were engaged in forwarding or
jn frustrating their views. Heaven was to be propitiated by fasting,
by watching, and by prayer, and the powers of darkness were to be
compelled by magic, which, ridiculous as it seems to us, was to them
fraught with all the terrors of a real combat with satanic agents.
Never, surely, was the fable of the Treasure in the Vineyard more
literally fulfilled ; for while they dug in vain for hidden wealth,
which nowhere existed, they prepared the ground for a rich vin-
tage ; they discovered many valuable agents, and laid the foundation
of the most important branch of natural philosophy. Then came
the times of Stahl and the phlogistic hypothesis, succeeded by that
of Priestly, Lavoisier, and Cavendish ; periods rich in discovery,
and in which successive theories were proposed, gradually approxi.
mating to the truth. At length, in our own days, the atomic theory,
or doctrine of definite proportions, was distinctly propounded. The
chemist was enabled to reduce the approximations of analysis to ma~
thematical precision, and Chemistry was at once elevated to the
rank of an exact science. Galvanism was applied as a chemical
agent, and revealed the metallic bases of the alkalies and earths.
Discoveries, still incomplete, have shewn that all chemical changes
are dependant upon this subtle agent, and that they are effected by
it with a power surpassing the bounds of the wildest imagination ;
for it is highly probable that, during the decomposition of a drop
of water by a grain of zinc, more electricity is evolved than is elicited
in a thunder-storm. It has been proved that the particles of the
most solid substances are in constant motion, and that, so far from
matter being endowed with a vis inertiw, there is nothing in nature
that is at rest ; and it has been demonstrated that bodies exist, such,
for instance, as succinic and acetic acids, differing widely in external
appearance, and in their properties, yet consisting of the same ele.

252 CHEMISTRY.

ments, combined in the same proportions, but whose atoms are dif-
ferently arranged. Changes the most singular have been found to be
readily effected in organic substances, such, for instance, as the con-
version of saw-dust into gum, sugar, acetic, formic, and oxalic acids,
and alcohol. Vegetable alkalies have been discovered, containing, in
a few grains, the active principle of considerable quantities of the
most powerful drugs ; some of them so potent as to extinguish life
in doses almost infinitessimal: while every new discovery, instead
of narrowing the field for exertion, opens to the view new paths for
investigation.

On reflecting upon these extraordinary discoveries, we cannot
contemplate without pleasure the amount of talent employed in fur-
thering the progress of the science, nor feel surprised at the popular
interest which it has excited; and it is our intention, in future
numbers of T'he Analyst, to report the recent discoveries which are
made in the science, and the improvements effected in the arts
dependant upon it, both in this country and upon the continent ;
occasionally to furnish sketches of the manufactures immediately —
connected with it, and our readers will, we trust, sometimes permit
us to insert papers more strictly scientific. As this paper has
already extended to a considerable length, we can at present merely
notice the discovery of another of those active vegetable principles,
which every fresh analysis of plants brings to light.

This substance which has been termed Diatase* by its discoverers,
M™M. Payen and Persoz, occurs in barley which has just begun to
vegetate. It has little or no action upon any organic matter,
excepting starch, upon which it is so considerable as to render 2,000
times its weight of the latter soluble in four times as much warm wa-
ter. Ifthe proportion of the diatase be increased to about one two-
hundredth of the weight of the starch, and the whole heated to a
temperature less than that of boiling, it will be found that the starch

* Diatase is procured by bruising in a mortar fresh sprouted barley, mois-
tening it with half its weight of water, and submitting it to pressure. The
liquid which separates, is mixed with a sufficient quantity of alcohol to de-
stroy its viscidity and i org the azotized matter, which is separated by
filtration. The filtered solution, precipitated by alcohol, affords impure dia-
tase; which is purified by three additional solutions and pret itations. It
is then collected on a filtre, dried on plates of glass, and kept in well-closed
vials.—See Records of Science.

REMARKS ON THE NECEssITY, &c. 253

has been wholly converted into a mixture of sugar with a gum, re-
sembling gum arabic. The latter is now employed, in the great
hospitals of Paris, as a substitute for gum arabic.

The fact has been long known, though not previously accounted
for, that beer, equally strong, may be brewed from a mixture of malt
and barley, as from malt alone; and distillers have availed them-
selves of this circumstance. The starch of the barley is, by the ac-
tion of the diatase of the malt, converted into gum and sugar, and
the latter, when fermented, furnishes the alcohol or spirit.

In organic analysis, diatase, from the extraordinary power which
it possesses of rendering soluble so vast a proportion of starch, will
render valuable service, as it will enable the chemist to separate the
smallest portions from foreign substances.

REMARKS ON THE NECESSITY OF IMPROVEMENT
IN EDUCATION.

NorwitTHsTANDING the importance of the subject, and the care
which has been bestowed in its investigation, education is yet in its
infancy. This circumstance has arisen from the neglect with which
those engaged in the instruction of youth have treated everything
relatin@to the mind, and its springs of action. If teachers are ut-
erly ignorant of the right method of imparting instruction, both
moral and intellectual—and no one can deny that they are—it cer- |
tainly cannot be owing to any scarcity of excellent publications, or
high authorities, on the subject. Locke’s Thoughts on Education,
was published as far back as 1690, and abounds in excellent pre-
cepts and sound advice to preceptors ; and if they had imbibed but
a tithe of the wholesome doctrines developed in this valuable little
work, they would have rendered their own situation more pleasant
to themselves, and more profitable and delightful to their pupils.
Teachers, both in private families and in schools, have generally
received their education at some public school ; and if human in-

254 REMARKS ON THE NECESSITY OF

genuity were taxed to devise a system of instruction diametrically
opposed to that which ‘reason and justice dictate, it would be hard
to devise a plan more dissonant with every principle of humanity
than the one now generally adopted. After leaving college, the
embryo tutor is said to have “finished his education ;” but in what
way? By having been instructed in the principles of the com-
monest phenomena which present themselves in nature’? By learn-
ing the simplest processes of art? By being initiated in the won-
ders of chemistry, natural philosophy, astronomy, geology, and last,
though not least, anthropology? No!—but by having pored over
the vice-stained pages of the Greek and Roman authors—by having
been taught to sympathize with injustice, cruelty, and vice in every
shape. In The Phrenological Journal it is remarked :~“< There is
a scarcity of teachers possessing knowledge sufficient to render them
capable of conducting an institution established on the principles of
reason or common sense. This isnot to be wondered at, considering
how few are educated for the profession, and that every person who
has been reduced to poverty, by misfortune or indiscretion, comes to
swell the ranks of the guides and preceptors of youth :” and again ;
“In Britain, however, where no one can practice physic without
having his qualifications closely scrutinized, every body may take
upon him to teach.”

It isa matter of astonishment how ‘slow the world has been pro-
gressing in everything relating to education. Most of the errors
condemned by Locke, as prevalent in ‘his time, are prevalent now.
Among these may be reckoned the extraordinary custom of @ngaging
a tutor with scarce any previous examination. ‘I will quote a pas-
sage from the work of that great man in illustration of this fact -—
‘©The character of a sober man ‘and a scholars, as I have above
observed, what ‘every ‘one expects in ‘a ‘tutor. ‘This, generally, is
thought quite ‘enough, “and is ‘all ‘that parents commonly look for.
But when such-an one ‘has émiptied out into his pupil all the Latin
and logic he has brought ftom the University, will that furniture
makehim a fine gentleman? Or can ‘it be‘expected that he should
be better bred, better skilled “in ‘the world, ‘better principled in the
grounds arid foundations of true virtue and generosity, than “his
‘tator is?” 2 | th

IMPROVEMENT IN EDUCATION. 955

A knowledge of phrenology is indispensably necessary to an in-
structor of youth, as this science clearly shows that every pupil pos-
sesses faculties differing in power, and each pupil, consequently,
requires a different mode of treatment. The generality of teachers
appear ignorant that the capacities of children differ ; but if these
enlightened instructors of the nineteenth century would consult one
who wrote nearly two hundred years ago, they would learn that
“« God has stamped certain characters upon men’s minds which, like
their shapes, may, perhaps, be a little mended, but can hardly be
totally altered and transformed into the contrary. He, therefore,
who is about children, should well study their natures and aptitudes,
and see, by often trials, what turn they easily take, and what their
native stock is, how it may be improved, and what it is fit for: he
should consider what they want, whether they be capable of
having it wrought into them by industry, and incorporated there
by practice ; and whether it be worth while to endeavour it: for in
many cases, all that we can do, or should aim at, is to make the best
of what nature has given, to prevent the vices and faults to which
such a constitution is most inclined, and give it all the advantages
it is capable of. Every one’s natural genius should be carried as
far as possible, but to attempt the putting another upon him will be
but labour in vain.” For instance, if a person has the organ of lan.
guage Jargely developed, but that of number small, he will makea
good linguist, although it will be a vain attempt to make him an
arithmetician. In the above-quoted passage, Locke recommends
that the teacher should, “by often trials,” discover the natural turn
of the pupil’s mind, but phrenology renders this unnecessary. An
inspection of the pupil’s head will give the teacher a more intimate
and a more correct knowledge of a pupil’s character and aptitudes,
than he would gain by living twelve or twenty years under ‘the
same roof. '

In a former paper on the subject of education,* I observed—~
“it may safely be affirmed that if a pupil does not advance in his
studies, or does not advance so quickly as is expected, the fault is
and I subsequently came to the conclusion, that,

>

never his own ;’

* Vide Analyst, vol. ii., p. 413.

256 REMARKS ON THE NECESSITY OF

“‘in every case in which the pupil remains stationary, or advances
but slowly, the cause must be referred either to the ignorance of
the teacher, or to the mal-organization of the pupil’s brain.”

It may be enquired how I arrived at this conclusion ; I answer,
from constant and close observation. If it was not true, the business
of teaching would indeed be a dreary and dispiriting occupation.
The master would be at the mercy of the pupil, and no care on the
part of the former could insure him a harvest in proportion to the
pains bestowed in cultivating the mind of the pupil. But by adopt-
ing the plan nature has wisely marked out, the teacher may be as-
sured that, if his pupil is blessed with moderate talents, his reward
will be in proportion to the skill and care he has bestowed on his
youthful charge. This is a cheering thought, and it ought to be
known and cherished by every one who has the care of youth:

I have invariably remarked that, in proportion to the ignorance
and unskilfulness of the tutor, in the same ratio are the frequent
complaints of the want of mental capacity in the pupil. The
trite adage of “ A bad husbandman complains of his soil,” is equally
applicable in teaching. The act of imparting knowledge has been
aptly compared to pouring water into bottles. Some children have
less aptitude for learning than others, and these resemble the bottles
which have narrow necks; and so much the more skill is requisite
in these instances. What glory is there in having brought up men
of genius? these will acquire knowledge under the worst, or rather,
in spite of the worst, systems of teaching, and is amply testified by
the few (comparatively few) great men who have received their
education within the precincts of our public schools and universities.
But let the teacher exert his talents in bringing forth mediocrity ;
here is scope for his skill—here is a field for his exertions.

It is notorious that compulsion makes even the pleasantest things
disagreeable. Locke understood this, and in order to convince those
who are guided by authority when reason alone would fail, I shall
quote his words :—‘ None of the things they [pupils] are to learn,
should ever be made a burden to them, or imposed on them as a
task. Whatever is so proposed, presently becomes irksome ;_ the
mind takes an aversion to it, though before it were a thing of de-
light or indifference. Let.a child be ordered to whip his top at a

IMPROVEMENT IN EDUCATION. 257

certain time every day, whether he has or has not a mind to it ; let
this be but required of him as a duty, wherein he must spend so
many hours morning and afternoon, and see whether he will not
soon be weary of any play at this rate. Is it not so with grown
men? What they do cheerfully of themselves, do they not pre-
‘sently grow sick of, and can no more endure, as soon as they find it
is expected of them as a duty? Children have as much a mind to
shew that they are free, that their own good actions come from
themselves, as any of the proudest of you grown men, think of them
as you please.” I knew a youth who wasa striking confirmation of
this. He was, at one period, remarkably fond of walking with his
tutor ; but after a time, when. obliged to walk every evening, for an
hour, in his society, he: became disgusted with the dreaded pro-
menade.

Locke truly observes—‘“ I am apt to think perverseness in. the
pupils is often the effect of frowardness in the tutor.? When we
hear, therefore, a tutor making bitter complaints of the backward-.
ness of his pupils, it may be fairly inferred that he is not fit for his
situation. A teacher should endeavour to interest his pupils in their
studies, and induce them to take a delight in their intellectual em-
ployments. )

But I am far from advocating a lax mode of training. Mr. Ab-
bott truly remarks—* It is a great, though very prevalent, mistake,
to imagine that boys and girls like a lax and inefficient government,
and dislike the pressure of heavy control. What they dislike is sour
looks and irritating language ; and they, therefore, are, very natu-
rally, averse to everything introduced and sustained by their means.
If, however, exactness and precision. in all the. operations of a class,
and of the school, are introduced and enforced in the proper manner,
i. e., by a firm, but mild and good-humoured, authority, scholars
will universally be pleased with them. They like the uniform ap-
pearance, the straight line, the simultaneous movement. They like
to feel the operation of system, and to realize, while they are in the
school-room, that they form a community, governed by fixed and
steady laws, firmly, but pleasantly, administered. On the other
hand, laxity of discipline, and the disorder which will result from
it, will only lead the pupils to despise their teacher, and to hate

January, 1836.—vou. 111., NO. XIV. s

258 REMARKS ON THE NECESSITY, &c.

their school.” It is firmness, joined with good-humour, that is so
essential a requisite for a teacher. He who is perpetually with a
fierce countenance, angry tone, and harsh words, will soon fall into
contempt, and he will, at last, cease even to be a seare-crow. Mas-
ters of this unfortunate disposition always seem to forget that, by
roughly speaking to the pupil, they set an example of the same to
the objects of their pernicious passion. ‘“ Passionate chiding,” says
Locke, “ usually carries rough and ill language with it, which has
this further ill effect, that it teaches and justifies it in children.
And the names that parents and preceptors give them, they will not
be ashamed to bestow on others, having so good an authority for the
use of them.” As long as teachers adopt this system, they will ex-
cite the contempt of their pupils, who will make little or no pro-
gress, except in the development of their animal organs.

It is often said that peculiar and careful methods of teaching may
be necessary with infants, but when a pupil has “ arrived at a cer-
tain age,” he should work independent of the teacher, from whom
he would only require occasional hints. This might be the case if
a right method of instruction was adopted when young. But, as
Locke truly remarks, “ having made them ill children, we foolishly
expect them to be good men.” And this expectation, like every
other founded on wrong grounds, always has been, and always will
be, disappointed.

I have only been able to touch on a few of the more prominent
topics relating to education in this paper, owing to my limited
space ; but as it is a subject which involves the well-being and hap-
piness of aJl classes, I trust these remarks will induce an investiga-

tion into the defective system which at present exists in this country-
S. D. W.

259

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY OF BOTANY
TO MEDICINE.

By C. Jounson, Lecturer on Botany at Guy’s Hospital.*

REVERTING to the state of the medical profession some twenty or
thirty years back, and the ignorance of too many of its self-elected
practitioners, of the most essential requisites for a pretender to the
healing art, a knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the hu-
man frame, and the symptoms and treatment of the various dis-
eases by which its functions are liable to be interrupted and im-
paired—the denizen of the present time has much reason to congra-
tulate himself upon the revolution which it has undergone since
that period—a revolution that has contributed towards rendering
even the uncertain tenure of mortality less precarious, by securing
to him the advice and assistance of persons expressly qualified, by
their education, for that purpose. The impudent system of quack-
ery, so often held up to ridicule at the present day, was certainly
not without its parallel formerly in the so-called medical pro-
fession, when, after a longer or shorter period spent in pounding
and compounding, the capability of administering both simples and
compounds seemed naturally to follow. The lengthened and im-
portant course of studies required at the present day, does not
wholly preclude the possibility of a man of inferior talent en-
tering the profession, but we have still the satisfaction of knowing
that a complete blockhead has not the same opportunity that he
once had, of placing himself in competition with the man of ability
and liberal education.

Of the various branches of knowledge that bear upon medical
science, Botany seems to have been the most backward in arresting
the attention of those entrusted with the superintendence of medical
education. The improvement of this latter has been progressive ;
and the impression of the high importance of those studies that led
to a knowledge of the structure and functions of the animal body,

* The following paper was read before the Medico-Botanical Society,
London, on the first meeting of the present session, Nov. 10th, 1835.

s 2

a0. ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY OF

of the practice of medicine, of chemistry, and materia medica, caused
them, under the then existing circumstances, to precede that of bo-
tany. Hence, indeed; long after the establishment of schools for
the tuition and preparation of candidates for medical license, it con-
tinued to’ be regarded as a mere adjunct of the latter class, materia
medica. As such it was confined, in this country at least, to the
notice of the plants of the pharmacopeeia ; and as regarded his pro-
gress in a science now so complex, the student of medicine, thus tu-
tored, resembled the preacher who could read, but only in his own
book. He might have learned to know the drowsy poppy of the
garden, perhaps even to trace its relation with the gaudier crimson
tenants of the corn-field—challenge the drastic hellebore, the fox-
glove, nightshade, and conium, of his native land; but was rarely
capable of extending his lore to the more distant affinities which
characterize the vegetation of a different clime; and therefore ill-
calculated to avail himself of their valuable, or to avoid their bane-
ful, properties: still less to add, by observation and experiment, to
the most useful department of that science, to a knowledge of which
he would, probably, pretend.

Among the several causes which have led to a more extended ap-
plication of botany to the purposes of medicine, the establishment of
the Medico-Botanical Society may certainly lay considerable claim to
public notice. During its career, the attention of a large portion of
the junior members and aspirants of the profession, has been directed
by it to the importance of a subject which, but for their attendance
upon its meetings, would, probably, have remained a matter of in-
difference to them. I say of indifference—because the extensive
facilities afforded to the mere mechanical practitioner, and of such
there are, unfortunately, still too many, by the vast commercial ma-
chinery of this ever active and enterprising nation, has rendered
him, in a great measure, independent of his own resources. He
gives an order to his druggist, depending upon the latter for the
correctness of its execution ; and as to anything farther, why—as
an unworthy disciple of Esculapius not long since replied toa friend
of mine, who ventured to hint that too violent medicine had been
administered to an infant— There is a book called the pharmaco-
peia, in which the art of compounding medicines for every disorder,

BOTANY TO MEDICINE. - 26)

and even the proportionate doses for every age, are duly set down.
I always consult that book before I prescribe, and therefore, Madam,
cannot be under a mistake.” So that, really, with a good druggist,
named bottles and jars, and Thompson’s Dispensatory upon his
counter, such a man may do a good stroke of business, as the mer-
cantile phrase has it, with very little judgment, but a great deal of
satisfaction—to himself. For the sake of their patients, I fear very
few such attend here ; for they would learn, at least, that drugs
will vary very greatly in quality—that the bark, the root, the herb
of the same species, gathered at different seasons, do not contain the
same principles; this, at one period, is an active-medicine, at ano-
ther, next to useless; and besides, if chicanery will practice upon
the immediate necessaries of life, the commerce of medicine is not
likely to be wholly free from its impositions.

Experience has shewn that not only the imported articles of the
materia medica, but even those of home growth, are often the ve-
hicles of fraud that renders negative, if it does not totally subvert
the intentions of the adviser. The leaves of the senna are mingled
with those of several other plants, of less valuable and of deleterious
quality ; the lithontriptic and diuretic properties of the uva-ursi,
are supplanted by the simple astringency of the vaccin. vit. id.: and
even the bark of the tree of life itself—the highly-prized cinchona
—is vilified, and its restorative virtues abused, by the cupidity of
the fraudulent and grasping trader, who, with no other object in
view than that of his individual profit, scruples not to impose upon
his ignorant customers that of other trees of inferior worth. Now,
even in the state in which these and numerous other vegetable sub-
stances are submitted to the inspection of the faculty, a knowledge
of botany will often afford a test of no small importance in the
choice of an article which a person proposes to prescribe and admi-
nister, where his fortune, and, what is more valuable to a medical
man, his reputation, is at stake. Even a very few years since, how
few in this country were possessed of a sufficient share of that know-
ledge for such an application of it. Men who had risen to the
highest rank in their profession, scarce knew a nettle from a crow-
foot, and the capability of not confounding a mullein with a fox-
glove, seemed almost a miraculous stretch of botanical acquirement

262 ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY OF

for a doctor, to one who had heard, in a very learned assembly too,
a yellow gentian, in full flower, hailed asa splendid specimen of digi-
talis. Such ignorance, however, was pardonable in the accomplished
individual who betrayed it—in one educated at a period in which
the utility of botany was not even dreamed of, as a necessary part
of the study for a physician. Now, however, who would be justi-
fied in pleading apology for overlooking or slighting the advantages
it offers? Surely no one is ignorant that the structure of the
vegetable frame is determined by laws as absolute, as invariable in
their action, when left to the guidance of nature, as are those which
govern the development of the various species of animal existence ;
and that as the mighty genius of comparative anatomy, the highly
talented and lamented Cuvier, could, by his magic touch, bid the
disunited and scattered bones of a thousand different individuals ar-
range in the original order of the frames they once gave form to
and supported ; so the botanist, practised in the intricate lore of
vegetable anatomy and physiology, reads often, in the venation of a
leaf, or the texture of a bark, the character of the plant to which it
belonged, in opposition to that of others whose products may be
mingled with them. Thus, without any knowledge of the individu-
al plant which produced them, he would scarcely suspect the dotted
leaves of this plant, to possess the same qualities with the finely re-
ticulated ones of that beside it~—because the very presence of such
dots upon leaves, which are glands for the secretion of some essen-
tial oil, he knows to be, in almost every instance, an important and
invariable feature of the order or natural group in which it is found,
and, therefore, that their absence betokens very different affinities
and properties. In the same way, he would not mistake the silky-
textured bark of the thymeleew, the daphne or mezereum tribe, for
that of the laurinee, the bay or cinnamon tribe; the different struc-
ture of the two would be to him as certainly indicative of their
being the produce of two widely distant orders, as is the caustic
character of the former, contrasted with the fine aromatic and sto-
machic qualities of the latter.

It is true such important distinctions as these may not exist be-
tween the much libelled Peruvian drug, and its spurious substitutes
or representatives, but another branch of botanical knowledge would

BOTANY TO MEDICINE. 263

at least be sometimes useful even here. Had he, in addition to the
structure and economy of the more highly organized plants, traced
that of the descending series to the lowest verge of vegetable vita-
lity, and observed the distribution of the varied forms of both, such
circumstances would not be destitute of utility. He would have
become aware that the numerous species of lichens and fungi are
confined to peculiar media, upon which alone they would seem to
be capable of existing. The various primitive and secondary rocks
yield a resting place to particular species of the former tribe espe-
cially ; and so invariable is this attachment that the geological bo-
tanist, if I may be allowed the expression—seeing it is scarcely pos-
sible to separate, at least, an outline of the one science from an
intimate acquaintance with the other—the geological botanist will
often judge, by the hue of its surface clothed with a thin coating of
primeval vegetation, the composition of the rock which he is ap-
proaching. Thus, likewise, the greater number of the epiphytic
lichens, though probably subsisting solely upon the moisture con-
tained in the atmosphere, are not indiscriminately scattered upon
the stems of all the different species of trees in the same climate,
but vegetate exclusively upon those the outer surfaces of whose
barks afford them the necessary texture to which nature has adapted
their powers of adherence. The skilful landscape-painter knows
how to adapt his colours thus to the trunks of those trees he is de-
sirous of representing ; he sees that of the oak invariably differing
in the hue of its humble dependants, from that of the beech, the
elm from the willow, and so on of others.

The fragments of the imported barks carry these minute and
long-neglected adherents to the living fabric which bore them, even
after being housed for years in the obscurity of our warehouses,
so little altered that the eye of the cryptogamic botanist is at no
loss to detect their very species. The memoir of Fée contains much
curious matter for speculation upon this subject ; and though his
researches have, perhaps, had more importance attached to them, by
some, than they actually deserve, it cannot be contested that these
natural indications of organic difference between the spurious and
true officinal barks, are entitled to more attention than the incredu-
lous, because often ignorant, inspector is willing to allow.

264 ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE sTUDY, &c.

Future observation will probably render them still more so, by
associating them with important geographical phenomena It is an
indisputable fact that certain genera, and even orders, of plants are
mutually adapted, by that similarity in their organization which
occasions us-to class them together, to inhabit, almost exclusively,
_ the different climates in which they are indigenous: particular pro-
portions in the mean temperature and moisture of the atmosphere,
perhaps combined with some other yet unappreciable influences,
acting under different parallels, or at different elevations upon the
surface of our globe, have prescribed limits which some of the natu-
ral groups of the vegetable kingdom have never yet passed, or
beyond which they are but very slowly progressing. Thus, the
extensive genus Erica, or Heath, consisting of about four hundred
known species, belongs almost exclusively to the southern extremi-
ty of Africa ; some eight or ten are scattered over Europe, but not
a single species ‘has been hitherto discovered on the opposite conti-
nent of America, or its islands. There, ‘however, the Cacti com-
municate a remarkable feature to the equatorial regions, and the
Oaks and Magnolias to the northern continent. ‘To the neighbour-
hood of the Cape of Good Hope, the country of the Eric, our col-
lections are, likewise, indebted for the multitudinous families of
Pelargonium and Mesembryanthemum ; while, on the other hand,
the Passiflore without, and the Bignone with very few, exceptions,
are confined to the meridianal or central part of the new continent.
Of the Roses, not a single indigenous species is known either in
South America or Africa. Of the Aloes, only one species is a
doubtful native of the West-Indian islands—the Barbadoes Aloe of
the shops ; three or four species only of a genus originally very nu-
merous, though now divided, are met with out of Africa: while,
on the contrary, two allied genera, the Yucca and Agave, are ex-
clusively aborigines of the western continent. ‘Other natural groups
and their species are found only at particular elevations above the
level of the ocean. The Cinchonacee of the tropical forests, Hum-
boldt ascertained to be confined by ‘limits of this description. And
though some of the epiphytic lichens are found to be indifferent
to temperature, others are only capable of existing at a certain
mean, and their presence, therefore, upon the dried bark would be

SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY. 265

indicative of the natural site of the tree that produced it. We are
yet, however, but as children in regard to our knowledge of the
mutual dependence of organic beings upon each other ; and still
more so, when we view them in connection with the complicated
chemical and mechanical agency with which their existence is amal-
gamated.

SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY.
(Gouxn’s “ Birps or Evrore.”)

In conformity with the pledge given in the last number of The
Analyst, we proceed to analyse the splendid work of Mr. Gould on
Lhe Birds of Europe. The First Part, with which we shall com-
mence, made its appearance in June, 1832, and has been regularly
followed up, at intervals of three months, by the publication of its
successors. Each part consists of twenty folio plates: the figures
drawn upon stone, in a style of uncommon accuracy, and, in gene-
ral, coloured with admirable taste, fidelity, and effect. The more
striking peculiarities of plumage, which result from age or sex, are
frequently illustrated by the introduction of two figures ; and some-
times, although more rarely than we were led, from perusal of the
Prospectus originally published by Mr. Gould, to expect, two or
more of the species of a genus of the middle-sized or smaller birds
are grouped together in a plate. In that Prospectus, Mr. Gould
proposed that each part of his work should exhibit, on the average,
twenty-five species. Hitherto he has failed in the performance of
this important pledge. Fortunately, however, for his own credit
and for the interest of his subscribers, the hour of redemption is not
yet irrevocably past. | |

The analysis upon which we are about to enter will, ordinarily,
comprehend the specific and, whenever the institution of new genera
may require, the generic characters of each bird, as traced by Mr,
Gould ; and all the more novel or valuable information which may

266 SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY.

be gleaned from his accurate and masterly descriptions; the syno
nyms of the species in the English, Latin, French, Italian, and
German languages ; and occasional remarks on the new systems of
ornithological arrangement and nomenclature, as proposed by mo-
dern writers, and, more especially, by an able, but anonymous, con-
tributor to The Analyst ; whose labours adorn our last and preseut
numbers. The luminous descriptions of Temminck, and the icono-
graphical productions of Selby, Werner, Meyer, and other of the
more successful and celebrated delineators of the bird-class will also
frequently be referred to.

First Parr.—P.uate I —Presents a figure of the Lesser Kestrel,
—Falco Tinnunculoides,—Faucon Cresserellette, Fr.—Falco di terre
diverso, Jt.,—distinguished from the common European species, F.
tinnunculus, by Ist. the extension of the wing to the extremity of the
tail; 2d. absence of spots from the superior part of the plumage ; 3d.
perfect whiteness of the claws ; and 4th. marked and constant inferi-
ority of size. 'The adult female, somewhat larger than the male, so
closely resembles the female of F. tinnunculus, as only to be distin-
guishable by attention to the first, third, and fourth points of spe-
cific difference, above traced. She lays four eggs; differing little,
in size and colour, from those of the common Kestrel. F. tinnuncu-
loides inhabits the southern and eastern regions of Europe, and
preys upon the smaller mammifera and birds, but principally upon —
the larger species of coleopterous and hymenopterous insects, which
it captures, with almost unerring precision of aim, upon the wing.
No specimen of it has as yet been recorded as taken or seen in the
British islands. The propriety of constituting a new genus which,
with the two Kestrels, shall include F. rupicolus ; F. spervarius,—
for an excellent figure and description of which, see Fauna Boreali-
Americana, vol. ii., pl. 24, page 31 ; and “ several other species, of
America and its adjacent islands,” is cursorily adverted to by Mr.
Gould. His figure of our present subject is admirably drawn and
coloured. Werner’s corresponding plate, given in the second Livrai-
son of the Atlas des Oiseaux d’ Europe, will not, for one moment,
sustain comparison with it. Might not a more eligible: specific de-
Signation than tinnunculoides be conferred upon this species ; distin-
guished as it is, from its most nearly-allied congener, by greater

SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY. 267

length of wing, and whiteness of claw? This is a point too knotty
for us to decide upon. We leave it, contented with having thrown
out the mere hint, to be settled by the zealous ornithological re-
former of Derby, and the acute, but too bitterly “‘ sarcastic, Senex.”
Puate Il—The Red-footed Falcon,—Falco rufipes (Ingrian
Falcon, and Orange-legged Hobby, of Latham,—Falco vespertinus,
of Gmelin),—le Faucon a pieds rouges, F'r.,—(Variété singuliére
du Hobereau,—singular variety of Hobby, of Buffon),—Falco bar-
letta piombina, Jt.,—Rothfussiger Falk, G. This fine species, pre-
viously known as principally inhabiting the Russian province of In-
gria, where it is named Kobez, will acquire a peculiar interest in
the eyes of the British ornithologist ; since it is now formally re-
cognized, from re-iterated instances of capture in our own island, as
a British bird. It is distinguishable from all the other Falcons,
and especially from the Hobby to which it is most nearly allied,
and of which Buffon considered it a mere variety, by the orange-red
colour of its feet. Hence, its specific designation is most apposite
and unobjectionable: and the lucky bird, unlike certain other aspi-
rant and predatory animal bodies exhibiting orange members, may
set reformers and reform, and even the menaces of the great Philo- —
Hellenic Hume himself, at utter defiance. The plate exhibits spe-
cimens of an adult female and male, exquisitely drawn and coloured.
The corresponding figure in Werner’s second number, although ex-
cellent, must at once succumb to the superiority of talent evinced
by Gould. Omnia cedant Axro,
PuatE II].—The Kingsfisher,—Alcedo ispida,—Martin-Pécheur
Aleyon, Baboucard, Fr..—Gemeine Eisvogel, G. It hath often
strangely perplexed us to divine where and from whom this beauti-
ful little creature acquired its specific designation. Time after time,
have we rummaged lexicons and other musty repositories of ancient
lore in search of the unknown epithet: yet no such term as smdos
in the Greek, or ispidus in the Latin, has been found to reward our
patient scrutiny. Peradventure, that profound ornithologist and
erudite scholar, Professor Rennie, should these humble pages be
honoured with his glance, may commiserate, and deign to “ enlighten
our ignorance” on this subject. As ispida is the only European spe-
cies of the Alcedo genus, we shall not pause to trace its specific cha-

268 SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY.

racters. A more apt and significant designation might be surely
taken from the bright and strongly-marked colours of the bird.
The generic characters may be seen in Temminck, Manuel d’ Orni-
thologie, p. 418 ; Selby, Illustrations of British Ornithology, vol. 1.,
p- 135 ; and Gould’s leiter-press accompanying the Plate. The ge-
nus, Alcedo, composes, with Merops, the seventh Order, Alcyones, of
Temminck ; and constitutes, alone, the fifth Family, Halcyonide,
of the British Insessores, of Vigors and Selby. The colouring of
the Kingsfisher by Mr. Gould, is as extraordinarily accurate as soft
and splendid. The figure, however, as regards the body of the bird,
is unnaturally thick and clumsy ; and by no means equal, in fidelity
and spirit, to the more humble production of Bewick’s graver: nor
is the attitude of the voracious little creature, silently watching
over the stream for its finny prey, in our opinion, so strikingly
characteristic, as that which has emanated from the genius-inspired
hand of the rude and self-taught Northumbrian Ornithographer.
PurateE IV.—The Goosander,—Mergus Merganser,—Grand
Harle, Fr.,—Mergo Oca Marina e Mergo Dominicano, J¢.,—Gan-
sensager oder Taucher-Gans, G. This species, the largest of the
genus, is the Green-headed Goosander, of Fleming (the Merganser,
of other Ornithologists) ; and should have a Latin specific designa-
tion, founded upon this unvarying character of the adult male bird.
The female differs from the male, not only in inferiority of size, in
the rufous-brown colour of the head, neck, and crest, and less bril-
liant orange-red hue of bill, iris, and tarsus; but in the absence of
those peculiarities of anatomical structure which the windpipe of
the latter constantly exhibits. -The respiratory tube of the male
presents two enlargements previously to its termination in the bony
labyrinth at what may be correctly termed its sternal extremity,
The trachea of the female is alike destitute of such dilatations,
and of the labyrinth. These marked differences of internal or-
ganization and of colouring, formerly led to the erroneous infer-
ence,—still farther confirmed by the close resemblance which the
plumage of the male, during the first year, exhibits to the plumage
of the female,—that the latter constituted a genus perfectly distinct
from the Merganser; which hence became the Mergus Castor of
the green-headed Gmelin,—the Dun Diver or Sparling-Fowl of

SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY. 269

Latham and other British ornithologists. Subsequent and more
correct observation has served to rectify this perplexing error, and
remove another stumbling-block from the paths of ornithology.
The northern regions of Europe and America are the native and
habitual haunts of this fine bird. On the approach of winter it
visits, in its migration southwards, the northern districts of our own
island, and, more especially, the inland waters of Germany and
Holland. Fishes, the smaller crustacea, and molluscous animals,
constitute its principal food. The female is said to lay from twelve
to fourteen cream-coloured eggs: but of its nidification little is, at
present, known. Mr. Gould’s plate represents a male and female,
two thirds of the natural size, and most admirably executed.

PratE V.—The Whinchat,—Sazicola rubetra, Rubetra migra-
toria, Blyth,—Motacilla rubetra, Linneus,—Sylvia rubelra, La-
tham,—Traquet Tarier, F .»—Braunkehliger Steinschmatger,

A summer-visitant of the British islands ; hence the propriety of the
specific designation migratoria, by which it is now distinguished from
the only other British species of the genus, the Stone-Chat,—R.
rubicola. It is, however, obvious that, whenever practicable, the
specific name should be drawn, not from the habits of the bird un-
cognizable by the organs of touch or vision, but from some perma-
nent and unerring peculiarity of exterior configuration or colouring,
which the eye of the observer can at once discriminate. In what
points, independently of its migratory habits, does the present sub-
ject of our discussion differ from its congener, the Stone-Chat ?
Principally in the broad streak, or band, of pure-white, which passes
from the base of the bill, above. the eye, nearly to the occiput.
Why then not, at once, designate the bird Rubetra albi-striata ; or
give it any other more appropriate specific name indicative of this
visible and unerring peculiarity of character? The plate of Mr.
Gould, representing a male and female, of the adult age, is executed
with his wonted elegance, talent, and felicity. |

Puate VI.—The Missel-thrush, Turdus vistigoblepsill erle
Draine, F.,—Tordo maggiore, Jt.,—Mistel-drossel, G. This bird,
the largest of the European Turdi, is principally distinguished,
from its congeners, by the grey colour of the space which exists be-
tween the eye and bill; and instead of deriving its specific designa-

270 SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY.

tion from habits neither universally practicable or prevalent, nor
peculiar to the bird, should be distinguished by some aptly-con-
structed epithet, expressive of this character. T'emporo-griseus, al-
though not sufficiently precise, is the best which, at present, sug-
gests itself to our mind. The absurdity of the ancient term is self-
evident. Confine a cock-sparrow, and place him upon what the
French physicians, whimsically enough, call diéte—in plain English,
put him on short commons—for a couple of days; and take our
word for it, he will devour misseltoe berries as fast as you can pro-
cure, or his little stomach convert, them, with any storm-cock in his
Majesty’s dominions. The Missel-Thrush of Mr. Gould, although
boldly and correctly drawn, is not quite so softly and harmoniously
coloured as many of the figures displayed in the preceding plates.

Puatre VII.—The Smew, Mergus albellus,—Harle Piette, Fr.,
—Mergo Oca minore, Jt.,—Weisser Sager, G. The male of this
species, the smallest of the genus, is distinguished by its white pen-
dant crest. The female, to which the young male, of the first year,
exhibits a close resemblance, was once supposed to form a distinct
genus, and entitled the Lough Diver,—Mergus minutus. Ana-
tomical inspection of the trachea of the young, shewed its identity
of structure with that of the adult male, and exposed the fallacy of
the opinion previously entertained. In this bird, the windpipe
displays a contraction immediately below the glottis ; and then, gra-
dually enlarging to the middle of its course, preserves nearly the
same diameter to its terminatién in the lower larynx, which is pro-
portionately smaller than in the other species of the Mergus genus,
and very differently constructed.. The Smew, or White Nun, is a
winter-visitant of the southern and eastern coasts of Britain, of the
inland rivers and the waters of the fenny districts. The adult male,
however, is rarely seen ; and the female has never yet been known
to breed, among us. She is said to lay from eight to twelve whitish
eggs. Stephens has, without sufficient reason, removed the Smew
from the Mergus to a different genus. Mr. Gould’s figures, repre-
senting both male and female, two thirds of the natural size, are
finely executed.

Pirate VIII.—The Wryneck,—Yunx torquilla ( Torquilla stri-
ata, of modern systematists),—Torcol ordinaire, F'r.,—Torcicollo,

SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY. 271

It.,—Wendehals, G. The male and female of this elegant species,
one of the earliest of our summer-visitants, and the constant precur-
sor of the joyous and welcome Cuckoo, are here represented with
extraordinary spirit and effect. The female is seen emerging from
the hollow of a tree, in which she may be supposed to have depo-
sited her pure-white eggs. The only defect of the figures is, that
they are considerably larger than natural. The principal food of
this interesting bird—hence frequently termed the Emmet Wryneck
—is the ant and its larva; which are seized, with great velocity
and unerring aim, by the protrusion of its long and extensile
tongue. It is nearly allied, in structure and habits, to the Wood-
pecker genus.

Puatre [X.—The Magpie,—Pica caudata (Corvus Pica, of Lin-
neus,—Pica melanoleuca, of later ornithologists),—la Pie, Fr.,—
Gazzera commune, /t.,—Gartengrahe, G. Of this most beautiful
of all the family of the British, or even European, Corvidew, we
have yet met with but one delineation, whether graven or drawn,
true to the life. Turn, gentle reader, to the ninety-second page of
the first volume of good old Bewick ; and there you will behold the
bold, impudent, and mischievous Pie, with tail erect, in all his
glory. The representations of the bird by Lewin, Donovan, and
Selby, are perfect failures. In the forlorn, sombre, sedate, and me-
lancholy figure of Werner, we recognize, only by the aid of the
appended type, the sprightly friend and associate of our school-boy
days. Nor even with the Magpie of Mr. Gould, powerfully and
splendidly coloured as it is, are we quite satisfied. The attitude of
the bird is not natural; and there is some striking defect, more
readily to be appreciated than particularized, in the form and co-
louring of the head. The expression of the bold, and bright, and
wicked eye is, however, admirably given. Pica, although clearly
distinguished by the illustrious Ray, having only of late been for-
mally severed from the Corvus genus, we here present a sketch of
the generic characters, as traced by Selby and Gould. Beak strong,
compressed laterally, slightly arched, and hooked at the tip. Nos-
trils basal, open, protected by a covering of bristly feathers directed
forwards. Feet with three toes before and one behind, entirely
divided. Tarsus longer than the middle toe. Wings rounded.

272 SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY.

First quill-feather very short ; fourth and fifth longest. Tail long,
graduated; its two middle feathers projecting beyond the rest.
The “ saucy madge” constitutes, at present, the only European spe-
cies of the new genus. The specific designation, caudata, is, obvi-
ously inapposite ; as all the exotic congeners of our favourite Pie,
we presume, sport tails. Melanoleuca will be also, probably, ob-
jected to, by the more fastidious reformer, on the score of its Greek
origin. Why, then, not substitute for it an equally expressive and
more appropriate epithet derived from the Latin,—Pica nigro-aiba,
or nigralba, the black and white Pie.

Piate X.—Comprehends two figures representing different spe-
cies of the Red-legged Partridge. These, with the Guernsey Par-
tridge, Perdix rufa, and another nearly-allied species from the Hi-
malaya mountains, present, in Mr. Gould’s opinion, sufficient dif-
ferences of character to justify their separation from the Linnean
genus Perdix,—of which our common P. cinerea affords a familiar
illustration,—and the consequent institution of a new genus. In
this view of the subject, we are disposed to concur; and would re-
commend the adoption of the very apposite term Rufipes, or Redfoot,
—see page 206 of our present number,—as designative of this newly
established and beautiful household of the distinguished family of
the Rasores.

The first figure in the plate is the Barbary Partridge,—P. petro-
sa, Latham,—P. rubra Barbarica, Brisson,—Tetrao petrosus, Gme-
lin,—Perdrix Gambra, la P. rouge de Barbarie, Fr.,—Feldhuhn
aus Barbarey, G. This bird, resembling, in its habits, the Guern-
sey Partridge, inhabits not only, asits popular designation indicates,
the coast of Barbary, but the European shores, and the islands, of
the Mediterranean Sea. It is specifically distinguished from. its
congeners by the deep-chestnut stripe which, commencing at the
root of the bill, passes over the crown of the head to the nape ; and
by a rufous-brown collar which, thickly spotted with white points,
surrounds the neck. Hence, its proper designation would obviously
be the collared Redfoot,—Ru/fipes torquata.

The Greek Partridge,—P. saxatilis, Meyer,—P. Greca, Bris-
son,—Perdrix Bartavelle, Fr.,—Pernice maggiore, J¢.,—das Stein-
feld Huhn, G.,—forms the elegant subject of the secand figure. It

SKETCHES OF FUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY. 273

is a much rarer bird than either of the other two European Red-
foots; inhabits the Archipelago, Turkey, Italy, Switzerland, and
the Tyrol ; and is principally distinguished by the white colour of
the cheeks and neck, bounded by a black band which, passing on
each side, from the beak across the eye, meets upon the ehest. Rus»
Jipes albicollis would, consequently, form its appropriate designation.
The male Greek Partridge measures, in extreme length, from thir-
teen to fifteen inches ; the Barbary—, from twelve to thirteen. Ac-
cording to the admirable description of Temminck,—Manuel d’Or-
nithologie, v. ii, p. 484—486,—both species occasionally exhibit
considerable varieties of plumage.

The female of both may be readily recognized by inferiority of
size ; less vivid colouring of the plumage ; and by the abserice of the
short blunt spur with which the tarsus of the male is invariably
furnished. The Barbary, or Collared, lays fifteen eggs, of a dull-
yellow, covered with minute specks of a greenish-yellow or olive
colour: the Greek, or White-throated, from fifteen to twenty, yel-
lowish-white, with indistinct markings of reddish-yellow. The fi-
gures in this plate are drawn with great fidelity and spirit ; but the
colouring of the feathers, on the sides and flanks, is rather hard.

Prats XI.—The Land Rail, or Corn Crake,—Gallinula crex,
Rallus crex, Linneus,—Oriygometra crex, Fleming,—Crea pra-
tensis, Bechstein,—Rale, ou Poule, d’Eau de Genet, Fr.,—Wiesen-
knarrer, G. This migratory bird, whose harsh and monotonous cry
becomes delightful from its associations, in the memory, with the
balmy and incense-breathing nights of summer, is, by modern ornis
thologists, separated from Gallinula ; with which we are surprized
to find it still associated by Mr. Gould. The genus Crex, of which
it is now taken to constitute the type, contains two other British
species, C. porzana and olivaria: the little Crake, C. pusilla, of
Selby, having been transferred, by Dr. Leach, to the new genus;
Zapornia. For a description of the generic characters of Crex, see
Selby’s Illustrations, v. ii., page 174. The Crakes, according to
this excellent writer, form a connecting link between: the Rails and
Gailinules : distinguished, from the former, “ by a shorter, thicker,
and more angular bil ;” from the latter, by the defect of extension
of the lateral membrane bordering the inferior surface of the toes,

January, 1836.—vou. 111., NO. XIV. T

274 SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY.

and of the naked skin, or plate, which occupies the frontal region of
the Gallinule.

The specific term, pratensis, as indicative of circumstances of ha-
bitation, in which it does not materially differ from the other spe-
cies of Crea, is not correctly applicable to the Land Rail. Crepitans
or strepera, although probably not the most appropriate that might
be devised, would be far more eligible than pratensis. Mr. Gould’s
figure, with all its excellence of colouring, is clumsily drawn, defee-
tive in the outline of the head and neck, and by no means s0 strik-
ingly characteristic of the crouching and timorous bird as the coarse
wood-cut of Bewick, vol. ii., page 130.

Puate XII.—Is peculiarly interesting and important. It exhi-
bits all the British species belonging to the genus Sylvia, as now
constituted ; and clearly illustrates the characters by which three
birds, exceedingly difficult of discrimination, and hitherto frequently
confounded, even by the experienced ornithologist, may at once be
distinguished from each other.

The First of these is the Willow Wren, or Yellow Wren,—Syl-
via trochilus ( Motacilla trochilus, Linneus),—Bec-fin Pouillot, ou
le Pouillot, Fr.,—Fitis Sanger, G. Specific Characters, according
to Gould: whole of the upper surface, greenish-olive ; a faint-yel_
low streak above the eye; throat and breast slightly tinged with
yellow ; belly yellowish-white ; under tail-coverts yellow ; legs dull
Slesh-colour ; wings covering about one third of the tail. Selby, in
his description of this species,—Jilustrations, v. i., p. 226,—has
erroneously referred to the succeeding species in Temminck’s work.

Second Figure.—The Chiff-Chaff, or Lesser Pettychaps,—Sylvia
(Motacilla) hippolais,—Fauvette de Roseaux, Petite Fauvette a poi-
trine jaune, Fr.,—Gelebauchiger Sanger, G. Spec. Char.: infe-
rior in size to the preceding ; eye-streak more faint ; plumage less
finely tinged with yellow ; legs of an umber or blackish-brown co-
lour. The Least Willow Wren, of Bewick, probably belongs to
this species.

Third Figure-—The Wood Wren (Larger Willow Wren, White,
Yellow Willow Wren, Bewick),—Sylvia sibilatrix,—sylvicola, La-
tham,—le Bec-fin siffeur, Fr.,—Griiner Sanger, G. Spec. Char. :
Wing extending nearly two thirds of the length of the tail; eye-

SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY. 275

streak bright-yellow ; wing-feathers edged with yellow ; under sur-
face silvery-white. From the preceding outline, it appears that the
third species, S. sibilatria, is principally distinguished, from the first
and second, by A. the greater length of wing; B. the bright-yellow
eye-streak ; and c. the silvery-white of the abdominal plumage:
and the second, S. hippolais, from the jirst, S. trochilus, by a. the
inferiority of size; B. fainter eye-streak ; and c. the darker colour
of the legs. The legs of the Wood Wren exhibit, like those of the
Yellow Wren, a pale yellowish-brown hue.

All these species are insectivorous and migratory ; and visit the
British islands only in the spring and summer. The Chiff-Chaff,
so termed from its monotonous song, answering, in sound, to that
name, arrives, first, in March ; the Yellow Wren, about the begin-
ning of April ; the Wood Wren, a few days after. They are all
ground-builders. The nest, composed of dead leaves and grass, is,
by the two first birds, profusely lined with feathers ; by the Wood
Wren, invariably with fine grass and hair. The eggs, from five to
seven in number, of a white colour, speckled with purplish-red, or
reddish-brown, more thickly at the larger end than elsewhere, are
not readily traceable to their respective species. The spots of the
Chiff-Chaff’s egg are, ordinarily, darker in hue and fewer in number,
than those on the Yellow Wren’s. For the characters of the re-
formed genus, see Selby’s Illustrations, v. i., p. 221.

Prats XIH.—The Eared Grebe,—Podiceps auritus. Five
European and British species of Podiceps are described by Tem-
minck and Selby. Of these, the subject of the present admirably-
executed plate, comprizing figures of a young and an adult male, is
one of the most rare and beautiful. P. auritus (Colymbus auritus,
of Linneus and Brisson),—Grebe Oreillard, Fr.,—Colimbo Suasso
Turco, Jt.,—Gethrter oder ohren Steissfuss, G.,—is principally dis-
tinguished from its nearly-allied congener, P. cornutus, by the ab-
sence of the chestnut-coloured neck, and the rufous stripe which
passes from the base of the bill, through the eye, to the occiput.
-The young, destitute of the long, silky, and radiating ear-feathers,
‘from which the adult bird has acquired its specific designation, and
of an uniform grey colour above, so closely resembles the young of
cornutus that they have been confounded together, and regarded, by

T 2

276 SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY.

dusky ornithologists like Pennant, as a distinct species, under the
title of P. obscurus, or Dusky Grebe.

Puatre XIV.—The Grey Wagtail,—Motacilla boarula,—mela-
nops,—sulphurea, of older authors, cinerea, of the moderns),—Ber-
geronnette jaune, F7.,—Gutrettola da Codizinzola, It. ;—of which
we have here two exquisitely-coloured figures, illustrative of the
appearance of the bird in its summer and winter plumage. It strik-
ingly resembles, in its latter condition, the Yellow Wagtail, now
separated from it, by removal of the last to the genus Oat-ear, Bu-
dytes. In summer, both sexes assume, with a brighter plumage,
a circumscribed patch of black,—not so intense in the female as the
male,—upon the throat. After the autumnal moult, the black dis-
appearing, is replaced by a yellowish-grey tinge. Yet, even in this
state, the species may be distinguished from its former congener, by
a more “slender and symmetrical” figure, the “ grey colour of the
back, and bright-sulphur hue of the rump.” The Grey Wagtail,
regarded as a British bird, is an tntra-insular vagrant ; not wander-
ing, even in winter, beyond the precincts of our own island. It
migrates to its northern breeding-places in April; and, having
achieved the important process of incubation, returns, about Octo-
ber, to the more genial regions of the south.

Pratt XV.—The Golden-Eye,—Clangula vulgaris. The male
and female of this interesting species, the Golden-eyed Garrot,—
Clangula bimaculata,—chrysophthalma, of modern ornithologists,—
(Anas clangula, of Linneus),—Canard Garrot, Fr.,—Anatra Ca-
none Domenicano, /t.,—die Schelle Ente, G.,—are here depicted,
two thirds of the natural size, with uncommon fidelity of outline,
‘and in an admirable style of colouring. Besides this, there is only
‘one other species, C. histrionica, of the newly-constituted genus. It
is principally distinguished, from its congener, by the existence of a
large white spot at the base of the bill, on each side; and has hence
obtained its specific designation, bimaculata, or two-spotted. The
female differs widely in plumage from the male; and was once re-
ferred, with the immature bird of that sex, to a distinct genus, un-
der the title of Anas Glaucion, or Morillon. Anatomical inspection
of the trachea, which is very singularly constituted, and exhibits, in
the young and the adult male, perfect identity of structure, has

SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY. 277

served to rectify the error. This structure, of which even Tem-
minck’s description fails to convey a correct idea, is well illustrated
by Latham’s drawing,—figures 1 and 2,—in plate xv. of vol. iv. of
The Linnean Transactions.

Pratt XVI.—The Grey-headed Green Woodpecker,——Picus
canus,—(P. viridis Norvegicus,——viridicanus,—caniceps, of vari-
ous authors),—Pic cendré F'r.,—Piechio verde di Norvegia, It.,—
der Grauképfige oder Grungraue Specht, G.,—has very frequently
been confounded with Picus viridis, the common Green Wood-
pecker of Europe ; but may be distinguished from that bird by its
rather smaller size, and the grey colour of the head; the red mark
on the top of which is more circumscribed, while in the female it is
entirely wanting. It inhabits the north of Europe, and,—if Tem.
minck’s assertion, the accuracy of which is, however, questioned by
Mr. Gould, may be relied upon,—the corresponding regions of Ame-
rica. The figures of a male and female, of the natural size, are
here admirably delineated. The designation, viridicanus, applied
to this species, is, in our opinion, by far the most appropriate.

Prats XVII.—The Sardinian Warbler,—Curruca melanoce-
pkala,—Bec-fin Melanocéphale, Fr.,—is here represented in two
figures, male and female, of the natural size. It is an inhabitant of
Spain, Sardinia, and the Neapolitan dominions: insectivorous, and
nearly-allied to our own melodious Black-cap. The head of the
male is deep-black: that of the female, dark leaden-grey. The
nest is formed in bushes near the ground ; eggs, five in number;
yellowish-white, with dark spots. An inspection of this charming
plate confirms the impression which we were previously disposed to
entertain, that, if possible, the smaller species of birds are more ex-
quisitely delineated than the larger, by Mr. Gould. The species is
referred to the genus Sylvia, by Latham ; by Gmelin, to Motacilla.

Puate XVIII.—The Golden Plover,—Charadrius pluvialis,—
Pluvier doré, F'r.,—Piviere dorato, It.,—Goldregenpfeifer, G. The
Latin term, Pluvialis, is now employed as designative of the Plover
genus ; and five British species,—see p. 208 of our present number,
—are described as belonging toit. The subject of the present plate
is the Green Ployer—Pl. viridis—of modern ornithologists, The
extraordinary change of plumage which the bird exhibits in the

278 SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY.

stimmer and winter seasons, is admirably illustrated in the two
figures of the adult male, which Mr. Gould has here delineated
with his wonted grace and fidelity.

Pirate XIX.—The Great Black Woodpecker,—Picus Martius,
(—niger, Brisson,— maximus, Ray),—Pic noir, F.,—Piechio Corvo,
It.,—Schwarztspecht, G. This rare and beautiful bird, a native of
north Europe, has been repeatedly killed in our own island ; and at
length, however tardily, been recognized, by Selby, as a British
bird. It is the largest and most powerful of the European Picide.
The prevailing colour of the body is deep-black ; the crown of the
head in the male—the occiput only in the female—* bright arterial
blood-red.” The figure of the latter, as partially represented by
Mr. Gould, is excellent ; that of the male, in our view, rather too
atigular and scraggy about the head and neck. Nigro-coccineus
would form an appropriate specific designation for this bird.

Prare XX.—The Lesser Grey Shrike,—Collurio minor,—(La-
nius minor, Linnzus),—Pie-Grieche a Poitrine Rose (Rose-breasted
Shrike) of Temminck,—Velia Genezia Mezzana, It.,—Grauer Vur-
ger, oder Schwartzstieniger, G: The modern genus, Collurio, is
distinguished from Lanius by the graduated tail, and short rounded
wing, of the species composing it. Our present subject is, however,
regarded, by Gould, as rather forming a link between the two gene.
ra, than belonging strictly to either. In size, it is inferior to La-
nius excubitor ; which it closely resembles in habits and general cha-
racter of plumage. For the amusement and information of the
reader, who may not have access to the Manuel of Temminck, we
shall transcribe, from that excellent work, the description of the
bird. It will afford a fair example of the Dutchman’s style, and be
found to correspond well with the figures, as delineated by Gould ;
and by Werner in the seventh plate of the seventh Livraison of his
Atlas des Oiseaux d’ Europe.

“ Forehead, region of the eyes and ears black; occiput, nape,
and back, ash-grey ; throat white ; breast and flanks, of a rose-red ;
wings black; on the quills, only a white mark ; first tail-feather
white; on the second, black along the stem ; on the third, a great
black spot, terminated with white ; on the fourth, a more conside-
rable black spot, with an extremity of pure white ; the four middle

SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY. 279

feathers perfectly black. Length, eight inches. The female has
the rose-colour less bright, the black band of the forehead and ears
more narrow ; this band and the black of the wings verging more
to brown.

“The young of the year, and both sexes after the autumnal
moult, do not exhibit the black frontal band. This part is, in win-
ter, of a dull ash-grey ; after the spring-moult, all the individuals
have the black stripe, and the rose-colour of the breast is more vi-

vid. The young of the year are, moreover, distinguished by the
~ dull ash-grey of the superior parts, all the feathers of which are
fringed, and by the dull-white of the lower parts.

“« Inhabits the Archipelago, Turkey, Italy, Spain, and sometimes
visits the north of Europe, as far as Russia; breeds also in some
provinces of France and Germany, where the species is little dif-
fused: very rare in Holland. ;

*“ Food: Phalens, Scarabvei, moles, crickets, and the smaller birds.
Propagation. Builds on forest-trees, and in bushes ; lays six ob-
long eggs of a whitish-green colour, which have, towards the cen-
tre, a zone formed by minute points of an olive-grey.”

Here our examination of the First Part of Mr. Gould’s work
terminates. A brief analysis, or recapitulation, of its contents may
not be destitute of interest and utility to the ornithological student.
The twenty plates of which it consists, comprehend representations
of thirty-five figures, and twenty-three species, of birds, belonging
to the seventeen following genera: Alcedo, Anas ( Clangula), Cha-
radrius ( Pluvialis), Corvus (Pica), Curruca, Falco, Gallinula
(Crea), Lanius (Collurio), Mergus, Motacilla, Perdix ( Rufipes),
Picus, Podiceps, Saxicola ( Rubetra), Sylvia, Turdus, and Yune
( Torquilla). Eighteen of the plates represent one species each ;
and of these, six, only one figure of the adult; and twelve, two
figures: ten of the twelve exhibiting sexual, and the remaining two,
seasonal—diversities of plumage. Of the two remaining plates, one
illustrates two, and the other, three—species. Seventeen of the spe-
cies figured are British, and the remaining six, continental—birds.
The Analysis of Mr. Gould’s work will be resumed in our next
number.

{During the composition of the preceding Analvtical Sketch, two addi-
tional publications, involving the subject of Ornithology, and consequently:

280 NOTITIZ BOTANIC.

requiring some notice from us, have been published; and a third which had pre-
viously escaped, has since recurred to, our recollection. The First of these
is a Familiar History of Birds, by the Rev. Edward Stanley, M. A., F. L. $.,
4n two neat duodecimo volumes,—an interesting and useful little work ;
of which we shall present a brief analysis in our next number: the Second,
The Edinburgh Journal of Natural History, accompanied by an English trans-
lation of The Animal Kingdom, of Cuvier, equally remarkable for its cheap-
ness and excellence, by Captain Thomas Brown: and Third, The Zoolo-
gist’s Teat-Book, in two duodecimo volumes, illustrated with 1200 accurate
figures of animals, by the same zealous and enlightened author. .

In a very lady-like remonstrance, addressed to the Editor of The Analyst,
Mrs. Perrott, authoress of a SeLecrion of British Birds, complains that the
writer of the Retrospect contained in our last Number, has been guilty of an
act of misrepresentation and injustice with respect to that work. We there
stated that Mrs. Perrott’s “ SELEcTions” were destitute of “ plan or order.”
This she denies; avowing her intention to supply an index of the species,
and a scientific arrangement of the plates, at the close of the work; and re-
ferring to her Prospectus for proof that such was her original design. That
Prospectus we had not seen. Partly, then, to this act of negligence in us,
and partly to the injudicious choice of the term, Selections, -by Mrs. Perrott,
—a most unfortunate title, truly, for a professedly systematic work,—may be
attributed the error into which the unlucky “Scribe” has been unwittingly
betrayed :—an error, however, for which he is solicitous to make every re-
paration which a candid and honourable mind can, on the one hand, express ;
or, on the other, require. 3

Birmingham, December 7th, 1835. P.

NOTITLZ BOTANIC.

By G. B. Knowxzs, Esq., M. R. C.S., F. L. S., &e.

Lecturer on Botany at the Birmingham School of Medicine, and Honorary Se-
cretary of the Birmingham Botanical and Horticultural Society.

Tuer following observations, made during an exéursion to the
Isle of Wight, in the summer of 1832, may possibly prove not un-
acceptable to botanists who may be induced to visit that beautiful
island.

Jn travelling by coach from hence to Southampton, I was neces-
sarily obliged to submit to the mortification so frequently experi-
enced by the botanist, of seeing rarities by the way, without being
able to gather them. I could not but remark, however, the total

NOTITILE BOTANICA. 281

disappearance of Digitalis purpurea, as soon as we entered upon a
chalky or lime-stone district ; while, at the same time, Pastinaca
sativa, which had not before shewn itself, became abundant.

Having to remain a few hours at Oxford, I was directed by Mr.
Baxter, the indefatigable curator of the Botanic Garden, to a spot
about half a mile from the city, where Lythrum Hyssopifolium grows
in considerable quantities, and of which I gathered fine specimens.
My stay at Southampton was too short to enable me to make any ad-
dition to my collection, with the exception of Sinapis tenuifolius,
which grows plentifully on walls in the town. In the neighbour-
hood of Ryde and Cowes, may be found many of the plants that are
common to most of the British coasts; such as Eryngium Mariti-
mum, Glaucium luteum, Cakile maritima, Salsola kali, Plantago
maritima, Statice limonium, &c. In a wood near Sea-view, about
two miles from Ryde, I met, for the first time, with Rubia peregri-
na, which, from its appearance, might readily be mistaken, by the
young botanist, for a Galium. Orchis pyramidalis was, also, grow-
ing luxuriantly in the same place. Iris fcetidissima is most abun-
dant in every part of the island; as is, also, Scolopendrium vulgare,
which may be seen under almost every hedge. Ona bank by the
side of the road leading from Cowes to Newport, not a mile from
the former place, I gathered Linaria repens, a plant found chiefly
in the south of England. Linaria spuria and Linaria Elatine, also,
grow in many parts of the island: my specimens were gathered in
the garden of the Ventnor Hotel, where they had sprung up as
common weeds.

The neighbourhood of Ventnor, and indeed the whole line of the
Undercliff, is rich in botanical rarities. The Undercliff extends
along the coast for about six miles, and, with its towering rocks, its
romantic villas, and its glorious sea-views, presents such a combina-
tion of beauty and grandeur as is scarcely to be paralleled. I can-
not avoid offering a few remarks, en passant, upon this singular
tract of country which may be regarded as a kind of terrace, on the
south east coast, and varying from a quarter to half a mile in breadth.
It is sufficiently elevated above the level of the sea to exempt it, in
a great measure, from sea fogs; while, at the same time, it is so ef-
fectually protected from winds, by the rocky barrier and lofty
downs, by which it is bounded on the north, as to offer, perhaps, a

282 NOTITIA BOTANICA.

more genial climate than can be found in any other part of this
kingdom.

In proof of this assertion, it may be stated that many exotic
plants which, in other parts of the island, require the protection of
the greenhouse, flourish there in the open air, and even survive the
winter. Myrtles and geraniums may be mentioned as growing
there most luxuriantly ; but more particularly Hydrangea Hortensis,
which may frequently be seen in cottage gardens, from six to eight
feet high, and completely covered with its large heads of blossoms.
From these circumstances, as well as from personal observation, I
have no hesitation in saying that the Undercliffe offers a more ad-
vantageous residence to the consumptive invalid, during the months
of winter and early spring, than any other part of the British coast.
My opinion on this subject is fully confirmed by Dr. James Clark,
in his admirable work On Climate, who thus expresses himself :—
* Indeed, it is matter of surprise to me, after having fully examined
this favoured spot, that the advantages which it possesses in so emi-
nent a degree, in point of shelter and exposition, should have been
so long overlooked in a country like this, whose inhabitants, during
the last century, have been traversing half the globe in search of
climate.” I must return, however, from this digression, and pro-
ceed to notice the habitats of a few of the plants that are found
in this interesting district. Chlora perfoliata, with its elegant pani-
cles of star-like flowers, adorns the road-side between Shanklin and
Saint Lawrence ; and near the diminutive church of the latter vil-
lage, may be seen Mentha rotundifolia growing in profusion. Ru-
bia peregrina, Inula Helenium, and Hypericum androsemum, are
seen plentifully between Luccomb and Bonchurch ; and under the
cliff at Luccomb, Lathyrus sylvestris grows in beautiful luxuriance,
and in great profusion, as stated by Dillwyn and Turner, in their
Botanist’s Guide. It is, indeed, somewhat remarkable that the
habitats of plants in the Isle of Wight should, for the most part, be
found, even now, so correct in a work which has been published
full thirty years. To this imperfect list of plants I will only add
one more, which, on account of its singularity, ought not to be
omitted ; it is a double variety of Potentilla repens, which, with its
little rose-like blossoms, is truly beautiful: it grows plentifully and,
apparently, wild in a wood not far from Norris Castle.

283

AN OUTLINE OF BRITISH CATERPILLARS.
No. I.

Genus, VANESSA.

In a former Volume of The Analyst, we gave a slight notice of
the new and valuable work of Messrs. Boisduval, Rambur, and
Graslin, on the Caterpillars of Europe.* At the close of that Re-
view, a promise was held out to the entomological student, that. we
would revert to the important subject, and occasionally present a
sketch of the various Lepidoptera, in this active and interesting stage
of their progress from the ovum to the adult or imago state. Such
promise we shall now redeem ; taking, as by far the most minute
and generally correct which we have yet met with, the descriptions
of the different Caterpillars from the zealous and enlightened
French entomologists, to whose unrivalled work we have just advert-
ed. In reading these descriptions, some allowance must obviously
be made for the diversities of colouring which may result either
from the accidental variations, occasionally exhibited by all organ-
ized productions, or from differences of food and climate.

The beautiful genus, Vanessa, belonging to the Family of the
Nymphalide of modern Entomologists, is, as regards the British spe-
cies, divided, by the accurate and scientific Curtis, into three Sec-
tions, or Sub-genera ; respectively characterized by the figure of the
wings of the adult insects composing it, and the habits of their Ca-
terpillars. Preferring the arrangement of Curtis to every other yet
published, we shall take the liberty of almost literally transcribing
it from his admirable Illustrations of the Genera of British Insects.+

* See Analyst, vol. ii., p. 53. a

+ British Entomology, vol. ii., pl. 96. All the Species of the modern Lepi-
dopterous genus, Vanessa, were comprehended, by Linnzeus, in his great ge-
nus, Papilie ; the principal characteristic distinction of which was the club-
bed antenna. Stephens,—Systematic Catalogue of British Insects, Part ii.,
p- 11,—has severed from the genus, as constructed by Curtis, the 7th spe-
cies ; and, placing it in a new genus, under the title of Cynthia Cardui, enu-
merated the Hampstediensis, (Hampstead-eve, of Albin),—probably a mere
variety of V. cardui,—as a distinct species. In his projects of entomological
innovation, rather than of reform, this distinguished author has, however,
been outstripped by Professor Rennie; who, in addition to Cynthia, has
formed two new genera, Comma and Ammiralis, respectively including the
€. album and Atalanta, of Curtis. See Conspectus of Butterflies, etc., p. 8.

284 AN OUTLINE OF BRITISH CATERPILLARS.

The Chrysalis, or Pupa, of all the species of the genus are, it may
be observed, of an angular figure ; and attached, as will be seen in
the accompanying wood-cut, to the various bodies from which they
are suspended, by the tail.*

Hit!

HU : tesa
TWN SEZ
WON \

AS (\

\\

"id
MY 1

* These figures of V. antiopa, in its various states, were executed, under
our own inspection, by a Birmingham artist, named Royle; and are his first
attempt at the representation of entomological subjects on wood. We insert
them here, as illustrating the figure of the wings characteristic of Mr. Cur-
tis’ second Sub-genus, and the general aspect of the Caterpillar and Chrysa-
lis of the genus. For the future, any iconographical illustrations which we
may give on this subject, will be either drawn from nature, or borrowed from,
the admirable engravings of Messrs. Boisduval, Rambur, and Graslin.

AN OUTLINE OF BRITISH CATERPILLARS. 285

Genus; VANESSA.
A. Wings irregularly lobed. Caterpillars gregarious, with bitu-
berculated heads.
Species 1. Vanessa C. album, The Comma.
B. Wings angulated. Caterpillars gregarious.

2. Urtice, The Lesser Tortoise-shell.
3. Polychloros, The Greater Tortoise-shell.
4. Antiopa. The Willow, or Camberwell Beauty.
5. fo. The Peacock.
c. Inferior wings rounded and indented. Caterpillars solitary.
6. Atalanta. The Admirable.
7: Cardui. The Painted Lady.

Of the Caterpillars of these seven British species, belonging to the
genus Vanessa, our limits will allow us to trace only a description
of the following three. In a future number, we shall present
figures of the perfect insect; illustrative of the two remaining sub-
genera of Vanessa, and terminate our list of the caterpillars by a
description of the other four. The first two of the following belong
to the 2nd —, and the third to the 3rd Sub-genus, as arranged by
Mr. Curtis.

Vanessa Urtice. Boisduval, Nymphalides, pl. 1. fig. 4, 5, and 6 ;
—Donovan, v. ii., pl. 55. Caterpillar: blackish, minutely sprink-
led with yellow. Each ring exhibiting a circular row of seven
branched spines; except the 2nd and 3rd, which have but four, and
the Ist and last completely destitute of them. Dorsal spines black-
ish, brighter at their extremity; those of the two lateral rows
slightly yellow. The body exhibiting, in addition, some minute,
almost imperceptible, greyish, scattered hairs. On the back, a dorsal
streak of lemon-yellow, varying in breadth; more or less well
defined, and divided longitudinally by a black line. On the sides,
another streak, of like colour, frequently double, and enclosing the
blackish, minute, and searcely visible stigmata. Head black, slightly
hollowed and rough. Inferior surface of the body yellowish-grey,
or livid yellowish-green. Scaly feet black; the others greenish-
grey. A ventral streak, of dark-green colour, and broken, ordinarily
existing between the membranous feet. In some individuals, the
yellow bands are very distinct ; and the blackish interval, separating

986 AN OUTLINE OF BRITISH CATERPILLARS.

them, copiously spotted with yellow. In others, they are narrow,
and faintly marked. ‘The colour of these bands varies, also, from a
fine lemon- to a greenish-yellow. |

This ca/erpillar, common throughout the greater part of Europe,
lives, in societies, upon the various species of the nettle, as Urtica
dioica, urens, and pilulifera. n early age, it exhibits a blackish or
blackish-grey hue: assuming, after the second moult, the outline
which it retains to the period of metamorphosis. These caterpillars,
when upon the eve of taking on the chrysalid form, disperse ; and,
creeping along trees or walls, suspend themselves to undergo the
wonted transformation. Sometimes, although rarely, they attach
themselves to the plant on which they have previously fed. They
are found from May to the end of September.

The Chrysalis is ordinarily of a slight violet ash-grey, or flesh.
grey colour ; often marked with golden or silvery spots on its ante-
rior part. Dorsal points conical and strongly marked. Sometimes,
it is met with, under the coping of walls, completely of a splendid
golden-yellow colour. In this case, however, the chrysalis has in-
variably been perforated by an insect of the Ichneumon, or rather of
the Chalcis, tribe. The perfect insect is evolved at the expiration
of from fifteen to eighteen days.

Vanessa Io. Boisduval, Nymphalides, pl. i., fig. 1, 2, and 3;
Donovan, vol. vi., pl. 206.—Caterpillar: deep velvet-black, punc-
tated with white. Each ring, except the first, furnished with six
longish, black spines, rather hairy than branched. The first, more
slender than the rest, and destitute altogether of spines. Head,
and scaly feet, of a shining-black. Membranous feet, reddish-yel-
low, bordering on ferrugineous. Stigmata, blackish and scarcely
visible. Exists, in numerous societies, over the greater part of
Europe, during July and ‘September, upon Urtica dioica, and pilu-
lifera, and, sometimes, upon Humulus lupulus. “When going into
the chrysalid state, the caterpillar quits its place of nativity, and
suspends itself to the leaves of the nettle, or other adjacent plant.

The Chrysalis is often of a golden-yellow, sometimes of greyish,
tinted with violet, colour; and marked with silvery spots on the
thorax. ‘Somewhat more elongated, in figure, than that of V. ur-
tice: with the dorsal points more prominent ; the head more dis. .

AN OUTLINE OF BRITISH CATERPILLARS. 287

tinctly bifid ; and the abdomen more convex. Perfect Insect dis-
closed in eighteen days, or later, according to the peculiarity of site.

Vanessa Atalanta. Boisduval, Nymphaiides, pl. ii.; Donovan,
v. vili., pl. 260:—Caterpillar: thick, shortened; ordinarily of a
dull yellowish-grey, above 3 with a sinuous, sulphur-yellow, lateral
streak placed below the stigmata. Each ring, except the first two,
bearing seven shortish, circularly ranged, yellow or reddish-yellow,
branched spines: those of the more anterior rings usually blackish
at the extremity. Head black, rugose, slightly hollowed out above.
Body, below, yellowish-grey or blackish ; membranous feet violet ;
the scaly feet, and stigmata, black. This caterpillar exhibits almost
countless diversities of colour. The most common variety is violet-
black, sprinkled with whitish points: spines, pale-yellow, and
slightly ferrugineous at the base. Dorsal streak, of deeper colour
than ordinary: the lateral, rather broad, and pale-yellow. Below,
violet-black, with paler membranous feet. At an early age, body,
and most of the spines, blackish: yellow streak, broken ; and supe-
rior part of first ring, sometimes yellowish. It lives, in Europe,
upon Urtica dioica, urens, and pilulifera, almost solitarily: and
conceals itself in one or more leaves of the plant, which it unites by
the aid of silken threads. Hence, difficult of discovery by persons
unacquainted with its peculiar habits. The leaves of the nettle,
thus sewed together, may readily be mistaken for the work of an
Aranea or Botys. In a short time, having attained the full size,
the Caterpillar quits its place of concealment; and attaches itself to
the cornice of a wall, or the trunk of a tree, to assume the chrysalid
state. Sometimes, however, it undergoes this metamorphosis within
the leaf by which it has been previously sheltered. Most commonly,
found from August to the commencement of October.

The Chrysalis is large, somewhat shortened in figure, and less
angular than that of its congeners. Colour, grey tinged with
white, or pale violet-grey, with a few golden spots. “.The perfect

Insect is evolved in from twelve to fifteen days.
P,

Birmingham, December 12th, 1835.

[The caterpillars of some other genus, or genera, of British Lepidoptera
will be examined in our next Number.]

288

CORRESPONDENEE.

Lo the Editor of The Analyst.
Sir,

In answer to a query by a correspondent, (vol. ii., p. 426), I
should be inclined to think that he is right, when he supposes the
first-mentioned bird to be the Red Lark, (Alauda rubra). With
the most diligent search, I have never been able to find this bird on
the borders of Staffordshire, &c., and the species is affirmed, by
some authors, to be merely a variety of the Sky Lark, ( Alauda ar-
vensis, Lin. ; A, vulgaris, of Willughby.) This point must be left
to future investigation: and I must here express my regret, that
your correspondent did not take some means to secure the birds,
their nest, and eggs. He might thus, perhaps, have settled a very
interesting question in ornithology.

The second bird is, undoubtedly, the Yellow Wagtail, ( Motacilla
flava, Willughby.) Your correspondent thinks that the bird he
describes is in the “ Lark family:” but there is no such family in
ornithology. The Lark genus, (Alauda,) is in the Finch family,
(Fringillide,) and the Wagtail genus, ( Motacilla, ) is in the War-
bler family, (Sylviade.) He, also, says, that it is much smaller
than the Yellow Wagtail; but, by Yellow Wagtail, I suppose he
means the Gray Wagtail, ( Motacilla cinerea, Aldrovand,) which,
when in its best plumage, is chiefly yellow. If I am correct in this
supposition, his describing the tail of the newly-observed bird to be
much “shorter than that of the Yellow (Gray) Wagtail” is
accounted for; the real Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava,* Wil-
lughby) having a very short tail, compared with the Pied Wagtail
(Motacilla maculosa, W. ; M. alba, of Willughby) or the Gray
Wagtail. Another circumstance confirms me in: the supposition
that this bird is the Yellow Wagtail; it is described as frequenting
fields and shunning the water. On this account, the Yellow Wag-
tail is frequently called the Field Wagtail and the Oalear Wag-
tail, and the French call it ‘‘ Bergeronnette printaniere.” Bergeron-
nette is, literally, cattle attender. ‘The true Wagtails are called
Hochequeue. On account of its habits, the length of its hind claw,
and the shortness of its tail, this bird has been separated from the
other Wagtails, ( Motacilla,) under the name Budyles. It thus
forms a link between the Wagtails and the Pipits, (Anthus.)
Should your correspondent wish to obtain information on any British
Bird, I should advise him to procure Mudie’s Feathered Tribes, in
which he will find full and copious notices of our featherd guests
detailed in a remarkably fascinating style; and it is indeed, as
Loudon remarks, indispensable to every studier and every lover of
the Birds of Britain. : Sa. We

* The names Motacilla alba, M. flava, and many others, were not, as is
generally represented, given by Linnzeus; but by the illustrious Willughby,
who died 1672.

CORRESPONDENCE. 289

To the Editor of The Analyst.
IR,

In your last number, page 26, are some observations on the im-
provement of ornithological nomenclature, by S. D. W., and upon
which I would beg to remark for a few moments.

If I understand your correspondent aright, his remarks have as
much reference to the popular as to the scientific names, and it is to
the former that I will confine my observations. I am one of the
unlearned, and am, therefore, desirous that Natural History should
be “ made easy to the meanest capacity.” I see no good reason
whatever why natural science is to be circumscribed by learned
walls, over which the vulgar cannot peep, stretch themselves upon
tip-toe as much as they please ; I ean see no good reason why the
name Brimstone Butterfly will not answer every general purpose
fully as well as Gonepleryax rhamni. It is to be presumed that
those who are latinists also understand English; and, therefore,
when I describe aw object by a name which every Englishman can
understand, and which will convey to his mind a clear idea of the
object to which I allude, I run no risk of misleading’ the scholar ;
for I presume his knowledge of Latin has not deprived him of his
knowledge of English.

Frequent changes in the nomenclature of natural productions is
highly to be deprecated. Scientific names are hard to be acquired
by the unlearned ; and if this be an obstacle in his way in running
the race of science, how vastly are his difficulties enhanced by the
endless changes which are now so fashionable. It would almost
appear that the object of science, in the present day, was to attend
wholly to names, they are so everlastingly changing ; and thus the
student—particularly the unlearned student—is for ever groping his
dark and dubious way, always doubtful of the security of his foot-
ing, and frequently compelled to wnlearn to day what he learnt yes-
terday.

I would offer my remarks (very unworthy, perhaps, they may be)
in the spirit of kindness and good-will—in the spirit of a naturalist.
I would, then, ask S. D. W., why give so many names to the Owl
family ?>—(Strigide). In his list he gives us eleven Owls, with
the word Owl attached to but one of them. Why not let the term
Owl be the English family name, and attach some distinctive name
to each separate species? This involves another difliculty—one of
his Owls he calls a Snowflake : now, inasmuch as there is already a
Snow/fieck generally (perhaps universally) known’ by that name—
though S. D. W. has changed the name to Snowy Longspur—is
there not a great chance of the novice being misled by the same
name, or names, so nearly similar, being attached to birds so very
dissimilar? It will probably be answered, that, as the term Snow-
fleck is now discarded, the objection will not hold good’: true, it
will not hold good, abstractedly considered ; but as'it has been in
such general use, and for such a long period, it strikes me very for-
cibly that the great similarity in the name now used for one birdy to

January, 1836.—vou. 111., No. XIy. U

290 CORRESPONDENCE.

that which has been used for another, ought to be avuided ; because
it may, possibly, lead to confusion. Besides this, I really think that
some reason ought to be assigned for such radical changes of no-
menclature as S. D. W. proposes.. I want to know the grounds
upon which my assent is required to such changes. Nothing can
be more desirable than to have a general and universally-acknow-
ledged nomenclature ; but I want some substantial reason assigned
for the adoption of such names as Whitebreasted Nightling, Sparrow
Nighiling, &c., and for such uncouth designations as Heath Madge,
and Longeared Madge, before I consent to use them.

Leaving the Owl, we will proceed to other birds, without any
regard to classification. I find, in the list, White Kite, Fern Night-
jar, Minnow Kingfisher, Rivulet Dipper, and a variety of other
names of the same kind, and which, I think, have a direct tendency
to mislead and to confuse the student. If I see the names Kite,
Nightjar, Kingfisher, and Dipper, I clearly understand what is
meant ; but when I see the name of While Kite, I am led to sup-
pose that there must be another Kite, of some other colour. The
same, also, of the others—Minnow Kingfisher would lead me to
expect that there were other British Kingfishers, who preyed on
other fish, and were distinguished by the name of the fish on which
they fed ; and I should be further led to imagine that the Minnow
Kingfisher fed upon minnows, and upon no other fish. The like,
again, of the Dipper—by the distinctive epithet Rivulet, attached to
it by S. D. W., I am naturally led to suppose that there are other
British Dippers ; and I should expect to find them named, in con-
tradistinction to S. D. W.’s, River Dipper, Lake Dipper, or Sea
Dipper, as the case might be.

These remarks, I hope, S. D. W. will take in good part, as they
are meant; anxiety for the establishment of an undisputed and
fixed nomenclature has suggested them: for nothing would give me
greater pleasure than to see such a nomenclature adopted, not only
in ornithology, but also in every department of natural science.

Perhaps, you will allow me to say one word, in conclusion, in
further elucidation of the subject, respecting the nomenclature of
British Butterflies. The genus Melit#a and Argynnis, are both called
Fritillaries. Why? If the one genus be chequered, the other cer-
tainly is not—it is spotted: and besides, I would have names appro-
priated to them that would better designate their habits ; and their
habits are exceedingly dissimilar. Again, with respect to the Blue
Butterflies—I can understand the common blue, the pale blue, the
azure blue, the silver-studded blue, &c.; here I can distinctly un-
derstand the distinctive differences meant to be noted: but when I
find other blues denominated Arguses, I am at fault, for the one
class is quite as much eyed as the other.

These are the ideas which spontaneously sprung up in my mind,
in reading S. D. W.’s paper. I submit them to his consideration,
applauding his object, and wishing him abundant success.

December, 1835. CARLO CYFFIN.

291

CORRESPONDENCE.
To the Editor of The Analyst.

“ T will description the matter to you,
If you be capacity of it.”
Srp,

As you have admitted the animadversions of a Birmingham cor-
respondent of Zhe Analyst on an insignificant little work which I
lately published, I feel assured you will not refuse to insert the follow-
ing reply. My Guide to an arrangement of British Birds, written
in great haste, among other numerous avocations, was printed, pri-
marily, for my own convenience, and, secondarily, for the benefit of
other collectors of British birds ; and I expressly stated, in the pre-
face, that I hoped all due allowance would be made for any typo-
graphical or other errors. With regard to the arrangement, I
adopted that which I consider still to be the best; and I distinctly
pointed out that if a collector were displeased with the relative po-
sition of any or every individual bird in the catalogue, he had nothing
to do but to change, “ ad libitum,” the place of each and every case
to which the names were attached. But, to the gravamen of the
charge :—the strictures of your correspondent arrange themselves
under two heads—the first embracing the faults of the author, the
second impugning the accuracy of the printer. The one a class of
faults that may be said to exist, 2va«:, in the work itself, the other
to arise, xara caubeBixes. On both of these “ I will try conclusions”
with him. He asks me on whose authority I admit the Picus
medius as a distinct species >—simply then on that of Linneus, Tem-
minck, Bewick, etc. Secondly, why do I admit the Emberiza chlo.
rocephala as such >I do so because Gmelin, Linneus, Lewin,
Brown, Montagu, and Fleming, have deseribed it as a species ; and I
include it among the British birds, Bewick alone having mentioned
five instances of its occurring in England. As, however, this eru-
dite ornithologist seems inclined to consider this bird as merely a
variety of Emberiza citrinella (differing only, “ si rite recorder,”
about the head and neck, it may just be as well to set him right by
a comparison of the descriptions of the two species, as given by Be-
wick. Having done’ so, otliers may form their own opinions re-
specting the matter.

Emberiza citrinella.

. Length somewhat above six inches.
Bill dusky ; eyes hazel ;. the prevail-
ing colouris yellow, mixed with brown
of various shades; the crown of the
head, in general, is bright yellow,

more or less variegated with brown ;:

the cheeks, throat, and lower part of
the belly, pure yellow; the’ breast
reddish, and the sides dashed with
streaks of the same; the hinder part
of the neck and back are greenish

Emberiza chlorocephala.

Tt is about the size of the Yellow
Bunting. The bill dark reddish ; the
head and neck, as far as the breast
pale olive green, slight] powdered
with pale ash grey. The chin and
throat are pale greenish yellow; a
streak of the same colour falls down
from the corners of the lower mandi-
bles, before the auriculars. The
breast and belly are of a light rusty
chestnut; the vent and under coverts

u2

292

olive ; the greater quills dusky, edged
with pale yellow; lesser quills and
scapulars dark brown, edged with
ey; the tail is dusky, and a little
irked, the feathers edged with light
brown, the outermost with white;
the legs Phaser brown. It is some-
what di
bird of which no two are to be found
perfectly similar, but its specific cha-
racters are platy, and cannot easily be
mistaken. The colours of the female
are less bright than those of the male,
with very little yellow about the

cult to describe a species of

CORRESPONDENCE.

of the tail, the same, but of a paler
and more dingy cast ; the feathers on
the back, scapulars, and greater and
lesser coverts, are very aot brown
in the middle, but the rest of the
webs are much lighter, and of a rusty
brown; the lower part of the back
and upper coverts of the tail are also
of the latter colour; the quills and
tail feathers are deepish brown, the
former edged with light brown ; mid-
dle tail feathers the same; the rest
plain, and the outer feathers are
somewhat longer than the middle

head. ones. The legs reddish yellow.

Thirdly, on whose authority do I admit Falco lithofalco as dif-
ferent from Falco esalon ?2—I reply, on that of Linneus, Buffon,
Bewick, etc., ete.—These, then, are the three offences of commission
with which I am charged; and for three others of omission he
chooses to consider the work rendered null and void, as to its
utility, otherwise, as he himself allows, a very great help to
the ornithologist. “ The very sum and substance of my wrong
hath this offence, no more.” Now, with regard to the three former
objections, I think it a sufficient answer to observe that, even al-
lowing them—which I do not—not to be species, still, as they cer-
tainly are so considered by many, it is evidently better to supply
the names for their accommodation ; and those who entertain a
different opinion have nothing to do but to set aside the names of
those three species. It may be asked why, on this ground, I have
not admitted the names of the other three species? (one of these,
by the bye, the fork-tailed kite, is given, by Bewick, as a synonym
of the Glead, but I will not affect to misunderstand what is meant)
—I beg, in answer, to refer your correspondent to the date of my
preface, before which my Guide was composed, and also, at the same
time, to ask him when, by what authors, these birds have been de-
scribed, how often, and at what places, they have occurred in Bri-
tain. At the same time, he is informed that though I fully expect
that one (the Regulus) or more of them will not remain considered
as good species, yet, for the reason adduced above, I have added them
in a supplement, containing, also, the emended errata to the Guide,
which will accompany it gratis, and any person may obtain it by
applying to Mr. Longman, through his bookseller—Having thus
dismissed the charges which concern myself, I now come to those so
‘rife and rank” of the printer; some of which I take upon myself
to be answerable for, as I am chargeable with them, if faults they be.
Whole snipe your correspondent imagines to be a misprint (for large
snipe, as I suppose) ; but, whatever its market name may be, it is
by this name that the biril is known to sportsmen from Lincolnshire
to Hampshire; and, therefore, I see no reason, at present, to alter
it. The nice ear of this learned critic is offended, in the next place,

CORRESPONDENCE. 993

by a termination in ws occurring in the same genus with one in
A. Having chanced to learn that the original termination in the
Greek was in ,;, he thinks that that orthography ought to be pre-
served. By the same rule, this modern Procrustes might wage war
against Otus uncompounded, as he indulges in such a tirade against
it when in composition (Brachyotus). Cirlws might fall under his
lash, because, forsooth, in the same genus, we meet with citrinella.
Chauliodus might share the same fate, as also Pomarinus, Lliacus,
Phanicurus (in both syllables, and there occurring in the same ge-
nus, Rubecu/a), Melanopterus, Hyperboreus, Phasianus, Lagopus,
~Cholchicws, Qchropus, Numeniws, Urogallus, Numenius, scheniclus,
and a host of others, “quae nunc perscribere longum ;? but I cry
you merey, Sir, “ jam satis est.” Only one word more—this ano-
nymous writer says that he selects only some out of many errors.
May I then ask of his candour why he came to instance those which,
immediately after, he allows himself, have been corrected, and that
to all intents and purposes; a name on one page being just as
useful for cutting out as its fac simile on another: indeed, he tries,
evidently, to magnify these apparent errors, by printing, at full
length, the correct names by the side of the misprinted ones, as if
to increase their number. Thus ends this long, dark catalogue of
crime, in answering which I have taken up too much space indeed,
and will only say, in extenuation, that, henceforth and for ever, I
take leave of Mr. , and his animadversions. ‘“ Verbum non
amplius addam.”
I remain, Sir,

Your very obedient servant,

FRANCIS ORPEN MORRIS.

REPORT OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES.

SHROPSHIRE AND NORTH WALES NATURAL HISTORY
SOCIETY.

Tue first General Meeting of the members of this Society,
{whose formation we noticed in our last number), was held in the
temporary Town-hall, Shrewsbury, on Thursday, November 12th,
and was attended by a brilliant assemblage of the beauty, rank, and
respectability of the county, who evinced the deepest interest in the
proceedings.

The President {the venerable Samuel Butler, D. D., F. R.S.,
Archdeacon of Derby) opened the business of the day, by delivering
the following eloquent and powerful Address:—

294 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES.

“The most important agent in the natural world is light ; which,
with its frequent concomitant, heat, sets in motion all the animal
and vegetable world, arrays the whole creation in its variety of
gorgeous hues, vivifies the dormant seeds of plants, and causes even
inert matter to assume new combinations and new affinities, and to
ferment, as it were, with the germ of vitality. What light is to
the material, knowledge is to the intellectual world. Nay, we
even use the word metaphorically, when speaking of the operations
of the mind. But, as in the case of inert matter, some fermentation
takes place before it assumes a more beauteous arrangement in a
chrystallized or prismatic form, so, in that of mental improvement,
the first rays of light which are let in upon the uncultivated mind
are apt to cause a peculiar commotion upon it. They act upon it as
the Spirit that moved on the face of the chaotic deep; and do not
bring the confused and indigested mass into order without a strange
and often a violent perturbation. Hence we shall find that, when-
ever a sudden and vehement impulse is given to the operations of
the mind, men become restless and self-willed. In their desire to
advance in the pursuit of objects heretofore unknown to them, they
are hurried forward by a tumult of impatience and delight ; and in
their eagerness to outstrip their teachers, they rush impetuously to
the goal, they overlook or overleap many previous necessary conclu-
sions, and, mistaking the first rays of light which beam on their
understandings, for the brightness of meridian day, they become
filled with self-sufficiency and self-will—the two greatest obstacles
to philosophical investigation and intellectual improvement. These
observations appear to me not inapplicable to the present moment.
There is a great and general movement in advance throughout the
civilized world ; and such an impulse cannot be given to men’s
minds without important results, nor without considerable agitation.
Mankind may be considered, at present, as under a sort of moral
and intellectual ferment, from the influence of the first beams of
knowledge shining on their minds, and rousing a confused and inert
mass into action; and beforé any organized or well-regulated
arrangement can take place, we must expect the smooth and the
rough, the cold and hot, the moist and dry, the dense and rare, to
come into collision, and contend with each other for the mastery.
This agitation cannot, at once, subside ; and while it lasts we can
look for little actual advancement in science: but when it becomes
composed and arranged, just as in the defecation of any other fer-
mentive process, we may expect the happiest effects.

“«« Prejudice and presumption are so closely allied to ignorance, that
where the former exist we may always expect to find the latter ;
and they are the greatest foes to sound philosophy and scientific
improvement. We may observe this on all occasions, and not least
in the attacks which have been made, by mistaken zeal, upon the
new science of geology. For my own part, I do not see how the
scriptural account of the creation is more impugned, or invalidated,
by the inquiries or discoveries of geologists in the present age, than it

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. 295

was, only two centuries ago, by those of Galileo, who, in that enlight-
ened period, suffered the penalty of a long imprisonment, and nearly
incurred the severer torments of death at the stake, for asserting
those truths which no man now thinks of denying, and which have
been confirmed and established by the still more important disco-
veries of our own immortal Newton. That most able and highly-
gifted individual who now adorns the University of Cambridge, and.
that college in it which has to boast the names of the two greatest
philosophers of any age or country—for what can be greater than
those of Bacon and Newton ?—and whose own name, hereafter,
will be added to a list of worthies unexampled in the annals of
science, and claiming the admiration of the latest posterity: he, I
say, who has made the geology of this county, in particular, the
object of his special attention—and after this description of him it
is needless to add the name of Professor Sedgwick—in that match-
less and profound discourse which he has published on the studies
of the University—a work which, in a small compass, contains
volumes, and which can never be too much read, or too seriously
reflected on—has abundantly and unanswerably replied to all such
objections. It will never be found that real science is at variance
with scriptural truth. It may help us to a better and a clearer
interpretation of those truths which are recorded in scripture, but
never will it impugn the sacred oracles, or promote the cause of
irreligion or infidelity. If it enlarges our views of this wonderful
creation, if it enables us more clearly to understand the mechanism
of the world we live in, and the admirable contrivances for the pre-
servation of the creatures which inhabit it, and the unerring laws
by which the worlds around us are moved, and governed, and
retained in their several orbits, or in their dependent systems, it can
only lead us to contemplate, with more reverential awe, the incon-
ceivable power and majesty of that Infinite and Almighty Being who
called them into existence by his single fiat, ‘ who spake the word
and they were made, who commanded and it stood fast.’

“ With these views, then, let us approach the great book of crea-
tion, and apply ourselves to study its pages, with feelings of grati-
tude and veneration towards Him who formed it. Of love for the
goodness, of reverence for the power, of awe for the majesty, of
admiration for the wisdom displayed in all His works, of thank.
fulness for our own creation, for our preservation, and for all the
blessings of this life; and let us remember that this world is but a
passage to another, and that natural religion is but the portal by
which we may approach revealed. While, therefore, we thus con-
template the wonders of the world we now inhabit, and reflect on
the dominion which is given us over the inferior creatures in it, let
our hearts overflow with pious gratitude, and dutiful reliance on
those glorious promises of a still brighter and better world, which
are held out to us in the gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ. This is
the great end to which all our studies should be directed, and to

296 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES.

which that of natural history can hardly fail to lead every pious
and well-regulated mind. So that we may

‘ Find tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in every thing.’ ”

The venerable president then alluded ,te the value and importance
of such institutions, when considered in.a national point of view, as
promoting and diffusing a taste for science, and forming a nucleus,
in different parts of the .kingdom, round which may be collected a
variety of interesting *materials, for scientific purposes and general
information. Such a concentration would give a better and more
thorough insight to the inquisitive and scientific traveller of the
productions of the district he is passing through, than the most
splendid private, or even metropolitan, collections. The illustra-
tions, therefore, of the natural history of any district, are those
which claim our first attention, whether we regard its geological
structure, its mineralogy, its hydrography, its entomology, its
botany, its zoology, its meteorology, or any other of its phenomena.
A knowledge, also, of the habits and manners of its inhabitants, and
of the changes they have undergone, rendered a collection of anti-
quities a very delightful and valuable addition to a cabinet of natu-
ral history. Arms, implements used in husbandry or the arts,
domestic utensils, dresses—in short, whatever tends to illustrate the
manners of by-gone times, and especially coins, or sepulchral reliques,
and inscriptions found within the district, which frequently mark
some important site, or historical epoch connected with it, are all of
great value in such collections. In all these departments, the pre-
sident solicited the contributions of the friends of the society, and
especially recommended that they be always accompanied with a
statement-of the places where they were found, and such other par-
ticulars-as were known.

The president then adverted to the heavy expenses in fitting up
the rooms of the museum .with proper cases, &c., which must neces-.
sarily be incurred by the society at its commencement ; and noticed,
with great commendation, the laudable example which had been
set, by two gentlemen of the county, in contributing handsome do-
nations of money, towards effecting that object.

The Archdeacon next proceeded to observe that a very impor-
tant feature in these societies was, that they are sufficiently attrac-
tive to occupy the notice and attention of the softer sex. Abstract
science is generally too crabbed and severe to engage the finer and
more delicate perceptions of female minds in its pursuit ; and though
there have not been wanting some splendid exceptions to this general
observation, and at the present moment an English lady holds the
highest rank in mathematical and astronomical studies, and bears
her faculties with a degree -of meekness which sheds a brighter
lustre on her scientific acquirements than the most exalted talents, .

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. 297

unadorned with so much modesty, could attain, yet it is but rarely
indeed that a name like that of Somerville can be found in the
highest departments of severe philosophy.

But far different is the case with those objects which our nascent
institution is founded to promote. Natural history presents many
charms to the cultivated female mind. Considered as an innocent
and elegant pursuit, as combining information with amusement,
and occupying, without engrossing, the mind, engaging it in agree-
able study, without withdrawing it from domestic duties, it has a
thousand charms on female attention, particularly in those branches
which relate to botany, entomology, and ornithology. He, there-
fore, trusted that the ladies of “hropshire would follow the bright
example set them by the ladies of the neighbouring county of Wor-
cester, in fostering the society established there, by taking under
their Mitronage, and assisting, and sharing in the pursuits of, the
institution whose cause he now advocated.

The learned president thus concluded, amid the unanimous plau-
dits of the assembly :—‘ Iam sensible how great a trespasser I have
been upon your time and patience, and, though I had much more to
say, I must hasten to abridge what remains. But one thing is too
important to be passed over unnoticed. I mean the great improve-
ment which such institutions are likely to effect in the diffusion of
science and civilization—in giving a taste for rational and useful
amusements, instead of frivolous and unprofitable pursuits—in sharp-
ening the faculties of the intelligent, by collision—and in softening
prejudices and removing asperities, by bringing into nearer contact
various orders of men, and uniting them in that one republic in
which all are ambitious to be enrolled—I mean that of letters.
These studies may both relax the minds of those who are wearied
with graver cares, and amuse the hours of those who have no
heavier concerns ; they may afford food to the scientific, instruction
to the inquiring, and occupation to the vacant mind. They can
injure none, they may delight many, they may improve all: and I,
therefore, earnestly recommend them to your attention, with thanks
for the patience with which you have heard me, and hearty good
wishes for the prosperity of this institution.”

The Report of the council was then read by Dr. Goldie, of which
we are enabled to present the following abstract :—

The council, after congratulating the meeting on the flourishing
prospects of the society, even at this early period, of its existence,
and referring to the objects contemplated by its founders, explains,
that, in assuming its name from the extensive district comprehended
by Shropshire.and North Wales, the society disclaims all intention
ef monopolizing patronage, or interfering with the claims and ob-
jects of the sister societies established at Ludlow and Caernarvon ;
but, on the contrary, rejoices in the extension of knowledge and the
increase of institutions calculated to promote it in the surrounding
districts. The Report next alludes to the success which attended
the first appeal of the society to the public, in obtaining a prompt

298 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES.

and numerous accession of members, and states their present number
to amount to 174, including persons the most eminent in rank and
distinguished in science and literature in these counties. The coun-
cil next proceed to a summary enumeration of the donations which
have been presented to the museum, and a review of the present
state and prospect of its several departments. The chief value of
the geological collection is stated to consist, at present, in the speci-
mens of fossil plants from the coal-measures of different districts of
England, particularly of Shropshire, presented by Dr. Du Gard,
and several other donors. The mineralogical department is next
noticed, and a wish expressed for more ample contributions of the
rare and beautiful minerals afforded by the mining districts of this
neighbourhood. The botanical collection is stated to have already
made great progress, through the large and valuable donations of
W. A. Leighton, Esq., Dr. Wilson, and others ; and through the
further contributions promised to it, especially by C. C. Babington,
Esq., of Cambridge, and J. E. Bowman, Esq:, of Gresford (both
distinguished botanists), its speedy attainment to a high degree of
completeness is confidently predicted by the counci], In the depart-
ment of zoology, some beautiful skeletons of quadrupeds and reptiles
(the gift of T. C. Eyton, Esq., and Mr. T. B. Barrett), are the
subject of high commendation, both on account of the talent and
industry displayed in their preparation, and the great utility of such
specimens to zoological science. Other specimens of vertebrated
animals are alluded to; and, after pointing out the desirableness of
acquiring a complete collection of British birds, and alluding to the
zeal and ability of the curator of ornithology (T. C. Eyton, Esq.),
the council add their confident hope that his efforts will be seconded
by all who have the opportunity ; and, in particular, that gentlemen
will kindly appropriate to the museum any rare birds which they
may meet with in their shooting excursions, and will give similar
directions to their gamekeepers ; by which means the society’s cabi-
nets would be speedily stored with the birds of the neighbouring
districts, at no cost, and little trouble to the donors. The donations
to the cabinet of entomology are next referred to ; and the council
point out the certainty derived from the well-known ability and
devotion of the curators (the Rev. F. W. Hope, and W. W. Wat-
kins, Esq.) to this pursuit, that all donations to this department will
be made most available for the illustration of this fascinating and
popular branch of natural history. The beginning of a cabinet of
conchology is next noticed, with a request for further donations in
that department. '

In that of antiquities, the munificent and most valuable donation,
by Archdeacon Butler, of an Egyptian mummy, in its two cases, in
fine preservation, and enriched with hieroglyphics, is noticed as
demanding the society’s warmest gratitude,—not only from its great
intrinsic value, and the deeply-interesting historical associations
connected with it, but also as a lasting and splendid memorial of the
attachment of the donor to the interests of the society.

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. 299

The council refer, also, to the library, and, after acknowledging
the donations of books which have been received, especially a very
interesting and beautiful MS. on Druidical Antiquities, by T. F.
Dukes, Esq., F S. A. (one of the antiquarian curators), point out
the formation of a scientific library of reference, as a most essential
object. of the society, and one without which the most richly-stored
museum would be comparatively unavailable for the purposes of
science. But it is observed that, for the present, even this essential
consideration must be postponed to the urgent necessity of devoting
the society’s funds to fitting up the museum with the cabinets which
are indispensably required for the safe custody and due arrangement
of the donations entrusted to the museum. ‘Towards this important
object, which, at the present moment, presses heavily on the society’s
resources, the liberal donation of five pounds each by R. A. Slaney,
Esq. and Colonel Wingfield, and of one guinea by Mrs. Sutton,
were gratefully announced.

The general state of the society’s finances is next adverted to, and
the members individually are earnestly recommended to exert their
influence in obtaining an accession of new subscribers, as a present
aid and permanent benefit to the society.

The council, lastly, advert to their having it in contemplation to
commence periodical meetings of the members of the society, for the
purpose of scientific intercourse, and the reading of communications ;
and also, as soon as possible, to organize a series of popular lectures
on subjects of natural science: and they conclude by expressing
their confident hope that the endeavours of the society to promote
the cause of science, will continue to be cordially seconded by the
public; and that, when called upon to present the next annual
report of their proceedings, they will be enabled to congratulate
their fellow members and the public on the steady and progressive
advancement of the institution, in its career of public favour and
acknowledged usefulness.

On the conclusion of the reading of the Report the following re-
solutions were unanimously adopted :—

That the title of the Society, for the future, shall be Tue
SwRorsHire AND Norra Waxes Narurau Hisrory anp ANtTI-
QUARIAN SOCIETY.

That the following Gentlemen be elected Honorary Members :—
Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq., F. R. and G. S.; Rev. Adam
Sedgwick, M. A., F. R. and G. 8., Woodwardian Professor of Geo-
logy in the University of Cambridge; Rev. William Buckland,
D.D., F. R. and G. S., Professor of Geology in the University of
Oxford ; Rev. John Stevens Henslow, M. A., F. L. S..and G. S.,
Regius Professor of Botany, in the University of Cambridge; John
Phillips, Esq., F. R. and G. S., Professor of Geology, King’s Col-
lege, London ; Charles Cardale Babington, Esq. M. A, F. L. S., of
St. John’s College, Cambridge; Joshua Trimmer, Esq., F. G. S.,
Secretary of the Caernarvonshire Natural History Society; Rev.
William Whewell, M. A. of Trinity College, Cambridge.

200 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES.

That the following gentlemen be requested to continue their du-
_ ties as officers of the Society until the next General Meeting :—
President—The Venerable Archdeacon Butler, D. D., F. R.S., &c.
&c.: Vice Presidents—Thomas Du Gard, Esq., M. D., F. G.S.;
Rev. Francis Knyvett Leighton, M. A.; Robert Aglionby Slaney,
Esq. ; John Wingfield, Esq.: T'reasurer—Thomas Eyton, Esq.:
Secretaries—Henry Johnson, Esq., M. D.; William Allport Leigh-
ton, Esq., B. A.: Council—Mr. John Carline ; W. James Clement,
Esq.; Rev. Charles Drury, M. A.; Thomas Farmer Dukes, Esq.,
F. S. A.; Thomas Campbell Eyton, Esq.; Richard Ford, Esq, ;
George Goldie, Esq. M. D.; James Loxdale, Esq.; Mr. Henry
Pidgeon ; Thomas Sutton, Esq.; Rev. J. M. Wakefield, M. A. ;
and Mr. James Whitney.

After the usual votes of thanks to the officers and donors, the
meeting separated. ;

So brilliant an effect was produced by the venerable President’s
luminous and animated address, and so powerful a spirit of good fel-
lowship and co-operation pervaded the breast of every individual
present at the meeting, that the number of subscribers has since been
augmented to 184, and donations of specimens exceeding prior ones
in interest and value, and a contribution of money towards the fitting
up of the museum, have been most liberally forwarded by friends
of the institution in various portions of the district.

We are also happy in being enabled to announce that the Coun-
cil have determined to hold evening meetings of the members of the
Society, for the purpose of reading scientific communications on the
various branches of Natural History, on the first Tuesday in each
month, and that the first meeting is fixed for Tuesday, the 5th of
January next.

BIRMINGHAM SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY.

Since the last quarterly meeting of this institution, the following
donations and subscriptions have been recorded :-—

Sir F. Goodriche, Bart. M. P., £10. ; T. Woods, Esq., Coleshill,
£10.; J. E. Piercy, Esq., Birmingham, £10. 10s. ; Rev. Mr. Peg-
lar, £2. 2s.; Mr. Goddard, £2. 2s. Annual,—Mr. J. Shore,
£1. 1s.; Mr. Guest, £1. 1s.; Mr. Smith, £1. ls.; Mr. Powell,
£1. 1s.; Mr. R. Harris, £1. 1s.; Mr. J. E. Piercy, £1. 1s.; Mr.
Ruberry, £1. 1s.; Mr. James James, £1. 1s.; Mr. W. Bourne,
£1. 1s.; Mr. C. Brewin, £2. Qs.

The museum of comparative anatomy has been enriched by speci-
mens of the Felis onca, Armadillo Novemcinctus, and Viverra nasua,
from the collection of Mr. Wombwell. The Earl of Mountnorris

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. 301

has presented a remarkably fine skin of the Boa constrictor, shot
whilst swiming across a creek, with a deer in its mouth, by Captain
Macleod. Mr. Hunter has contributed the rare skull of the red
Ourang Outang of Borneo, sister of the living specimen now exhibit-
ing in the Zoological Gardens, London. That flourishing Society
has transmitted to the honorary secretary of the School, the follow-
ing liberal resolution, viz.,— that the Society, with pleasure, are
willing to present to the museum of the Birmingham School of
Medicine, the bodies of animals dying in the Society’s menagerie
and not required for their own purpose.”

The attention of the profession is called to some beautiful wax
models, executed by Mr. Hardy, of Gloucester, especially to the
case of osteo-sarcoma, presented by Mr. J. Fowke, of Wolverhamp-
ton.

The following gentlemen form the officers for the ensuing year :

Committee of Management,—The Rev. Chancellor Law; Rev.
Egerton Bagot ; James Taylor, Esq. ; Edward Johnstone, M.D. ;
John Johnstone, M. D., F. R. S.; Mr. Armfield; Mr. E. T. Cox ;
Mr. B Guest; Mr. J. E. Piercy; Mr. H. Smith; Mr. J. G.
Reeves; Mr. J. W. Unett.

Auditors of Accounts,—Mr. Armfield; Mr. J. G. Reeves.

Visitors,—Mr. G. Attwood ; Mr. E. T. Cox; Mr. J. E. Piercy;
Mr. Charles Shaw.

BIRMINGHAM PHILOSOPHICAL IN STITUTION.

Tue lectures announced in the last annual report to be delivered at
this institution during the autumn of 1835, were, a course “ On
Mental Phenomena connected with the exercise of the Imagination,”
by Mr. L. Parker, and one ‘‘ On the early English Opera,” by Mr.
Edward Taylor. Of the former, the three first lectures only were
given, the delivery of the remaining two lectures being unavoidably
postponed for some time. Mr. Parker’s first lecture will be seen in
another part of the present number. In place of the fourth and
fifth lectures of Mr. Parker, lectures were delivered on the 9th
and 16th of November, by Mr. Russell, “On the discovery of a
Toad found alive imbedded in a solid mass of new red Sand-stone,”
the depositions relating to which circumstance were given in the
last number of The Analyst ; and by Dr. Corrie, ‘ On the flowing
of Sand under pressure.” Of this latter lecture, which was pre-
pared and delivered to the members at a very short notice, the fol-
lowing is a brief and imperfect outline :—

The lecturer first adverted to some of the ordinary phenomena
which are observed in fluids, both when in motion and at rest ;

302 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES:

‘

shewing that when a fluid, as mercury, is poured into one leg of an
inverted syphon, it will ascend to the same level in both legs, pro-
vided the pressure in both be the same; and that if water be al-
lowed to escape from a vessel filled with it, through an aperture in
or near the bottom, the rapidity with which the water flows out
will not be uniform, but will diminish in proportion as the height
of the column of water in the vessel diminishes: in other words,
the quantity that flows out will be unequal in equal times. Such,
however, is not the case with sand, as was first shewn, a few years
since, by M. Bernard, of Geneva, in describing, to the Philosophical
Society of that city, an anemometer, or measurer of the wind, which
he had so constructed that the force and direction of the wind were
measured by the quantity of sand which escaped from an aperture
variable in its size. For this instrument to give accurate results, it
was essential that, whatever might be the pressure, equal quantities
of sand should flow through the same aperture in equal times; and,
to prove that such is the case, Mons. Bernard instituted a set of
experiments on the subject, which led to the knowledge of some
very curious and interesting facts. Many of M. Bernard’s experi-
ments were repeated during the lecture, by Dr. Corrie. The sand
to be used should be well sifted, dry, and not too fine ; that which
will pass through a sieve containing thirty-eight wires per inch in
one direction, and forty-five or forty-six in the other, flows very
readily : but the aperture through which the sand is to flow must
not be less than ,079 of an inch in diameter. Part of the apparatus
used for exhibiting the experiments was a tin box, open at the top,
and provided with an aperture that could be widened or lengthened
at pleasure, and the sand that passed out was estimated by measure.
It was seen that the quantity of sand that flowed in a given time
through a given aperture, was the same, whatever was the weight,
the volume, or the height of the sand in the box above. The height
of the sand was sometimes increased very considerably, and heavy
weights were added to increase the pressure, but without producing
any change.* Sand being poured into one leg of an inverted syphon
did not ascend in the other, but extended only a very little way into
the horizontal part. Whatever pressure may be given to the upper
surface of the sand, it exerts no influence on the issue below. An
inverted syphon had some mercury poured in until both the limbs
were partly filled ; and the sand was then poured in on'the one side
upon the mercury, but no elevation of the mercury in the other le

took place. If pressure be added to the weight of the sand, still the
mercury will remain unmoved. A wafer was pressed against the

* It was remarked by M. Bernard that there is,.perhaps, no other natural
force on the earth which produces, by itself, a perfectly uniform movement,
and which is not altered, either by gravitation, or friction, or the resistance
of the air: for the height. of the column of sand has no influence ; friction, in
place of being an obstacle, is the regulating cause; and the resistance of the
air within the column must be so feeble as to be altogether insensible as a
disturbing force.

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES, 303

end of a tube about half an inch in diameter, and the tube was then
filled with sand and held in an upright position, without the escape
of the sand, although the wafer adhered very slightly. It was
shewn, also, to be impossible to push sand out of a tube, even
when inclined as much as twenty degrees downwards, the pressure
being transmitted to, and resisted by, the sides of the tube, which
would ultimately give way. This fact explained how, in the blast-
ing of rocks, sand is as effectual in filling up the hole, as a plug,
or the most compact driving, whilst, at the same time, it is free
from the dangers unavoidably attendant on these latter contri-
vances. *

The following is a brief analysis of Mr. Taylor’s interesting
lectures ‘On the early English Opera” :—

Leorure I—Mr. Taylor commenced by saying that the history
of the national opera presented a more interesting and more exten-
sive field of inquiry than the subject on which he had before ad-
dressed the members of the Institution, (English Vocal Harmony),
since its range was more extensive and its influence more powerful.
It had been said that the English had no national opera ; but that
all their notions of it had been derived from Italy: He proposed to
inquire into the correctness of this assertion. ‘The records of the
English Opera were exceedingly scanty and imperfect; and, in fact,
its history, connectedly and fully, had never been written. To this
circumstance, many erroneous opinions were to be traced.

The earliest dramatic exhibitions in England, as in every other
part of Europe, werevin the 12th century, when it was customary,
on festival days, to dramatize and represent portions of scripture.
In the reign of Henry VIII., tournaments were succeeded by the
more peaceful exhibition of the pageant ; and in the masques of
B. Jonson the personages and characters of these several exhibitions
were united and grouped into a classical form, with the addition of
dialogue, scenery, and music. Here, then, was the germ of the
opera.

Mr. Taylor then reviewed the history of the stage, before and at
the time of Shakspeare, and the history of music as connected
with the stage. Some very curious illustrations were introduced :
masque music, in the reigns of Henry VIII., Elizabeth, and
James I., both dances, songs, and chorusses. Elizabeth fostered and
encouraged the musical talent of her subjects: James banished these
from his court and favour, and introduced a set of foreign musicians,
whose works are now only known to collectors, and whose merits
were in every way inferior to those of the English writers of the
preceding reign. A very beautiful composition, by Wilbye, in
honour of his royal mistress, concluded the lecture.

Lecture II.—Charles I. manifested the same predilection for

_ *The law mentioned in this lecture,—that of equal quantities of sand flow-
re | through the same aperture in equal times,—has been applied to an use-
ful purpose in Birmingham, in ores the equal supply of fuel to the fire-
place of steam engines, without the superintendence of a workman.

304 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES:

foreign composers as his father, before whose death the fine school
of madrigal-writers was extinct: he also inherited James’s love for
masques. The celebrated masque, given by the four Inns of Court;
called ‘‘ The Triumph of Peace,” was noticed, and some of its mu-
sic,—a part of which is preserved in the Music School library, at
Oxford,—was given. In Comus, the masque attained its highest
perfection. An interesting account of this beautiful dramatic poem
was given, and one of its songs, as originally set by H. Lawes, was
sung. Milton’s opinion of the proper use and employment of the
stage was given in an eloquent passage from his prose works ; and
the lecture concluded with a review of the writings and character of
H. Lawes, to whom, Mr. Taylor said, the proud distinetion of being
the friend of Milton worthily belonged. Some passages from
Lawes’s writings, breathing a noble and high-minded spirit, as well
as a cultivated understanding, confirmed this remark, and several of
his songs justified Milton’s discriminating appreciation of his talents
as a composer. ,

Lecrure III.—In order to ascertain the amount of obligation
which the English opera owed to that of Italy, Mr. Taylor gave a
succinct review of the latter from its very commencement in 1597,
illustrated with some very curious specimens. He then traced the
origin and progress of recitative, quoting, in illustration of his re-
marks, from cotemporary Italian authors. It appeared from these,
as well as from the illustrations, that the English and Italian ope-
ras proceeded from a different point, on different principles, and
aimed at a different object : it also appeared that the opera only be-
came a regular dramatic exhibition in Italy cotemporaneously with
the production of Comus.

The lecturer then proceeded with the history of the English
stage, from the time of Shakspeare to that of the Restoration: in-
terspersed with many curious and interesting circumstances connect-
ed with this subject. The plays of Shakspeare-were not then fa-
vourites with the public, and but few were on the manager’s acting
list. They were usually subjected to alterations, and frequently
acted under new titles. D’Avenant, in consequence of this distaste
for Shakspeare, had recourse to a new kind of entertainment, in
which music was connected with the drama. ‘The second of these
was Macbeth, to which he added’a scene, (borrowed from an old
play), for the purpose of introducing music into the piece. It has
been a subject of no little controversy, who was the author of this
celebrated music ; some writers having ascribed it to Purcell, and
Mr. W. Linley, in the preface to his “ Songs of Shakspeare,” to
Eccles. Mr. Taylor entered into a full discussion of this historic
doubt, detailing and commenting on all the evidence for and against
each claimant ; his summing up was decidedly in favour of Matthew
Lock. Some of Lock’s other dramatic musie was then sung, as well
as the music in the play of The Witch, (probably the earliest dra-
matic music extant), and, afterwards, a selection from the music in
Macbeth.

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. 305

Mr. Taylor then proceeded to examine the correctness of the
generally-received opinion, that the extinction of the fine schoo! of
English vocal harmony, which existed in the reign of Elizabeth,
was effected by the Protector and his adherents ; and showed, by
an appeal to facts and dates, that this had, in fact, been accomplish-
ed by James I., and that Morley, Wilbye, Weelkes, and their co-
temporaries had ‘all ceased to write, and their music to be sung, thirty
years before Cromwell’s name had been heard of.

Lecrurse IV.—Mr. Taylor began this lecture by reviewing the
state of music in England, at the time of Purcell’s birth, (1658),
and that, also of Italy, (as far as related to dramatic music), i in order
to ascertain whether Purcell had thence been enabled to derive any
of the materials for his operas, or any hints for their construction.
Specimens were given from Italian operas of the dates of 1650 and
1662, also from the operas of Lulli and other French composers of
the same period. Pureell’s first opera, “‘ Dido et Aineas,” then came
under review, and it appeared, that, although this opera was formed
on the Italian model, (the dialogue being carried on in recitative),
that in variety, beauty, and originality, it was superior to any
foreign production of a like kind,—especially in the construction of
the recitatives, in which style of writing Purcell at once proved
himself a consummate master. A selection from this rare and beau-
tiful opera (which exists only in MS.) was then given. The music
in “ Gedipus” and in “ Tyrannick Love” was next alluded to, and a
duet, from the latter, sung.

Mr. Taylor then noticed the discouragement which Purcell and
his cotemporaries received from Charles I!., by whom all English
music was proscribed, and a number of inferior French composers
introduced to his court, and patronized,—among these, M. Grabu,
for whom Dryden wrote his “ Albion and Albanius,”—from. which
a duet was sung. The next opera which came under notice, was
Shadwell’s version of “Timon of Athens,” for which Purcell sup-
plied the music. The lecture concluded with a duet and chorus
from this Play.

Lecture V.—Pureel!’s opera, “ Dioclesian,” was noticed, with
marked approbation. This, Mr. Taylor observed, might be properly
called the first legitimate English opera. Purcell had: here thrown
aside the rules which the Italians had prescribed for the construc-
tion of dramatic music, and had composed an’ opera, of which the
dialogue was spoken, and music only occasionally introduced. His
own views of dramatic composition were modestly, yet eloquently,
expressed, in his dedication of this opera. Some pieces from it were
then sung. Mr. Taylor next proceeded to review the state of in-
strumental music at this period—their compass, character, and
usual mode of employment.. The success of this opera stimulated
the partizans of foreign talent to import a number of singers and
dancers; but the attempt to rival Purcell wholly failed, and plot 6
only loss on those who projected it. a

January, 1836.—vou. 11., NO. XIV. x.

pa

206 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES,

His next opera was “‘ King Arthur,’—written for him by Dry-
den, from which several pieces, including the celebrated Frost Scene,
were performed. The success of these operas was not regarded
with pleasure by the dramatic writers of the time; and even the
managers joined in the endeavour to ridicule and proscribe them.—
These efforts appear to have been unavailing; the fame and the
popularity of Purcell were established, and soon after appeared his
“ Fairy Queen.” From this opera four pieces were given. ’

Lecture VI.—Purcell’s next dramatic work was, “ A Fool’s
Preferment,”’ from which rare composition two songs of great beau-
ty were given. This play, by D’Urfey, was succeeded by the first
and second parts of “ Don Quixote,” in which Eccles was, for the
first time, associated in dramatic fellowship with his great cotempo-
rary: from these pieces illustrations were also given. Then came
Fletcher’s ‘“‘ Bonduca,” revived by Purcell, from which the majes-
tic chorus of the druids, “‘ Hear us, O, Rugwith!” and the well.
known duet and chorus, “‘ To Arms!” were selected for perform.
ance; and from the “ Indian Queen,” the fine scene “ Ye twice ten
hundred deities,” and a tenor song of uncommon sweetness and
beauty. A selection from the music to ‘ The Tempest” followed.
A variety of historical and critical remarks were interspersed, chief-
ly extracted from cotemporaneous publications, and tending to eluci-
date Purcell’s character, and the difficulties with which he had to.
struggle, and curiously illustrative of the dramatic and musical his-
tory of the times. He seemed now to have established himself in
the public favour, and a career of usefulness and success seemed
opening before him, when those anticipations were blighted- by his
early death. His enthusiasm seems to have continued unabated to
the last, and during his dying illness he still laboured in the service
of his art. |

Mr. Taylor closed this series of his lectures with a review of some
of the most remarkable and beautiful features in Purcell’s character.

It will be seen, from these lectures, that Mr. Taylor has entered
on the review of a subject of which the history has hitherto been
given but scantily and erroneously. That Burney’s “ History o
the English Opera,” is both meagre and incorrect was made suffici-
ently apparent; and it has required no ordinary labour and research
to supply the deficiencies which exist in a narrative commencing at
so remote a period, and of which the authentic records and illustra-
tions are so rare and difficult of access. These deficiencies Mr.
Taylor has laboured diligently to supply ; and he has accumulated
a mass of information and a succession of illustrations on this sub-
ject, new as they are interesting. The subject, as he remarked, is
not. only one of curious inquiry to the musician, but possesses some
degree of national interest, inasmuch as it involves the question
whether or not the English can lay claim to what may be called a
national opera >—a question which has often been hastily answered,
but never, previously, subjected to a careful, elaborate, and patient
examination.

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. 307

‘

We observe that Mr. Taylor is pursuing the inquiry on which he
has entered ; and that a second series of lectures, embracing the
period between the death of Purcell and the arrival of Handel in
England, will be delivered by him at the London Institution, in
February. |

BIRMINGHAM MECHANICS’ INSTITUTION.

Tue principal feature of novelty in the conduct of this Institu-
tion, during the past quarter, has been the opening of a news and
reading room, at the school buildings. ‘The apartment so applied is
of moderate dimensions, well lighted and warmed, and presents an
air of comfort and good arrangement. The supply of newspapers,
of course, is limited by the means provided by the amount of sub-
scriptions; but the probability is that the advantages derived from
the establishment will soon cause an increase in the number of sub-
scribers. 'The room is open every evening, from seven till ten ©
o'clock ; the greatest order and decorum are always manifest ; and
we have, at some of our visits, been pleased to see a game of chess
silently prosecuted in one corner of the room.

The class studies proceed regularly and efficiently: the writing,
arithmetic, and mathematics, under the care of Mr. Daniel Wright,
whose judicious mixture of energy and’ kindness has given to these
schools an aspect of order and industrious occupation which are gra-
tifying to witness. In the drawing class, the services of Mr.
Wright have been assisted during the past year, by the gratuitous
attendance and very able tuition of a gentleman whose efforts to
raise the character of the school have been crowned with success.
The class for the French language, which had been previously at-
tended, gratuitously, by a member of the Institution, is now under
the superintendence of Mons. Martin, a professional instructor of
eminence, on terms creditable to the liberality of that gentleman.
The extra expense of this class is supported by an extra subscription
on the part of its members ; and we are more and more convinced
that the same course ought to be pursued in respect of the other
classes. Education, like every thing else, may be offered too cheap-
ly, to the deterioration of the article; and we think that very few
of the youth who embrace the advantages offered’) by a Mechanics’
Institution, would hesitate to pay a small subscription quarterly, for
admission into each class. ‘These small subscriptions would, proba-
bly, cover the stipends of the instructors, and provide the classes re-
spectively with books, slates, drawing-patterns, &c., while the sums
now appropriated to these purposes, would be applicable to the libe-
ral increase of the already valuable library ; and to securing the

x 2

308 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES.

services of lecturers of the first rank in the scientific world : thus
reacting, by inducing the subscription of large numbers of respecta-
ble adults, whose quarterly payments would be well rewarded by
attendance at the lectures and the library.

The office of President has been filled, during the past year, by
Sir E. Eardley Wilmot, Bart., M. P., who has distinguished him-
self by his liberality, both in a pecuniary point of view, and in the
sentiments he has ever expressed in reference to the Institution : and
we have great pleasure in announcing that the Presidency for the
ensuing year is accepted by Chandos Leigh, Esq.,of Stoneleigh Abbey,
whose enlightened views are well known, and point him out as pe-
culiarly eligible for the office he has consented to fill.

During the last quarter, the following interesting lectures have
been delivered, and, in the majority of cases, gratuitously :—Mr.
Young two lectures on Astronomy, the conclusion of a course ;
Rev. Edward Madeley on the Manners of the Ancient Romans, and
on Pneumatics; Mr. Hawkes Smith on Improved Cultivation—its
social and moral tendency ; Mr. James Russell on Respiration, in-
cluding a narrative of the discovery of a Toad ina bed of Sand.
stone, during the excavation for the Birmingham and London Rail-
way, near Coventry; Mr. Watts on Physiology, being the com-
mencement of a course on the physical and intellectual powers of
man; Mr. Edward Taylor two lectures on the Music of the age of
Elizabeth, illustrated by a select number of performers, led by
Mr. Munden on the piano-forte.

Such are the objects which have latterly occupied the attention of
the members. During the quarter which is now commencing, the
course so liberally afforded and so carefully prepared by Mr. Watts,
will be proceeded with ; and a series on the Physiology of Plants
will be delivered by Mr. John Murray, of London, F. S. A.,
F. G. S., &c.

We give this list of subjects to shew that the committee take an
enlarged view of the objects of the Institution. They avail them-
selves, to the extent of their means and influence, of the information
to be gained by lectures on various subjects, generally interesting to
the presumed auditory, as members of the great family of mankind,
and not as individuals belonging to a class. We make this observa-
tion because many persons—not ill-informed or unreflective—in con-
versation, express themselves slightly, or half compassionately, on
hearing that lectures, other than elementary, are delivered to a body
of “ mechanics ;” and because we find that public functionaries and
Statistical inquirers, on sending into the country strings of queries
relative to the conduct of Mechanics’ Institutions, still perpetually
fall into the same error—the error of imagining that the informa-
tion offered must necessarily relate to the occupation of persons be-
longing to the “ working class.” Now, we conceive this elementary
knowledge, that is; elementary knowledge on the simple practi-
cal sciences—for that is what is meant—can scarcely be communi-
cated in lectures, For such elementary instruction, the schools are

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. 309

opened. The lectures are valuable chiefly as tending to invigorate
and excite the minds of the hearers, by presenting some new and
unwonted information, such as may awaken attention, and animate
the faculties to energetic operation. We do trust that the great
problem—the equalization of the advantages of intellectual culture
—approaches nearer and nearer to its solution. Let, then, bodies of
** mechanics” listen to lectures on the mysteries of physical science on
the graces and glories of ancient art—on the venerable remains il-
lustrative of ancient manners—and on the progress and pleasures of
those elegantly recreative sciences, whose exercise is said, by the
poet, to |

* soothe the savage breast.”

Every lecture on such humane subjects, we hope and believe, brings
us nearer the desired solution. The approach of the consummation
may be slow, but it does approach, and the end will shew that no
effort is lost.

LIVERPOOL MEDICAL SOCIETY.
SEssIon 1835—6.

Tue first meeting of this useful association, organized since Jan-
wary, 1833, and which already consists of upwards of seventy resi-
dent members, was held on the evening of Wednesday, the 7th of
October, 1835, in the Royal Institution, when the following mem-
bers were elected as officers by ballot :—Presidents, Dr. Carson, Dr.
Baird, Mr. Worthington, and Dr. Banning; Treasurer, Mr. Batty;
Secretary, Dr. Thorburn.

October 21.—Dr. ‘Carson, jun. stated, to the Society, the case of
a Dutch sailor, who had been exposed, in Holland, during the het
season, to exhalations from the marshes, and was affected with a
cutaneous eruption of a most peculiar kind, somewhat resembling
rupia or psoriasis. The most remarkable features in this case, were
the loss of sensibility in the extremities of the fingers, and the scars
or cicatrices (many of them a hand’s breadth) which were placed in
contact with a heated poker, and burnt, without the patient being
conscious of the application at the time.

' Mr. Bonner, the originator of the Society, called the attention of

the meeting to two cases of severe injury, (one of a-child who sus-
tained a compound fracture of the outer ankle bone), the circum-
stances attending which, in connexion with the results of the treat-
ment, were illustrative of how much Nature will do when youth is
en the side of good surgery.

‘Two cases of intense squinting were communicated by Mr. Neill,
and the particulars of a case of scarlet fever by Dr. Duncan.

310 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES.

A case of intermittent fever, characterized by some singular fea-
tures, was described by Dr. Carson, jun., who designated this. unu-
sual and well-authenticated form of ague, which had yielded perma.
nently to the exhibition of quinine, as a case of ‘‘tertiana duplex
duplicata.”

November 18.—Dr. Carson, sen., took the chair, when a commu-
nication, to prove “ That the doctrine, maintained by Mr. Brodie,
of ulceration of the cartilages being a frequent consequence of in-
flammation of the synovial membranes, is incorrect,” was read by
Dr. Murphy, and was canvassed by several members. Dr. Vose,
and others, charged Dr. Murphy with having misrepresented Sir
Benjamin Brodie’s views. The essayist defendeil himself from this
charge by simply referring to page 13 of the third edition of Mr.
Brodie’s work.

December 2.—An interesting case was narrated by Dr. Baird,
from the chair, on which an animated discussion arose, with practi-
cal remarks by Drs. Vose, Duncan, Anderson, Carson, Edwards,
and Thorburn.

LIVERPOOL ~-
LITERARY, SCIENTIFIC, AND COMMERCIAL INSTITUTION.

_ Ar the request of the committee of this flourishing Institution,
(of which see our introductory notice in The Analyst for October),
Dr. Thorburn re-delivered the first.of a course of lectures on the ob.
jects, advantages, and pleasures, derivable from a knowledge of Bo.
tany, with its applications to the arts, sciences, and purposes of life.
The lecture was delivered in the spacious lecture-room of the Royal
Institution, and, in addition to the subscribers to the St. Anne.
Street Institution, there were present a numerous and highly-re-
spectable assembly of visitors, clergy, and members of the Royal
Institution.

Having made some prefatory observations, Dr. Thorburn adverted
to the difficulty of determining what should form “ the fittest sub-
ject-matter for a lecture introductory ;” the partial, if not erroneous,
views acted upon by many instructors; and having stated his rea-
sons for preferring to describe, rather than prematurely to define,
the ideas, scope, and relations, of the term “ botany,” he illustrated
how extremely limited were the ideas commonly entertained, and
which were not confined to the public, as to the intrinsic nature and.
bearing of the science, whose philosophical relations are boundless.

The proper period for submitting a disquisition upon, or entering
on a summary history of, the rise, progress, and prospects of botany,
was said to be at the close, not at the outset, of a course of lectures,
which, if elementary, should, in the opinion of the lecturer, be so
conducted as if the audience were addressed upon the subjects, or

\

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. 311

bearings, of the science for the first time. Pythagoras’s volumes
published after his return from Egypt, whither he had travelled in
search of science, were noticed in connexion with the estimate of
the state of botany in ancient Egypt prior to the age of Aristotle.
The parallel between the views entertained by the favourite pupil
of the Stagyrite, Theophrastes, surnamed, on account of his elo-
‘quence, “ the divine speaker,” and one of the ablest of modern vege.
table physiologists, was interesting as illustrating the reach of phi-
losophy, and the profundity which characterized the conceptions of
a practical sage, who propounded them, upwards of two thousand
years before the birth of Christ, to the intellectual chiefs of the
Greeks.

The causes influencing the decline of the science, during the Ro-
man government, were alluded to, and the merits of the unjustly-
reviled Arabians warmly acknowledged, as the nation by whose
efforts the expiring embers of philosophical botany were kept alive
till after the dark ages, when it was again cultivated in the north
of Europe. With regard to medicine, philosophy, mathematics, and
literature, the Arabians were characterized as having proved “even
asa Noah’s ark of preservation, when each and every department
of general science, throughout a dreary night of centuries, was de-
luged in the sleep of the dark ages.”

Dr. Thorburn proceeded to show what were the objects of scienti-
fic botany: and that the being able to name any number of plants
could not be said, properly, to constitute a knowledge of botany:
and, that one might have no ordinary pretensions to be considered
as a botanist, though unable, in a drawing-room or parterre, or
upon turning over the leaves of a hortus siccus, to name more than
a few specimens of vegetable nature.

. the well-directed gh
Brings, in each flower, a universe to light !”

From the objects, the lecturer proceeded to illustrate the applica-
tions of botany to the arts, sciences, and purposes of civilized life.
By the French and Germans, applied botany is chiefly studied; and
the lead was taken and is kept by these nations in almost every ap-
plication of the science, as regards geology, agriculture, &c. The
art of transplanting large trees, so as to enhance the value of pro- -
perty, and to communicate the appearance of an old family manor-
house, to newly-erected country “ seats,’ constituted one of the
most prominent illustrations adduced at this part of the lecture.
The instance of the transplantation, by one of the governors of Brazil
—Count Maurice of Nassau—of an extensive grove of cocoa-nut
trees, was mentioned; also, the similar, and occasionally successful,
attempts of the luxurious senators of Rome, of Louis the XIV. of
France, and of one of King Charles the Second’s courtiers.

The benefits derivable from sound theory in the arts, were next
considered, with the value of theoretical knowledge in economizing
time, &c. &c. Lastly, after a series of practical illustrations of the -

a

312 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES.

recent applications of botany in forwarding the progress of agricul-
ture and commerce, the lecturer concluded with an exposition of the
successful enterprise of the distinguised continental engineer, M.
Bremontier, in reclaiming, from utter barrenness, dunes, or shifting
sand-hills, along the sea-coast, by planting vegetables having pecu-
liar roots, and afterwards sowing broom, mixed with the seeds of
the sea-pine, &c. Every few years,, such reclaimed wildernesses
now actually yield a profitable harvest to the cultivators of these
previously sterile tracts, by supplying the materials for an extensive -
manufacture of tar and resin to meet the various demands for pur-
poses of general commerce, navigation, and agriculture. This suc-
cessful enterprise of Bremontier’s has been justly characterized as
the most splendid agricultural undertaking of any age.

WORCESTER LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTION.

LECTURE ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM OF MAN AND THE INFERIOR
ANIMALS, BY E. A. TURLEY, ESQ.

Tus gentleman delivered last year, in the Atheneum, a course
of four lectures, shewing the effect produced on society by the pro-
pensities of attachment, combativeness, destructiveness, and secre-
tiveness. The present lecture is a continuation of that course.

After some very apposite proemial observations, the lecturer said
that, being moved -by daily witnessing the distress and misery occa-
sioned by neglect of the first principles of health, he meant to devote
three lectures in the ensuing year to the moral and physical educa-
tion of the body. He had, in his former lectures, endeavoured to
shew that a nerve, or analogous structure, formed the link which
united together animate and inanimate bodies, figuratively, termed
the two great kingdoms of the earth. Bone is chiefly lime ; blood
chiefly water, with salts, carbon, and other admixtures ; muscles are
but carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen: yet these, when united in one
organized body, endowed with a nervous system, and put in action,
become a living animal, gifted with sensations, instinct, mind, and
capabilities, proportioned to its organization. As living creatures
differ in their kind and in their instincts, so does a knowledge of |
their nervous system exhibit the laws regulating their instincts or
different economies; and it is found that those animals which are
formed with a more elaborate nervous system are, also, endowed
with more complicated instincts, and exhibit, in their action, more
evidence of their approach to reason. Mr. Turley had, also, in his
former lectures, explained that the simplest nervous system consists
of a few globules of whitish matter, endowed with sensation and
motion ; which globules gre sometimes formed into a roundish knot,
termed a ganglion. These ganglia are placed in different parts of

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. 313

the bedy in the insect and reptile tribes ; but aré collected together
into one mass, named the brain, in the more perfect quadrupeds, and
in man. And as the ganglia have each their own operations to per-
form, in the bodies of insects and reptiles, so, in man, each part of
the brain preserves its own especial use, and the whole is moved by
the will, or mind. The external examination of this astonishing
structure, which is termed phrenology, affords satisfactory evidences,
to a certain degree, of its laws and conditional functions. The lec-
turer here observed that the prejudices against phrenology have their
existence in the minds of sensible persons, only through their not
having sufficient leisure, or opportunity, to examine into the evi-
dences, or proofs, ef the system ; and their being led, too hastily, to
imagine that phrenology leads to fatalism, by the substitution of an
organic necessity in place of free-will and free-agency. On the con-
trary, he shewed that fatalism, by reducing man to the condition of
a machine moved by an external power, extinguished the idea of sin
aud of moral responsibility, here and hereafter: a doctrine directly
opposed to christianity, morality, education, and benevolence. But
the influence of education controls our anti-social and dangerous
propensities, and restrains our inordinate passions. Thus we derive
from them, under this salutary direction and control, the great prin-
ciples on which society is founded, and which contribute to its hap-
piness and prosperity. ‘ If you admit in mankind”—say our oppo-
nents—‘ a propensity or love for the destruction of animated beings,
man must and may, kill his fellow without sin.” The answer is—cer-
tainly not. A father hasan affection for his children, but it does not
follow, having reason for his guide, that he must have the same, or
an equal degree of affection for all children. His love of offspring is
limited by reason and by various feelings. In like manner, if a man,
from his destructive propensity, kills a fox, surely, he is not, from
the same propensity, to kill his neighbour: he is not, in this latter
case, obliged to commit this crime, any more than he is obliged to
love all children alike, or to hate all animals equally with the fox.
He is bound by natural and social ties, by laws divine and human,
not to commit murder ; his propensity to kill is controlled by the
laws of society, by religion, by morality, by education, and benevo-
lence. Now, if education, morality, religion, and benevolence, can
be, for a moment, supposed to have no influence on the mind (and
to believe this would be to outrage all experience), then man must act
by, or from, an organic necessity. He must, having the organiza-
tion, kill all indiscriminately, wherever he can: and to this glaring
absurdity, so contrary to the evidence of all human nature, does the
idea of a supposed fatality inevitably lead. :

The destructive and carnivorous propensity of animals is, in like
manner, restrained and subdued by punishment and coercive train.
ing. This severe external discipline, which is to them what educa-
tion is to man, calls forth their fear into a stronger action than their
destructive propensity. Thus trained, a cat will walk about among
pigeons, hens and chickens, without ever attempting to kill one of

314 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES.

a ‘

them, being restrained from indulging her appetite by.the terror of —
punishment. The setting.dog and pointer, in a wild state, kill and
devour all sorts of game; but their innate propensity is overcome
by the force of a canine education, and they shrink from a dead hare
or pheasant, as food, with as much repugnance as a man would from
poison. The carnivorous and destructive propensity of the bear and
the lion are thus controlled and subdued by discipline ; the former
becomes a dancer for the amusement of children; the latter opens
his tremendous jaws quietly, to admit the head of his living keeper,
who, without fear, and with safety, exhibits this feat for the grati-
fication of the spectator’s curiosity, and to prove the triumph of edu-
cation over the most destructive of savage animals. The prodigious
strength of the elephant is, alike, subdued by education, and he be-
comes a useful servant of man.

Mr. Turley proceeded to treat his subject under eight distinct
divisions,—acquisitiveness, constructiveness, self-esteem, or pride,
love of approbation, the occipital region, caution, the sincipital re.
gion, and benevolence. Beginning with the question, is there a
propensity to acquire? We all must admit there is ; and that, under
the settled control of religion and the laws, it is the great incentive
of ingenuity, industry, and genius, and the pregnant source of arts,
manufactures, and commerce. We, also, must admit that, in its se-
cond degree, it becomes avarice ; in its third, theft ; on each of which,
their effects on society, and their means of counteraction, he reasoned
with peculiar perspicuity and force. The propensity to construc.
tiveness he exemplified in the newly-invented steam gun of Mr.
Perkins, the steam carriage of Dr. Church, the ingenious automa-
ton chess-player, the model of Paris lately exhibited, the beautiful
nests of birds, also recently exhibited, the houses of beavers, cells
of bees, and webs of spiders and silk-worms. In man, its situation
is just behind the angle of the eye-brow, beneath the temporal mus-
cle. When large, it gives the head a squareness of front, as in the
Chinese, who are noted for their ingenuity ; and we see, every day,
persons who are never happy but when building-is going on under
their direction, or when they are constructing some novel contri-
vance with their own hands. On the contrary, there are some por-
tions of the human race, who pass their lives in caverns and trees,
without appearing to invent or construct a better dwelling. We
must, however, in this organ, yield the palm of superior ingenuity
in constructiveness to our French neighbours.

The second genus in the order of feelings comprises the Sznr1-
MENTS ; and the first in this division is pride, or self-esteem. The
situation of this faculty is at the top of the head ; and it is necessa-
ry to distinguish it from vanity, with which it is frequently imagin-
ed to be synonymous. Pride is the characteristic of the English
nation, while vanity no less distinguishes the French ; and nothing
is more common, in French theatres, than to see the Englishman’s
pride held up to ridicule ; as, in our theatres, the French courtier
is made a jest. It is very amusing to be in a mixed company of

PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES. 315

French and English, and to mark the obsequious vanity of the one
people, and the stiffness and pride of the other.

_ The organ of pride, or self-esteem, is more generally found in
man than in woman, and is, also, more fully developed in the former
than the latter. Some dogs, and other domestic animals, are very
susceptible of having their pride wounded.

Love of ig de eg existence of .a. sentiment of approba-
tiveness, or love of praise, cannot be doubted, in man and animals ;
and we shall not wonder at its being a propensity so powerful in its
action, when we reflect how large a portion of the mental instru-
ment it occupies. Its seat is among the other sentiments on each
side of self-esteem. Attachment frames society ; love of approba-
tion strews the path of life with sweets. It originates our little
attentions and politenesses, our emulation, love of glory, and public
distinction, ambition and vanity. Even animals possess this propen-
sity, as instanced in the parrot, the peacock, the nightingale, and
cock, the French mules, and the horse. This organ is a fertile
source of mental alienation, in its excess, as it is one of our greatest
sources of excitement ; and Mr. Turley said he never yet visited a
lunatic asylum without meeting numerous unfortunate creatures its
victims.

The lecturer here observed that, when the posterior part of the
head: is large in proportion to the anterior part, we find more vigour
in the character. On the other hand, where it is small in propor-
tion, we shall see the intellectual operations pursuing “ the even
tenour of their way,” without those bursts of emotion and enthusi-
asm. consequent on the warmer feelings.’ National character de.
pends much on this organ. The French and English heads seem
best illustrations of this fact. The French: are more vivid and vo.
latile ; the English, more sedate and phlegmatic. |

Cautiousness next came under the lecturer’s examination. He
observed, the situation of this organ cannot. be forgotten ; it is, in
almost all heads, the widest part laterally above the ears. Cau.
tiousness is the sentiment which seems to controul every faculty of
man, to prevent harm from precipitate action, by calling up reflec-
tion. It is the balance wheel of the whole engine—the helm which
steers our actions from the whirl-pool of rashness. Its office may
be termed a sinecure, as to itself; but it is the active agent of all
_the other faculties.

_ Dr. Gall discovered the seat of cautiousness in a prelate, a person
of excellent understanding, at Vienna, who owed his advancement
to this faculty. Its moderate development produces a prudent and
wise circumspection ; its maximum, timidity; its absence, a rash
and dangerous impetuosity. ‘This organ, in its excess, is frequently
the cause of mania in individuals, and the disorder always assumes
a very marked character of suspicion in the patients, who are con-
tinually in dread of danger from every thing around them. Shy
and circumspect animals, such as the stag, roe, pole-cat, otter, mole,
and those which place sentinels, the chamois-goat, crane, bustard,

316 PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL sOCI#ETIES,

and starling, appear, from an inspection of their heads, to have an
organ of caution, similar to that of man.

Having considered the organs which occupy the basilar and occi-
pital regions, Mr. Turley proceeded to the sincipital region, which
is the mest ennobled and exalted, as it contains the organs that form
our moral distinction from the brute creation. If we look at the
two regions, upper and lower, we shall find that the size of the low-
er preponderates in mankind. There are some individuals diversely —
organised to this: but we shall never see a person whose moral
qualities outweigh his other propensities, without finding the sinci-
pital organ outweigh the basilar region.

The lecturer next considered the faculty of benevolence, which is
situated at the most anterior part of the forehead. This propensity,
when greatly developed, gives to the countenance a character of be-
nignity, which we acknowledge by a degree of immediate confidence
not unfrequently opposed to our worldly experience. It has been
urged, as an argument against the cultivation of phrenology, that
this science would be injurious to the interests of morality and reli-
gion. But, if we demonstrate an organ of benevolence, does it de-
tract from our adoration of our divine creator to show the organ ~
which he employs to call into action the feelings that we honour ;
than to believe, against demonstrative evidence, that the feeling
exists, fortuitously, without an instrument for its active manifesta-
tion? We need not be alarmed about consequences until we
have examined if such things as the organic causes here alleged
really exist in nature, if they ever have existed, or if they have
been merely created by the fancy of phrenologists. Jf we find that
they have long existed, and that mankind, wherever discovered, tes-
tifies their existence, we may be assured that those faculties cannot
be given for our injury—they cannot have any evil tendency. We
find nothing in the economy of animals that bears the least resem-
blance to religion or morality in man. We see the feeling of at-
tachment strong in animals, but there is no sign manifest in them —
of their having any sense or instinct of a Creator. Religion is a
blessed prerogative peculiar to man. There are some dogs mild and
docile, others ferocious and indocile, and we can distinguish these
physical rudiments in examining their skulls ; but yet this does not
seem analogous to morality. In one well-disposed and docile tribe of
monkeys, the part of the brain destined to benevolence of disposi-
tion, is found to be prominent ; while in another savage and male-
volent class of the same race, its absence is remarkable.

Wherever charitable institutions are numerous, in a kingdom, a
county, or city, like our own, we may easily infer the national, or
local, existence of benevolence, in an extended degree. The chris-
tian religion, the divine precepts of our meek and benevolent Sa.
viour, teem with fervent appeals to this faculty.

The emancipation of the Negroes last year, by the exertions
made in the United Kingdom, is a proud monument of the triumph
of benevolence over the lower and selfish propensities; and cold

ORITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 317

indeed, must be that heart which did not leap for joy at their deli-
verance,

Mr. Turley’s luminous reasoning on the connection of physiogno-
my with phrenology, is here, through want of space in The Analyst,
wholly omitted. The lecture occupied more than an hour ; and in
its course,and on its conclusion, was repeatedly greeted with applause.
There was not a whisper of dissent noticeable ; and it may be not
unreasonably inferred that the unanimous approbation resulted from
a concurrence of opinion. The mode of argument was well calcu-
lated to elucidate the profound physiological science comprehended
. in this very interesting subject. The oral evidences were succes-
sively illustrated by a series of portraits, the size of life, exhibiting,
in striking contrast, the various gradations of high and low charac-
ter—of intellectual grandeur, narrow mind, and criminal depravity,
—as connected with the conformation of the skull and development
of the brain. There were, also, a number of plaster heads, as addi-
tional illustrations, submitted to inspection. These casts were
marked with the division of the propensities; and on each, as it
was held up, the lecturer pointed out the local seat of the particu-
lar propensity under immediate notice. These portraits and casts,
and the researches displayed in the exposition, evinced the deep study
bestowed on the subject. Those evidences are now submitted to the
public, and all classes are interested in affording them a dispassion-
ate consideration. As the benefit of mankind is the object, open
discussion must be a public advantage: and the friends of truth, on
either side, have powerful motives for promoting a calm, impartial
decision. No person of candour and good sense will reject a pro-
posed improvement, without full and sufficient inquiry ; nor perse-
vere against an unbiased refutation. ‘The inestimable value of edu-
cation is a general theme, and, in the late session, it occupied the
wisdom of parliament. Perhaps no system ever offered to the world,
opened a more important field for investigation, than the probable
effect of phrenology on education, morals, and manners.

CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

Elements of Bedside Medicine and General Pathology ; with a sketch
of the origin, progress, and prospects of Clinical Medicine and
Surgery, exposition of the creeds of Materialism and Vitalism, a
confession of mixed medical faith, &c., by J. Stewart Thorburn,
M. D., of Liverpool. 8vo., pp. 437. Longman & Co., London.

SypENnHAM, on being asked, by a citizen of London, to recom-
mend a course of medical studies for his son, replied, “‘ Send him to
the bedside ;” thus, immediately referring him to the study of na-
ture—the only source of truth. His recommendation to one inquir-

318 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

ing of him what works were best adapted to qualify him for the
practice of medicine—viz., to read Don Quixote—has been seized
upon, by “ mere practical men,” as they are called, as a proof of his.
eontempt for medical literature in general. But, as the recommen-
dation came from one eminently versed in the opinions of his pre-
decessors, and perfectly estimating their fantastic and air-built crea-
tions, he may rather be supposed sarcastically to recommend for
them a similar purgation to that to which Cervantes subjected the
prevalent literature of his age. The medical treatises of this great
man, at the same time that their existence practically refutes such
inferences drawn from words hastily and carelessly let fall, contain
in them internal evidence that his zeal for the observation of nature
was founded on, as directed by, a familiar acquaintance with the
best medical literature of the day.

If we consider the qualities, moral and physical, whose perfection
the investigation of disease imperiously demands, and the range of
collateral science requisite to constitute a good observer of the ope-
rations of nature, we cannot too strongly insist on the propriety of
Dr. Thorburn’s recommendation, in the commencement of the vo-
lume under notice, that an advanced period of their medical studies
should be appropriated, by students, to their hospital practice. Were
this recommendation more generally followed, we should not so often
see the walk of the hospital converted into a morning lounge ;
almost justifying the propriety of the expression which levels this
important part of the study of our profession with the mechanical
operations of the military drill.

The following are pertinent observations upon the above subject,
and we extract them as further presenting a fair specimen of the
style of the volume :—

“ Should pupils be indiscriminately admitted tothe Clinique 2—Various bene-
fits would result were observers not admitted to the clinique, till after pro-
fiting by a determinate order of study. It would then become a matter of
ambition, with the majority, to come, at least, up to, if not to exceed, the
standard enjoined. Many, it is to be feared, are hospital pertPaTETics,
rather than clinical observers. Nine-tenths of students prematurely “ walk-
ing the hospitals,” either imbibe erroneous notions, or, from inability to ap-
— what passes, get disgusted or indifferent to what, when rightly con-

ucted, constitutes the most interesting of all their studies. Moreover, by
pursuing at the outset—and the chances are that he will pursue—a faulty
method, the pene contracts loose and careless habits of observing, and
thence self-duped, ends by deceiving or misleading others. ‘The ludicrous
and painful differences of opinions, which three or more practitioners will
pronounce respecting the same case, at a consultation, are surely chargeable,
much less to the fact of medicine being a science of probabilities, than to dif-
ference in the powers of attention, perception, comparison, and judgment ;
and, above all, to the different degrees of discipline to which these powers
have been submitted. Hence, the necessity that all intending to practise
medicine should study under trained masters; hence, likewise, it is that
young surgeons and physicians hived off from the great schools, where BED-
SIDE MEDICINE is systematically taught by able professors, possess infinitel
more experience, properly so called, than many who have been thirty years in
private practice. Years are not the measure of experience, as frequently

CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS, 319

reiterated during the last two centuries. Experience depends not 5 the
length of mere animal existence, but is determined, says Bacon, by the man-
ner in which one spends his howrs. What the public understand by medical
experience is furnished (how dearly !) at the expense of many. Let students

therefore, bear in mind that the healing art can only be correctly acquired
from clinical professors and the sick ; and that every thing—even the art of
seeing—is difficult in medicine. How many at the bedside see, or think they
see, and yet do not perceive! Fully as many hear, who do not understand.”
—pp. 4445. :

The science of medicine, like every other, has been impeded in its
progress by hasty generalizations from few and ill-observed facts.
Till of late, its history has been that of the conflicts of theories thus
formed, energetically thundered forth by the teachers in the school,
and adopted, with corresponding enthusiasm, by the student. The
only use of observations made at the bedside, was, with some illus-
trious exceptions, to seize on such facts as could, with least diffi-
culty, be forced into the ‘‘ Procrustean bed” of a peculiar theory.
The aid of the Baconian philosophy, though not immediately
generally adopted in the schools of medicine, yet had an early in-
fluence in forming the medical character of some of our best obser-
vers. ‘To such early and ardent investigators of nature, we owe the
clinical medicine, as a science, when they first taught us to examine
the phenomena of disease, and to observe their progress with minds
unbiassed by prejudice.

In a well redacted history, from various and authentic sources, of
the rise, progress, present condition, and prospects, of clinical insti-
tutions, Dr. Thorburn has given an interesting account of the most
eminent medical and surgical cliniques at home and abroad ; and
has judiciously pointed out those peculiarities in each worthy of the
student’s attention. We strongly recommend to perusal those pas-
sages in which the mania for operation-hunting is so deservedly de-
precated by our author :—

* To young minds, there would seem to be something very attractive and
captivating in the bold and dashing manner in which the great operations in
ving ad are performed by metropolitan knivesmen. The general education
and consequent efficiency of pupils in after life, are seriously marred by the
effects arising from the exaggerated ideas of the value of operative medicine,
with which very many of them become impressed. The lecture-rooms at
the universities and schools of medicine are deserted, or are unseasonably
quitted, and the order of systematic study disturbed, on the slightest rumour
of there being—‘ an operation to-day.’ Students, who, from certain habits
of thinking and acting, never so much as, perhaps, perambulate the wards,
during one out of the three regular visits, make a point of conveying them-
selves to the surgical amphitheatre, and, if possible, of there taking up a com-
manding position, in the front ranks, on FIELD Days. For some time, after
seeing a calculus extracted and held up to admiration, within forty or fifty
seconds after the patient has been bound or tied to the table, the eh 3
attention probably becomes so engrossed with the subject, that, to the neg.
lect of his other studies, nothing is thought of by day, read during the even-
ing, or dreamed of at night, but the anatomy, surgery, and the successive
steps of the operation for lithotomy. Moderate reflection, it might be sup-
posed, would satisfy even the youngest students, or, at least, the directors of

320 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

their education, that the attracting operations for aneurysm, stone in the
bladder, excision of the lower jaw, Sicily or in part, or for the renewing or
re-creation of noses, &c., though in themselves, doubtless, most worthy of
some share of his attention; yet, for once during an entire life of provincial
practice, not two, out of three or four hundred surgeons, are called upon to
perform such operations. For the minor operations, however, the services
of the young practitioner are again and again required. These are under-
taken with hesitation, and a fear of being foiled, because of their never hav-
ing previously been attended to. How glaring the evils, then, of students,
when at college and entered at the hospitals, attending chiefly or exclusively
to the great operations! Many are to be met with, settled for practice, who
are ignorant of the proper mode of appl ing the tactus eruditus, and of the
period when the areola should show itself, after vaccinating an infant with
effect, and of the accredited characteristic marks of the consequent genuine
cicatrix. Not afew may be familiar with the calculations of the occasional
anomalous distributions of the arteries, and quite aw fait in the successive |
steps of such capital operations as tying the subclavian and internal iliac
arteries, cutting for stone, trepanning the skull, &c., who, nevertheless, are
found literally ignorant of the relative and surgical anatomy of the blood-
vessels and nerves concerned in the minor operation of venzesection, at the
bend of the arm—an operation the performance of which is so frequently re-
quired, and during which serious accidents may occur, either immediately or
in the course of some hours.”—pp. 9395.

As intimately connected with the interests and prospects of medi-
cine in this country, the constitution of the charitable institutions
are freely and boldly discussed ; their defects are pointed out, and
the right of government interference in their management justly in-
sisted on. These charities—whatever may have been their original
constitution—ought, as far as is consistent with the interests of the
patient, to be accessary to the advancement of science; and we bold-
ly assert, that that interest is not incompatible with the most free
access of medical men to the bedside. The administration of chari-
ty to the healthy or sick poor, is a subject of such extreme nicety,
that, involving, as it does materially, the best interest of society in
general, we trust that the day is not very remote when all such in-
stitutions shall be subjected to one uniform and general regulation,
setting aside altogether the theoretic views of the founder, and
merely appreciating the motives ; which, of course, were the benefit
of the community.

_ We have thus far had great pleasure in according our meed’ of ap-
probation to the volume under review. But to the presence of the
whole of the seconp Part,* on which Dr. Thorburn has eyidently.
expended a great deal of ingenuity and observation, we object alto-
gether, in a work having for its object the introduction of a pupil
to a course of clinical observation. We do not at all see the neces-
sity of a medical creed on any point, either in the student or the
professor. On the contrary, we are convinced of its extreme im-
propriety, and cannot help being struck by its inconsistency with
the bold vindication of the Baconian philosophy, in the preceding
part of the volume. Faith in any thing not comprehended—except
‘

; * The volume consists of four parts.

CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS, 321

well authenticated revelation—instead of a virtue, is a weakness of
the mind. The question in dispute between the «aterialist and the
vitalist is simply this: Is the construction of organized matter, out
of simple elementary bodies, and its conservation in opposition to the
continued influence of external agents, explicable by the laws to which
matter in general, is subjected? . To this, the sceptical materialist
—commencing with a confession of ignorance—conjectures, that
were we perfectly familiar with all the physical agents, and able to
appreciate their influence, such might be the result. Whereas, the
dogmatic vitalist, ashamed of the immense extent of this ignorance,

and too lazy to await the revelations of nature, turns away from
the true worship, and pours forth his confessiow of faith in vitalism
—the golden calf of his own imagination—the heathenish imper-
sonation of the cause of his difficulties. To what consequences has
this dogmatism led? To it we are indebted for the “ Gods” of the
ancients, the ‘‘ anima mundi,” ‘ Nemesis,” &c.,—the idle excuses
for ignorance. How necessary, then, even yet, the advice of the
poet—

“Nec Deu’ intersit, nisi digntis vindice nodus inciderit.”

On what we have said on this subject, we protest against the con-
struction being put that we are materialists, in the ordinary sense
in which that word is used. We only conjecture that ordinary phy-
sical causes may explain operations which exist in bodies, as plants
and. the lower orders of animals, in which no one imagines the ex-
istence of a soul; and which, also, existing in the higher order, as
man, are evidently carried on without, being subjected to the influ-
ence of the soul. Our convictions on the immateriality of the soul,
and its immortality, are based on a higher order of evidence, which
is strongly confirmed by these two conditions not being inconsistent
with reason, and’ by the belief in them being of vital importance to
the moral development of man.

Medical creeds are of no use in the practical applications of a sci-
ence founded on the observation of facts ; and’ they have a tendency
to limit those bold ranges into the undiscovered territory of nature,
to which we are indebted for the most valuable portion of her se-
crets. It is but justice to Dr. Thorburn to admit that, in this part
of his work, we have everywhere evidence of extensive reading and
ingenious reasoning; and, also, that we have derived. considerable
information on the opinions of: authors, whose books, otherwise than
so summarily digested, we have no great inclination to enter into.
We can even offer some apology for the diffuseness with which he
has thought proper to treat the subject, considering the importance
which the different schools attach to an: early establishment of the
student’s faith in their own creeds, and the avidity with which pupils
apply to the study of subjects upon which fancy niay revel without
the obtrusive check of well-established and distinctly-limited induc-
tions. A second perusal induces us to believe that the author would

lead the student, though in a rownd-about way, to the’same con.

January, 1836.—vo.. 111., NO. XIV. ¥

322 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

clusions which we have attempted to establish; namely, that opi-
nions on those subjects should be formed on a very extensive induc.
tion of facts, and that, instead of being early and forcibly impressed
on the tempered wax, they should ever be worn so lightly-as in no
way to influence our judgment on any subject.

In Part III., the author enters more particularly into the quali-
ties, moral and physical, requisite to constitute a good observer ; and
examines how far, and in what way, education may be directed to
their improvement. Weare happy to find a complete justification
of our remarks on the preceding part.

The subjoined extract delineates the influences of prejudice on
the young student, and points at the value of “ philosophic doubt :”

“To remount to the primitive causes which produce prejudice in the
minds of the greater portion of mankind, and which prevent them from ob-
serving well, would, doubtless, be an interesting research. Gueneau de
Monbeliard correctly attributes it to the numerous prepossessions incul¢ated
by education. No sooner, he says, do our eye-lids open than prejudice enve-
lopes us in her shade; her indistinct murmuring is the first sound that breaks
upon our ear; and our first regards are jaundiced by error. . As our facul-
ties are developed, prejudice fastens upon them, and strengthens with our
strength. Not only does it falsify the evidence of our senses, but it also en-
feebles the glimmering ray of our reason. Ifit presented falsehood only—
more especially if it presented it when reason was matured—its venom would
be too gross, too slow of operation, to be very os ghar But as it is, so to
say, identified with the very germ of our knowl fra it unceasingly pre-
sents falsehood and truth confusedly mingled, and divested of their distinc-
tive characteristics—it troubles our ideas, it warps our judgment, and com-
pels us to receive, as in-born truths, errors of a within-us earlier growth than
our reason itself.”

“To hinder prejudice from deeply rooting itself in the mind, and, so, to
for ever block up the path of truth to the observer,—no better preventive
can be found than a union of scepticism and philosophical distrust. ‘These
two rigorous antidotes may also extend their influence to the prevention of
errors, to which confidence and self-esteem might lead, when indulged be-
yond their proper limits. Genius inspires confidence, and too frequently
banishes the salutary fear of self-deception. Man naturally delights to re-
pose on his own abilities, and to receive, as true, those ideas with which he

is pleased.”

A systematic mode of interrogation is recommended, and the invi-
gorating influence of journalizing, or registering observations at the
bedside, is strongly insisted on. Upon this subject, we recommend
the following suggestions to the attention of students :—

“ The inquiries to be made, with regard to a patient seen for the first
time, are reducible to the following points :—

“1. To describe the actual condition of the patient, by noting symptoms
which are manifest to the senses—the suffering he experiences,—and to ana-
lyze the condition of the various functions.

“ 2. To ascend to the origin of the disease, in order to contrast its present
with its former state. For this purpose, we should ascertain the peculiar
character of the attack, the period of the manifestation of the existing symp-
toms, and what remedies have been already administered.

“3. To seek for the excitant and predominant causes. These will be
found in the patient’s profession or trade—in his mode of living—in acci-

CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 323
‘ ’

dentals, anterior to the existing malady—in his previous state of health—and
sometimes in maladies to which his family are particularly liable.

“The end proposed, however, according to Pinel, may be obtained by
means much more simple and direct. If the patient’s mind is in a sound
state, he may be at once interrogated as to the pains and affections he feels.
If he is delirious, or incapable of exercising his mental faculties, the informa-
tion desired may be derived from those who surround him. Inquiries may
next follow, as to whether the seat of the disease be in the head, chest, or
abdomen.

*“‘ When a certain number of observations have been thus sketched out, the
student may advance to the study of the progress of diseases, beginning with
the acute,—carefully remarking their jeiterabe eriods of advancement and de-
cline, and not forgetting their terminations, whether favourable or otherwise.
All confusion may be avoided by confining the attention to onE malady at a
time, and studying it in various individuals. The influence which air, regi-
men, place, and moral affections exert upon the disease, should also be accu-
rately noted, and mention made of its crisis, metastases, morbid transferma-
. tions, and so forth. 'The observation may then be considered complete, if it
include daily expositions (if an acwte disease) of the most important morbid
phenomena, from its commencement to its termination.

After having collected cases of simple maladies, the student should pro-
ceed to the clinical study of complicated ones—to those, namely, which pre-
sent two or three orders of symptoms appertaining to different affections.
He should redouble his carefulness in avoiding disorder ard confusion, while
peoneeding to the exact separation of the signs of each of the diseases before

im, and remarking the several circumstances which have produced the com-
plication. As to ultimate arrangement, it is advisable to at first inscribe,
upon a loose shect, all the phenomena, signs, or symptems offered to his obser-
vation, and afterward select those which are characteristic of the maladies
composing the complication. For this difficult and complex task, the observer
ought to choose acute, and leave chronic diseases for subsequent study.”—
pp- 295—6.

Part IV. consists of a redaction, from various sources, British
and continental, of the general appearances under which disease
presents itself; with an attempt to appreciate the influence ot each
particular symptom.

We cannot terminate a review upon the subject of bedside medi-
cine, without bearing our individual testimony to the excellence and
liberality of the arrangements offered for its study by the French ;
and, also, without acknowledging the debt of gratitude we owe to
them for the information we have thereby acquired. All Europe
rings with the fame of Dupuytren. His admirable Legons Orales
recall to his pupils the rapidity and accuracy of his analysis of dis-
ease—the extent of the resources which he opposed to its progress—
and, above all, the clear and familiar eloquence with which, in the
Amphitheatre, he explained and enlarged upon his views. 'To the
medical clinique, Chomel, with every qualification necessary to the
most minute investigation of disease, brings an extensive informa-
tion on the various theories which, unbiassed by prejudice and with
a rare conscientiousness, he subjects to the test of a long-continued
series of observations. — )

In conclusion—We can, with safety, recommend to perusal Dr.
Thorburn’s work, as a well-selected digest, drawn from a variety of
‘sources; correctly estimating the value of clinical medicine, and
pointing out the true mode of attaining perfection in it. ;

Y

324 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

The Earth. The Air. The Heavens. By Robert Mudie. 3 vols.
Ward & Co., Paternoster Row. 1835.

WE have rarely seen publications of more transcendent merit than
these last productions of Mr. Mudie. He has simplified, and re-
duced into three small volumes, the essence of the most comprehen-
sive works on these important subjects, and unravelled the mysteries
of those parts of science which, excepting to the illuminated few,
have hitherto been enveloped in the clouds of mystery. His mode
of instruction, too, is so clear and explanatory, so comprehensible to
even the weakest understanding, that ignorance, or a merely super-
ficial knowledge, of these luminous topics, will, in future, be unpar-
donable in every branch of respectable society.

In the volume entitled “Tue Eartn,” the author has supplied
that information which will in vain be sought for in any one book,
and probably in any number of books, which have been hitherto
published. He has succeeded in giving as clear and comprehensive
a view as possible of the earth, considered as a whole, having equal
regard to the causes or agencies which produce the more general
terrestrial phenomena ; and has pointed out the great practical ad-
vantages which are derived from a proper knowledge of the earth,
and the characters and relations of the several seas and lands of
which its surface is composed. After glancing over the various
lands, and the seas by which they are separated, the author has
clearly shewn the general character of each of the great natural di-
visions of the land, and how they work together in bringing about
all that occurs by natural causes. Then follows some account of
the agents and instruments which are chiefly influential in produc-
ing terrestrial phenomena. Of the first, the grand agent is the sun,
and the grand instruments are, the air of the atmosphere and the
water of the sea, which distribute the solar action over the surface
of the earth. With a view to simplify this sublime and important
matter, Mr. Mudie has first considered what would be the general
‘effect of the sun upon a hemisphere of the earth, if both sun and
earth were at perfect rest, situated at the same distance from each
other as they are now, and if the sun-beams had precisely the same
nature as they have at present, but that there were no moveable air
‘or water, or any marked difference of surface, to modify their ac-
tion. This, he remarks, is the elementary view, and the determina-
tion of it is a matter of geometry, partaking of all the certainty of
that science ; this being once understood, the observed departures
from it of themselves lead to the investigation of their causes. The
full statement, or even the mere enumeration of all those causes, more
especially the local ones, would have been incompatible with the
space to which he was restricted; he has, therefore, considered
chiefly the two general sources of modification—the daily rotation
of the earth upon its own axis, and its annual motion round the sun
in its orbit. _ By means of these, he has been enabled to state gene-
rally the effect which is produced by the reciprocal actions of the

CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 325
,

two hemispheres upon each other at different seasons of the year ;
and, also, how those actions are further modified by some of the
more remarkable characters of the extensive divisions of the land,
and thus has presented a general view of the phenomena of the
year. “My object is not, however,” Mr. Mudie observes, “ to
teach scholastically, but to entice the reader to learn for himself,
practically, pleasantly, and profitably ; to stimulate the desire of
knowledge, and to simplify the means of acquiring it, as well for
the satisfaction and superiority which true knowledge gives us in
this world, as for the confirmation which it affords of the fulfilment
of our best hopes, when to us this world shall be no more.” And
well has Mr Mudie performed his important object. May the re-
sults equal his expectations, and the light which he has shed on this
branch of science be extended throughout all nations, and never
again be dimmed by supineness and ignorance.

These are the general heads merely, under which are ranged all
the minute particulars essential to the elucidation of each specific
subject. The history of the earth is a long and interesting one, but
as it is so intimately connected with the Air and the Sea, it will of
course be necessary to possess the three volumes as references to
each other. We here enumerate a few of the leading sciences, the
union of which constitutes the natural history of the earth :-—geo-
graphy, natural and physical, zoology, botany, mineralogy, geology,
meteorology. It will thus be seen that the latter, for instance,
more particularly belongs to the volume on Air—but they are so
blended, that they should be considered one entire set, which it
would not be consistent to separate. Nor will any reader, scientific
or superficial, we predict, on perusing one volume, be willing to
confine himself to that volume. The general opinion will be, in
which ours agrees, that the entire work should have comprised at
_Jeast six volumes, instead of three, as the work of compression
would not then have been so close, and its intelligence would, con-
sequently, have been more diffused. We do not now make extracts
_ to shew the style and manner of the publication, because the length
of these remarks have so much pressed upon our room; but in a fu-
ture number we may doubtless be tempted to prove from the con-
text, that our praise is not the dictation of partiality, but of literal
justice. The plates, in Baxter's oil-colour printing, are most exqui-
site specimens of a newly-discovered art, which cannot fail to be ge-
nerally admired.

Tur Arr.—In this volume, the author does nut assume that he
has succeeded in bringing the subject of this most interesting fluid
in those broad and general features which shall render a reference
to other sources unnecessary ; but he has certainly made the road so
smooth and open, that a little diligence only is required to attain all
the knowledge essential to the clear understanding of the atmosphe-
ric fluid. We need not point out the difficulty against which the
unlearned have to contend in obtaining such a view of this subject
as shall enable them to see at once the nature of the different parts,

* 4

326 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS,

and.their relations to each other. When we find the mechanical
properties of the air made a distinct science, under the name of
pneumatics ; the chemical properties in the different pages of the
book of chemical science ; the relative actions of the air in different
parts of the world, and at different seasons of the year, discussed as
portions of physical geography ; and its relations to moisture, heat,
and motion, designated as “ the weather,” and its use in the econo-
my of plants and animals, regarded as a separate science, under the
name of meteorology—extensive as this list undoubtedly appears, it
contains only a few of those divisions and subdivisions into which,
for the purposes of accurate science, it is necessary to arrange the
doctrine of the air. How deeply indebted, then, ought we to be to
an author, who transfers to the general reader as much of this
knowledge and its results, as shall suffice for the purposes of ra-
tional conversation and right understanding of the varied appear-
ances and changes of the atmosphere, and their effects upon the
living world? The plan which the ingenious author has adopted
he has thus developed :—‘“ I have taken first. in order those proper-
ties of the atmosphere which appear to be the most simple, and the
most in accordance with our common modes of thinking and express-
ing ourselves ; and having done so, I have endeavoured to see how
far each-one would carry us in the connection with that nature, the
general understanding of which is, of course, the ultimate object in
all inquiries of this kind; and, if I found that recurrence to any one
subject would either help to explain another, or serve to point out
the general connection, I have not hesitated in making that recur-
rence ; though, as I have not, to my knowledge, attempted a double
explanation of the same phenomenon, those recurrences will not be
found to have the character of repetitions. After all the care I have
taken, it is probable that the work may be faulty, even so far as it
goes; and from the limits within which, in point of mere space, I
had to confine it, it must of necessity fall short of the very elements
of the subject. But I believe that, in plan, and partially, also, in
subject, it is entirely new ; and though novelty is no plea of justi-
fication for error, one does not get so smoothly or rapidly over the
ground when the path is untrodden.” |

The third volume is that dedicated to “ Tue Heavens ;” and,
although the subject is necessarily of a higher order, we here find
all the raciness, well-disposed arrangement, and extensive research,
of its companions. Fully convinced, the author asserts, that there
is a popular road to the knowledge of the heavenly system, which is
both short and easy, he has endeavoured to make this volume a fins —
ger-post in this delightful path. ‘I have done so,” he states, “ not
by describing the end to be arrived at, but by attempting to describe
the way ; and I have endeavoured, regardless of whether I myself
shall or shall not be considered informed upon the subject, to lay
hold of and explain, with some breadth of expression, and with as
much familiarity of style as appeared at all consistent with the na-
ture of the subject, those great principles which I have found, by

CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 327

experience, to be the chief stumbling-blocks in the way of those who
seek popularly for instruction. * * * I have endeavoured to
point out how, by the application of those common means of mea-
suring and of weighing with which every one is familiar, we may
arrive at a knowledge of the distatices, the magnitudes, the masses,
and the motions, of all the heavenly bodies, or be able to state, with
certainty, that their distances are beyond all mensuration. I have
endeavoured, for the first time, I believe, to explain, in common
language, the law of the planetary motions; to analyze the balanc-
ing forces which sustain the heavens into their simple elements ;
and to show which of these elements are constant, and which admit
of variation. * * * In order to get a foundation, I have shewn,
using some diagrams in illustration, the impossibility of the earth
being a plane surface ; I have endeavoured to point out the errors
of distance, magnitude, and motion, both on the earth and in the
heavens; I have attempted to shew, from first principles, the na-
ture and stability of motion in an elliptic orbit ; and because I have
always found the change of distance and of rate which takes place
in the perihelion and the aphelion to be one of the perplexities, I
have laboured this point with no inconsiderable degree of attention.
If the reader shall collect and carry forward the remarks as far as
the ninth section, he will be able to see how the general principles
are made to bear upon what is practically observed ; and that our
knowledge of the heavens, as expressed in numbers, rests on a surer
- foundation, and is as accurate, as any similar expression in the most
familiar business of life.”

Thus clearly and concisely does Mr. Mudie expound his object,
and we must say that he has carried it into effect, throughout the
whole of his pages, in a style the most lucid and convincing. Ten
sections comprise the analysis of the contents, and they form a mass
of information and instruction which it would be difficult to find
equalled in any other single publication, however voluminous. The
typography is extremely neat and more than usually correct, and
the general appearance is, altogether, of a very superior order. This
volume, which corresponds with the others, is, also, illustrated with
a frontispiece and vignette, in which Baxter’s beautiful art of print-
ing in oil colours is shewn tv peculiar advantage.

On the Natural History and Classification of Quadrupeds. By
Wm. Swainson, A. C.G., F. R.S. & L. S., &e.: forming a vol.
of The Cabinet Cyclopedia. London: Longman & Co. Pater-
noster-row, and Taylor, Upper Gower-street. 1835.

INDEPENDENTLY of the correct and admirable classification which
so pre-eminently distinguishes this volume, there is a philosophic
spirit breathing throughout its pages, which few writers on this in-
teresting subject have introduced with such cogent and felicitous
effect.

The first Part, comprehending the great divisions of organized

328 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

matter, and the relations which quadrupeds bear to other groups. of
the animal kingdom, is full of instruction and interest—and from
the forcible chapter, treating on primary definitions, on matter, time,
and space, and the station of man in the creation, we shall now
principally confine our comments.

Locke asserts, that every thing which the mind of man can con-
ceive is either intelligent or unintelligent. ‘ Of intelligent beings,”
Mr. Swainson, in his primary definitions, remarks,—

“There is but one universal, primary, and continuous cause,—Gop, in
whose hands is the life and being of every thing. From the will of this great
Omnipotent has emanated other intelligent orders, created, indeed, and,
therefore, incontinuous; but whose entire nature, being spiritual, is incor-
ruptible, and who have been destined, by their Creator, to live in that state
for ever. Following these purely spiritual beings, is Man, whose essence,
or soul is immortal, but whose substance, or body, is material and corruptible.
These, for a season, are united; but the Creator of the human soul has de-
clared, in language the most unequivocal, that it will continue to “exist
through the countless ages of eternity ; and finally, that, by obedience to
the conditions Hx has revealed, it will be united, so to speak, with the puri-
ty and holiness of Him from whom it proceeded. Neither revelation _ nor
reason can suggest to.the mind any other order of created intelligences than
these, although each contains its own internal or component qualities; one of
these, for instance, is the Godhead itself. * * * Ofunintelligent beings,
we can conceive, in like manner, but of three sorts; namely, matter, time
and space. ‘Matter is incontinuous, but time and space are not so; for there
never was a time in which there was no time, or a thing which did not occu-
py space. * ™ ™ ‘Time and space are eternal; for it is impossible to con-
ceive them otherwise than as coexistent with the Deity. All time is His
duration, and all space is filled by His presence: they are evidently not causes;
yet we cannot understand how they can be effects. Thus, as it has been
well observed, we come to the inconceivable conclusion, that they are neither
causes nor effects. Their definition, in fact, is so difficult, not to say impos-
sible, that, inconsistent as it may appear, those philosophers who have relin-
ae the effort in despair, are those who have the greatest knowledge on

e subject. ‘Looking eollectively to the three great divisions of unintelli-

ent beings,—time, space, and matter,— we shall find that the latter is equal-
y incapable.of striet definition. Fach, in fact, can be judged of only by its
properties. Time and space may be divided, yet they are continuous; for it
is impossible that one of these divisions can exist without being connected to
others; but every mass or particle of matter may be isolated, and so exist
without other parts. Time and space are capable of mensuration; but to
space is added the property of figure. Matter is the same, -but is at once
distinguished from time and space by being incontinuous. Of time we know
but of three primary divisions, which we distinguish as the past, the pre-
sent, and the future. ‘The first and the last are incalculable, for they are
eternal ; while the present is but ag a connecting filament to each. Space, in
like mannér, may be broken into infinite portions; but of its first great divi-
sions we know nothing more than can be dimly gathered from certain pas-
sages in revelation.” é

The nature and division of matter, organic and inorganic, are
next considered, and some.curious inferences gathered from the fore-
going definitions, are deduced with much subtlety and plausibility.
The station of man as an intelligent being, the author has clearly
pointed out, and has taken much pains to separate the palpably in-

CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 329

congruous affinity of man with brutes, adopted by Linneus, Cuvier,
Macleay, and other celebrated philosophical writers. There is not
merely an innate repugnance, but an absolute disgust and abhor.
rence in every human being, ignorant or enlightened, against the
admission of this relationship. So sensible was Aristotle of this re-
pugnance, that, in his system of the animal world, he excludes man
entirely from his scheme ; and his example has been followed by
Willughby and Ray. In man, therefore, this enlightened writer
observes,—

“We behold that creature which connects those two primary orders of
beings, the intelligent and the unintelligent. He is, by far, the lowest
in the scale of the first; yet to that circle of spirits he unquestionably
belongs. He is one of them, not as a proscribed and degraded race, to be
cut off from all fellowship with the heavenly. hosts, and with the bare claim
of immortality to sanction his admission into their order; but he is offered
the means of restoration to what he was in that golden age, when he conversed
even.with the Highest Intelligence, and was the companion of angels. ‘This
restoration will place him again in direct communion with those beings to
whom, by his immortality, he is legitimately connected. He will be, on the
one hand, ‘like unto the angels ;’ and on the other, his spirit will be united
to the holiness and purity of the Omnipotent. Here, then, are the true affi-
nities of renovated man. * * * Let us but look to the life of the But-
terfly, and then ask what naturalist would think of classing it among apterous
insects because, in its first and lowest stage of existence, it is a wingless grub ?”

It may be said that most of these expositions and theorems have
heen before promulgated, in some shape or other, by writers on this
branch of philosophical inquiry ; but, allowing that to be partly the
case, they are distributed amongst large and unwieldy works, and
Mr. Swainson judiciously availing himself of the best authorities,
ancient and modern, has not only embellished them with his own
enlightened and penetrating observations, but added much original
matter to the stock of ideas already disseminated. In fact, his com-
mentaries have an air of such originality and genius, that, altoge-
ther, they appear more the result of pristine contemplation than
such as are collected from the gleanings of authors. Truly may it
be said that there is no subject which has not been investigated by
lettered men; if, therefore, an author speak on any given theme,
he may be accused, by the unreflecting, of having merely dilated on
the conceptions thrown out by a previous writer ; but we hold that
_ he who brings a discriminating judgment, high genius, and strong
mental powers, to the further and more clear development of a to-
pic already freely discussed by others, but not positively set at rest
by its conclusiveness, is-equal, in literary pretentions, to him who,
by chance, first opened the road to inquiry. )

We regret that our space will not permit us to examine this work
further ; possibly we may, in a future number, again refer to it,
and shew the care and aptitude with which “ The Natural History
and Classification of Quadrupeds” has been drawn by Mr. Swain-
son. At present, we are compelled to quit the subject, not, how-
ever, without first strongly recommending this interesting publica-

330 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

tion to the attention of those who are desirous of becoming conver-
sant with this now fashionable, but, hitherto, too much neglected,
branch of study, in the easiest, the most intelligible, and the most
persuasive manner. The volume altogether, like the antecedent
ones, in its typography, its wood engravings, and its general appear-
ance, is a model of taste, correctness, and neatness.

The Phrenological Journal and Miscellany,—No. XLVI. Publish-
ed Quarterly. Anderson, Edinburgh ; Simpkin and Marshall,
London: December, 1835.

TuHE title of this periodical will disclose the chief subject matter
of its contents. It is a quarterly miscellany, the produce of the
Scottish capital, and, like most of the publications emanating from
that source, is intelligent and amusing. As a specimen of its mat-
ter and style, we now select two passages from an article on a
“‘ Proposed Association for the Advancement of Mental Science.”
It appears that the Phrenological Society of Dublin, seeing the po-
pularity and success of The British Association for the Advancement
of Science, have determined, in like manner, to form a General
Association of the Phrenologists of Great Britain and Ireland, to be
holden at the same places as, and immediately after, the British As-
sociation. For this purpose a circular has been forwarded to the
Phrenological Society of Edinburgh, to state the views proposed,
and to obtain their sanction and co-operation. On this occasion,
the learned editor observes :-—

“ Phrenology, though a new science, has made extraordinary progress. In
spite of all opposition, and though perhaps peculiarly obnoxious to ridicule,
its truths have sunk deeply into the public mind; its principles are widely
diffused—al most instinctively adopted: and its phraseology is widely employ-
ed, as if by common consent. How could it be otherwise? Phrenology is
the true philosophy of mind ; it satisfactorily explains the phenomena, which
no other system proposed ever did ; it unites into one, and for the first time,
the philosophy and physiology of man. ‘Though young in years, it has had
rapid growth, and seems as if already far advanced towards maturity. * *

“The British Association is devoted exclusively to the advancement of
one section of science. It has adopted the philosophy of matter. We ask
is less importance to be attached to the philosophy of mind? Are mental
and moral philosophy to be neglected, because natural philosophy is to be
promoted ? Certainly not. ‘That department is ours—we wish to pursue it
definitely, but separated. The British Association has its object, and we
have ours—distinct certainly, but not thence necessarily hostile.”

There is no inconsiderable talent exhibited in most of the papers
which this number contains ; and we have no doubt its merits have,
or ought to have, obtained for it a large circulation.

The Irish Farmer's and Gardener's Magazine. William Curry,
jun. & Co., Dublin ; Simpkin & Co., London.

Turis truly useful “ Register of Rural Affairs,” is rapidly and de-

CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 331

servedly winning its way into public favour. The twenty-fifth
number, amongst other valuable articles, contains “‘ A comparative
view of Oxen and Horses for the purposes of Husbandry,” in which
the superiority of the former is made clearly manifest. Mr. Niven,
in a letter to the Editor, alludes to the cultivation of the new Ita-
lian Rye grass ( Lolium Italicum), which he considers a most valua-
ble addition to our cultivated grasses, in the following terms :—

“On the 9th of April, we had a small portion of the seeds of this grass
sown alongside of the common rye grass, or Loliwm perenne, and others ; the
soil being of a light gravelly quality, rather poor; its progress, notwith-
standing, was quite astonishing, and in the short space of about two months,
completely outstripped the others, both in luxuriance and richness of ver«
dure. Being desirous to save the seeds, we let it remain uncut for about
three weeks after the common rye grass; scarcely five weeks has elapsed
since the cutting took place, and there are specimens now lying before me of
the after grass upwards of eighteen inches in length. I can truly testify that
this invaluable grass has fully supported the high character I received of it
when in Scotland, last autumn.

“ The following description of the Loliwm Italicum may not be without use
to those who are not acquainted with the species. Corolla considerably
awned ; spikelets much longer than the calyx; flowers lance-shaped ; root
fibrous ; stems, several from two to three feet high, round, rough at the
upper part, with tumid joints; leaves numerous, linear, flat, lively green,
straited. Altogether a very different looking plant from the common rye
grass, or Lolium perenne.” :

The following interesting observations ‘ On the formation of a
Geological Arrangement of the Rocky Strata of Ireland, with the
Plants indigenous to the same,” are from the pen of the same ta-
lented botanist, Mr. Niven ; and as the valuable hint thrown out is
alike applicable to all districts, we make the subjoined extract from
the communication :—

“ In the midst of the researches of scientific men, it must, doubtless, ever
be the matter of greatest importance, to make their discoveries tell upon the
community at large, by some practical results, some interesting and useful
exhibitions of the theories advanced ; or by some tangible proofs of their im-
portance and value. 3; % °

“With these impressions on the mind, I proceed shortly to shew how
practically useful and interesting the study of geology might be made to the
public at large, if some such arrangement were instituted as the following :

“ T.et us take, for instance, an appropriate piece of ground suited for the
exhibition of rocky strata, by its inequalities, elevation, &c.; in such a place
(situated, we shall suppose, in a national garden), specimens might be con-
structed of the respective formaticns of many of the most geologically inter-
esting localities of the country; exhibiting the primitive, transition, secon-
dary, alluvial, and volcanic formations respectively, with the plants indige-
nous to each ; the whole to be described by proper /adels, on which the scien-
tific name of the rock or strata should be noted, with any other information of
an interesting nature that might be comprehended in a small space.

“ Specimens of the various genus and species of soils, arising from the de-
composition and mixture of the several rocks, &c., might form another fea-
ture highly useful in such an arangement, especially to the agriculturist.
Thus bringing geology to bear, by positive and easy demonstration, on the
kindred sciences of agriculture, horticulture, and botany.

332 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

“To accomplish such a desirable object, not only would the assistance and
co-operation of scientific gentlemen be requisite, but, also, time and some
perseverance. However, by the combined exercise of these essential principles
of action, I have no doubt, if a beginning were once made, much, in a very
short time, might be accomplished.”

The Naturalist’s Library.—Ornithology. Vol. V. Pigeon Family.
Thirty-two plates, engraved on steel, by Lizars ; with a portrait
and biographical sketch of Pliny. By P. J. Selby.

Five volumes of the ornithological portion of The Naturalist’s
Library have already appeared. The first two are devoted to the
Colibree family, (Colubride), the third to the Pavo family, ( Pa-
vonide), the fourth to the Grous family, ( Tetraonidew), and the
fifth, now under consideration, to the Pigeon family, ( Columbide ).
It is in every way superior to its predecessors. The portrait, we
like better than those prefixed to the former volumes, and the vig-
nette (a pair of Ring Pigeons) is tastefully conceived and beautiful-
ly executed. The plates, likewise, completely eclipse those of the
preceding volumes, whether we regard the position of the birds, the
elegance of outline, or the delicacy of feathering. To support our
assertion, we may specify the Green Tinilope ( Plinilopus purpura-
tus), and the Purple Fancrest, ( Lophyrus cxruleus)—the latter a
splendid figure. In these plates, however, we miss one auxiliary,
which added greatly to the beauty of the former volumes—we allude
to the landscapes, which were lightly and very tastefully indicated :
and at the same time served to take away from that appearance
of coldness produced by the bright colours standing out from the
white paper: as a striking example of this, we may refer to Mudie’s
Feathered Tribes, where the plates, although some of them are very
fairly executed, have a wretched effect, for want of relief. The let-
ter-press of the present volume greatly exceeds, in interest, that of
the preceding, and the histories of the Ring Pigeon, the Wood Pi-
geon, and the Rock Pigeon, are in Selby’s best style. We are hap-
py to see that the English nomenclature has received some attention
in the present volume, and hope it will be attended to in the two
volumes of British Ornithology announced for publication.

The Earth; its Physical Condition, and most remarkable Pheno-
mena. By W. Mullinger Higgins, F. G. S. London: Orr &
Smith. 1835.

Amone the innumerable host of books which yearly issue from
the untiring press, in this bibliomaniac wera, there are none which
we behold with so much pleasure as scientific and practical works.
However bitterly our critical acumen might be poured forth against
the productions of “ wild distempered brains,” we receive the small-
est tribute to science with pleasure and respect. Science is the pal-
ladium of national safety ; for every discovery is a security against
decay. It is this revelation of powers applicable to our common

-

CRITICAL “NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 333

necessities, which essentially distinguishes the present age from any
antecedent period inthe history of nations; and where there is no
ascertainable limitation to these powers, that safety may be perpe-
tual. The promulgation, therefore, of scientific knowledge, by
whatever means, is to be advised and encouraged ; thus, “ popular
elementary works” are highly beneficial, inasmuch as a more gene-
ral attention to science is created, when more abstruse productions
would be rejected in despair. Among the numerous elementary
treatises of the present year, Mr. Higgins’s elegant little volume,
though last, is not least in merit. The Author does not profess to
astonish by the novelty of the matter ; but it is something to attract
the attention, as much by the value of the material as, also, by the
perspicuous and pleasing mode of communication. The work in-
cludes an examination into the principal phenomena of the earth,
with their various experimental inductions. The pictorial illustra-
tions are neatly executed, especially the sketches in the classification
of clouds ; as the Cirrus, Cumulus, Stratus, Cirro-Cumulus, Cirro-
Stratus, Cumulo-Stratus, and Nimbus: the commonest observer
will acknowledge the correct delineation of these clouds. If there
be any fault in Mr. Higgins’s work, it is in the poetical exactions:
science is a very plain unsophisticated person, who seeks no decora-
tion from the Muses. That there is *‘ poetry in nature to stir the
soul to extacy” may be very true, but it should be left to the “ ca-
sual observer,’ and not to the ‘‘ minister and interpreter, of nature.”
Physics, or the doctrine of practical utilities, require merely perspi-
cuity of style; nor ean the ornaments of rhetoric lend any impor-
tance in the enunciation of facts. Mr. Higgins seems to be a
‘poetic philosopher ;” and though we would not imply any de-
rogution of his knowledge, we affirm it, as a truism, that philosophy
and poetry repel each other. We exceedingly regret our want of
room disables us from exhibiting many specimens from this inter-
esting volume ; but we cannot refrain from extracting the following
account of that singular electric phenomenon, called St. Elmo’s
Light, which is pleasingly described :—

“ St. Elmo’s light is a luminous meteor, that frequently settles upon the
mast-head of vessels, and is probably of electric origin, though it is never
_ known to produce any of those disastrous effects which so often attend light-
ning. Sometimes it is confined to the mast-head, while at other times it

adually descends the mast to the deck itself It was formerly supposed,

y mariners, to be a visible representation of a spirit they call St. Elmo, who

is the tutelar deity of those who traverse the mighty deep, and has a prophe-
tic power. When it is confined to the topmast, it is a proof, in their opinion,
that although bad weather may be present, yet it will not continue, and can-
not injure the vessel. But when it descends the mast, it prognosticates a
gale of wind, or a disaster, which will be more or less violent in proportion to
the depth of its descent. Falconer has described this phenomenon in his
Shipwreck :—

“High on the mast, with pale and livid rays,

Amid the gloom portentous meteors blaze.’

This appearance may be readily explained upon the known aptitude of a
pointed conductor in transferring electricity from a highly electrical atmos-

334 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

phere ; and it is possible that it may, on philosophical principles, be consider-
ed as a prognosticator of atmospheric changes, since the agent itself has an
evident connection with many meteorological effects, which we at present
find some difficulty in explaining.

We take our furewell of Mr. Higgins, earnestly recommending
his book to the perusal of our readers ; nor will the ladies refuse so
grave a subject as philosophy a place in their boudoirs, when it is
so elegantly arrayed. —

A Manual of Entomology, from the German of Dr. H. Burmeister,
by W. E. Shuckard, M. E.S. London: Edward Churton.

The publication of this admirable work is now drawing to a close,
and we would strongly advise every one who takes a delight
in the pursuit of this branch of Natural History, to procure a copy.
The mechanism by which atmospheric air is admitted to the inter-
nal organs of respiration, is described in so clear and skilful a man-
mer as to be highly interesting, not only to the professed entomolo-
gist, but to the most casual observer of nature. From the experi-
ments of Sorg, Hausmann, and others, upon the decomposition of
air during the respiration of insects, it is ascertained that “ all
breathing insects deprive the air of a considerable portion of its oxy-
gen, and give off, in lieu of it, carbonic acid ;” the quantity of oxy-
gen withdrawn by breathing, and the quantity of carbonic acid giv-
en off, varying according to the size of the creature, and the inten-
sity of its respiration. The chapters on ‘The metamorphosis—
muscular motion—the emission of sound—instinct—and self-pre-
servation of insects,” are replete with valuable information, and can-
not fail exciting the most lively interest in the mind of every physio-
logical student.

A Practical Treatise on the Diseases of the Teeth, in which the ori-
gin and nature of Decay are explained, and the means of Preven-
tion pointed out. By W. Robertson. London: Longman & Co.
1835. pp. 158. |

Tue chief object of the author in presenting the present volume
to the public, is, to make non-professional readers acquainted with
the nature and progress of caries, or decay of the teeth, by placing
before them new views of the:crigin of the disease, different, and,
indeed, altogether opposed, to the commonly-received opinions: on
the subject. Mr. Robertson founds his new theory of caries upon
the peculiarities of the different classes of the teeth, upon the indivi-
dual anatomical structure’ of particular teeth, and, also; upon the
organization of the enamel and proper bone of the tooth, which, not
being strictly analogous in its structure to the other parts of the
osseous system, does not bear a perfect resemblance to them in its
diseases. Objecting to the theories of Bell and Fox, as insufficient
to explain the cause of caries, Mr. Robertson advances the opinion

CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 335

that this disease is the result of the chemical action of particles of
decomposed food which are retained in the intervals, or indenta-
tions, of the teeth ; and this he supports by reference to the indivi-
dual peculiarities in the structure of certain teeth, and the order in
which the different classes decay singly or in pairs.

From Mr. Robertson’s view of the anatomical structure of the
teeth, and from the circumstance that caries is never found to com-
mence upon a plain and smooth surface of a tooth, but. always in
these indentures or interstices, it is evident that the predisposition
to decay is to be found in the organization of the part in which it
occurs, and that it is totally independent of general causes affecting
the constitution, and of inflammatory action, as hitherto supposed.
After having explained the origin of caries, Mr. Robertson proceeds
to notice the progress of the disease through its different stages,
from the first commencement of the destruction of the enamel, by
the decomposed and corroding food, to the period when the bone
breaks in, the cavity of the tooth becomes exposed, and tooth-ache
produced. ,

Having noticed the predisposing causes of caries, Mr. Robertson
proceeds to lay down some practical rules for obviating them, and
gives directions for the management of the teeth, as regards their
predisposition to disease, both in the temporary and: permanent
state.

The theory proposed by Mr. Robertson is of great importance, if
we view it in connexion with the vast extent of that class of dis-
eases whose nature it proposes to explain. The work, as we have
said, is principally intended for the general reader ; and we cor-
dially recommend its perusal to all who wish to preserve themselves
or their children from the painful and disfiguring effects of decay
of the teeth ; whether these are considered in relation to the dis-
ease itself, or the operation necessary for its cure.

A Treatise on the Diseases of the Eye and its appendages, by Rich.
ard Middlemore, M. R. C. S. London: Longman & Co. 1835.
pp. 1644. |

Tue late period of the month this publication came under our
notice, renders it impossible to present our readers with even a brief
analysis of this elaborate and comprehensive work. The numerous
cases of diseases of the eye, in their various forms, which annually
pass under the observation of Mr. Middlemore, in his capacity of
Surgeon to the Birmingham Eye Infirmary, has rendered him emi-
nently qualified to fulfil the arduous task he has undertaken: The
result of his experience is given in a very clear and effective style ;
and the methodical arrangement of the work, to which a copious
index is affixed, will greatly assist the researches of the student.
We propose again referring to this publication in a subsequent
number. |

336 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

A History of British Fishes, by William Yarrell, F. L.S. Parts 8,
9,and 10. London: John Van Voorst, Paternoster-row. 1835.

This very neat and extremely yaluable publication merits every
eulogium. Whether as regards beauty and correctness of printing,
its admirable wood-cuts, or its judicious and well-written matter,
we are convinced: that it will challenge comparison with any month-
ly periodical whatsoever. Old Walton himself might have derived
information from its pages; and as it abounds in anecdote, it will be
found amusing even to such as are not attached to piscatory subjects.
We pronounce this to be'the most complete work of the kind, in
every particular, with which we are acquainted. We had marked
some interesting extracts, descriptive of the ascent of the Salmon up
the rivers beyond the influence of the tide, preparatory to depo-
siting their spawn, but which we are compelled reluctantly to omit.

The Gardener's Magazine. The Magazine of Natural History.
The Architectural Magazine. Arboretum Britannicum. Numbers
for October, November, and December. London: Longman &
Co. 1835.

THEsE periodicals maintain their high ground, and are admira-
bly adapted to elucidate the several subjects on’ which they so per-
tinently treat, Mr. Loudon’s indefatigability never tires, and he is
equally graphic in his information, whether hespeaks of trees, of
natural history, or of architecture. In these numbers are‘some very
interesting articles, but we are so pressed for room that we are only
now enabled to mention two: papers in The Gardener's Magazine,
furnished by Mr. Richard Varden,-architect and landscape gardener,
of the city of Worcester, “‘ On-the simple and expeditious modes of
ascertaining. the heights of Trees,” and “ A Plan for laying out the
Grounds of a Suburban Villa.”

Mr. Varden, whose ingenuity is well worthy of commendation,
has invented a small instrument for ascertaining the height of trees,
which can be effected thereby with greater ease and expedition than
by measuring with rods. This instrument is a modification of a
quadrant or sextant, and it is graduated on a particular’ principle.
As it requires, however, an engraving to enable our readers to form
an exact idea of the invention, we must content ourselves, at pre-
sent, with referring. to the work.

London Catalogue of Books. London, Robert Bent. 1835.

Tuts useful work: of reference céntains a list of upwards of
22,000 books, published from 1814, to December, 1834; classed under
the following heads :—Miscellaneous Literature, Divinity and Ec-
clesiastical History, Law and Jurisprudence, Medicine, Surgery,
Physiology and Chemistry, Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Latin, &c.—
The price, size, and name of the publisher are appended.’ It is
needless to point out the utility of a work so indispensably neceg-
sary in the formation of a library.

7

237

FINE ARTS.

Lewis's Sketches and Drawings of the Alhambra, made during a
Residence in Granada, in 1833—4. Drawn on Stone by Hard-
ing, Lane, &c. London: Hodgson, Boys, and Graves—Birming-
ham: Everitt.

From our knowledge of Mr. Lewis’s high rank as an artist, and
the great admiration in which we hold many former efforts of his
pencil, we certainly anticipated a far richer treat in his Alhambra
Sketches, than the gigantic and costly volume on our table, is capa~
ble of affording. The style in which the drawings are made, is
more suited to the cold and sterile climes of Siberia or Muscovy,
than the luxuriant, genial, and sunny south. The landscapes are,
generally, little more than outlines, with large touches, we would
rather say dabs, of white paint, giving one the idea that there had
been a partial fall of snow, instead of sunlight, on the house-tops
and towers. Many of the views are admirably chosen, and with
somewhat more of elaboration in the drawings, and effect in the
plates, would form very interesting representations of their grand:
originals ; but the Alhambra, even in these its days of humiliation’
and decay, cam have nothing of the meagre about it, and consequent-
ly, is not satisfactorily delineated in these slight sketches.

Another point we think might have been greatly amended by
adding a brief description of the drawings, which can now only be
well understood by those who are perfectly conversant with Wash-
ington Irving’s delightful Chronicles of the Alhambra, to which
work, Mr. Lewis’s volume forms a very pleasant illustration ; and
had we hitherto held the artist in less high esteem, we should
doubtless award to it a greater meed of praise ; but we know his
eapabilities, and feel assured (with Goldsmith’s critic,) that “ the
pictures would have been better, if the painter had taken more
pains.”

The first, ‘‘ View of the Alhambra’ from the Albaycin,” and last
plate, “The Alhambra from the Darro,’’ are two fine and spirited
_ sketches of the exterior. The former shows the hill of the Alham-
bra rising over the city of Granada, with its “tiara of proud tow-
ers,” above which the snowy range of the Sierra Nevada is seen in
the distance: but the sunshine in the foreground and the white-
topped mountains being described by the same black sketching and
white spots of paint, the scene has nothing of the Spanish climate.
The “ Puerta Justicia,” or Gate of Justice, is a bold and masterly
sketch, animated by some cleverly drawn and characteristic figures,
and showing a beautiful glimpse of distant scenery. The following
plate, of a fine old Moorish arch; called “the Gate of the Vine,”
shows more than any other, the bad effect of the style of engraving
adopted,—it is an admirable representation of a deep snow.

“ View of the Sierra Nevada, and part of the Alhambra from

‘January, 1836.—vob. 111., No. XIV. Z

338 FINE ARTS.

the Adarves,” with a peasant stretched in the shade of an overhang-
ing vine, has infinitely more of the character of southern scenery
than the former plates ; but when we call to remembrance Lewis’s
pictures of .vintage-groups and pilgrims, and bring before our
memory’s eyes the rich and glowing effect diffused over them, we
cannot but compare those former favourites, with the present pro-
ductions of the same pencil, and lament that it should seem to have
so lost its cunning.

The “ Court of Myrtles,” with its graceful and lofty colonnades of
slender pillars, again surmounted by open galleries, surrounding the
marble basin or fish-pond in the centre of the court, tells many a
story of by-gone beauty and romance to the lovers of Moorish lay
and legend; but the figures with which Mr. Lewis has peopled
these scenes of faded grandeur and departed glory, are not of the
kind to please the poetic or legendary gazer. He only gives us a
few bandit-like peasants, with their dark-haired wives or loves
spinning beside them; or a water-carrier, or comely old Padre, stroll-
ing amid the cool arcades and citron-groves of the Hill of Palaces:
and these are not the beings we meet in Moorish chronicles. To
the advocates of matter-of-fact realitves; these sketches, showing all
the desolation, and we might add desecration, of the Alhambra. as it
is, will be valuable for their fidelity of outline. To the more ima-
ginative, (among whom we beg to class ourself), they serve as me-
morandums of localities. When we look over, or think over, the
histories of gay and gallant beings, once the worthy and fitting de-
nizens of such glorious places ; these faint resemblances will serve
as guides, in giving to’ the “airy nothings” of the legendary tale
“a local habitation and a name.” They are maps of the Alhambra,
rather than pictures; and to those who have the happy faculty of
supplying from the mind’s rich storehouse all: appliances and
means to boot,” to fill up, in imagination, the incomplete production
of the Painter, they would be all we require, (were the execution
equal to the design). To those wnpoeltc persons who: must needs
see every thing laid down in distinct lines,—who cannot, in» fancy,
transform a water-carrier of Granada into one of the noble Aben-
cerrages, or a Spanish belle, with her fan-and mantilla, into a jew-
elled sultana of peerless beauty,—for such»Mr. Lewis is a most
unfit illustrator of this maze of enchanted palaces, haunted halls,
and fairy bowers.. ~ ¥ aie ave

But to proceed with our “comments and reviews.” The two
following plates are both taken in the ‘Court: of Myrtles,” and
give views of the Palace of Charles V., and the Tower of Comiares.
The arabesque ornaments on the arcades and walls of this court
are extremely rich, and for the most part in good «preservation.
Mr. Lewis would have done well to attend more to the architectu-
ral peculiarities of the Moorish style; his arches are rarely drawn
with accuracy. In the next plate, ‘Entrance to the Hall of Am-
bassadors,” the beautiful door-way, with its elegant pendant orna-
ments like mimic stalactites, is greatly distorted from its “ fair
proportions.” Here our fanciful friends will readily imagine, in

FINE ARTS. 339

place of the Paysanne and her distaff, a fair Zelinda and her lute ;
and, by the same process, the stalwart personage, standing, love-
struck, in fringed gaiters and conical hat, with a fowling-piece
over his shoulder, may be transmuted to an Abdallah or other chi~
valric hero of the “ oldenne tyme,” with folded turban, and jewelled
scimitar, and robes of regal splendour. :

“ The Tower of Comares” forms the subject of the twelfth plate,
and is, by far, the finest in the volume. The point of view is at
considerably more than half the height of the tower ; which lifts its
hoary and time-rifted battlements in lofty and massive grandeur
before you. On the left is an arcade-gallery of the light Moorish
arches, on their slender pillars, seeming as if hung in air: and to
the right, at a dizzy depth below, lies Granada, on which yow look
down over the wood-girt hills of the once impregnable palace-for-
tress; and bounding the view are the distant and dimly-seen moun-
tain-tops of the Sierra Nevada. This is a splendid drawing. |

The “ Entrance to the Banos” is not so remarkable for beauty,
as for profuse and indiscriminate decoration. The “Sala de las
dos Hermanos,” or Hall of the Two Sisters, is equally rich in em-
bellishment, and the lofty archways, leading into, and through, the
open court, give an extremely grand, yet light, appearance to this
beautiful apartment. In the following plate we have the entrance
to it, from the Court of Lions; and a most graceful and stately ef-
fect do the slender columns and wide-springing arches give to por-
tions of the building, where the redundancy of arabesques and carv-
ings would otherwise appear extravagant, and even cumbrous.

And now a maze of columns, and capitals, and arches, and ara-
besques, bursts on the eye—it is the “ Patio de los Leones,” the
Court of the Lions ; a very clever and masterly drawing, but re-
quiring an attentive perusal, before the reader can quite compre-
hend it. From one side of the Lion Court is the ‘entrance
to the Hall of the Abencerrages, which is~ spiritedly sketched
in the next plate, with a very fine perspective view of the
colonnade: and, in the following one, the Hall itself appears,
with its marble fountain, once crimson with the life-blood of
Granada’s best and noblest—the brave Abencerrages—now nearly
empty, a guitar resting against it, and the fair owner calmly sitting
at work beside. ‘This is not the way to people Sketches of the Al-
hambra. Either it should be invested with all of glory and romance
that has been ever said or sung ; or given to us in its desolation and
decay. Glorious even then, if not disenchanted by the presence of
things and persons, which destroy every illusion of fancy, and thrust
away the very memory of the past. In looking at the really fine plate
before us, we lay our hand over the lady and her knitting, and then
we can call up visions fitting to the place. |

The next plate gives a view of the celebrated Fountain of Lions,
taken from the Hall of the Abencerrages, and with its rich carving
and the long vista of arches seen across the court, would make it
a fine picture, did not the white touches, so frequently mentioned,
destroy much of the effect, by bringing the buildings, seen at a

z2

340 FINE ARTS.

considerable distance, nearer to the eye, than those in which the
spectator is supposed to stand. Another and more general view of
the Patio de los Leones, is in fine perspective, and conveys a very
accurate idea of this splendid court. '

“The Palace of the Generalife, from the Casa de Chapi,” is a
very delightful peep of a castle-crested mountain, through a very
beautifully-embellished window, at which Mr. Lewis's fair compa-
nion has fallen asleep, with her inseparable appendages, the guitar
and work-basket, resting behind her. ‘‘ The Torre de las Infantas,”
a magnificent apartment, or rather suite of apartments, with galle-
ries, pendant roof, and covered with ornament, is tenanted by an
old basket-maker, who sits in the foreground of the picture, with
his dog beside him. Around the walls hang divers symptoms of
such bodily occupants, in the shape of hams, meat, &c. One would
almost expect to hear the walls quote Shakspeare, and exclaim “ To
this complexion must we come at last!” The light in this drawing
is well managed, and the distances not too near.

“The Alhambra, from the Alaméda del Darro,” we mentioned
at the commencement of our notice, and with that the volume ends.
If our censure appear harsh to any, we beg them to understand it is
the high esteem in which we hold Mr. Lewis’s productions gene-
rally, which has induced us regretfully to comment upon what:
seems to us a falling-off, both in the feeling and execution of his
works. ,

Roscoe's Wanderings through North Wales. Parts 7, 8, 9. Tilt,
London ; Wrightson and Webb, Birmingham.

WE have heartily to thank the intelligent ‘ wanderer” for lead-
ing us, by his eloquent descriptions, again through many a well.
known, and beautiful, and beloved scene, fraught with the charac.
teristic grandeur and romance of our ancestral country. Right
gladly do we hail his periodical challenge to a ramble among our
old mountain-friends; and while our own hands are holding
the after-records of his journeyings, by our “ ain fireside,” our
spirits are with him.on the crest of Snowdon, or in the lonely and
ruined Tower of Dolbadern; we gaze with him on the now mould-
ering, once mighty, fortress of Dinas Bran, and all its by-gone
glories seem to invest the hoary pile ; we hear, in fancy, the Poet-
Lover’s harp, beneath the lofty bower of his high-horn ladye, and
were almost expecting a glance of her graceful form, when some
rude interruption suddenly aroused us from our imaginary wander-
ings, and we turned to the exquisite portraits of our ancient friends
which this elegant work presents to us. :

The two views of Caernarvon Castle are admirably chosen, and
contrast well the present and the past. The one by Cox, showing
the many-towered pile standing out in strong relief against the
bright-sunset sky, is peopled with beings of the present days
of reality and labour: a rail-road for the conveyance of slate to
the vessels moored by the quay, carts and waggons passing to and

FINE ARTS. 341

fro, and numerous figures all busily employed, render it a faithful
_ transcript of Caernarvon as it is. In Cattermole’s grand and roman-
tic picture, the moon is partially tinging the towers and battlements
of the Castle, and gleaming on the steel morions, glittering spears,
and heavy armour, of the warrior train entering the gateway, with
their rich banners unfurled, and trumpets sounding shrilly in the
quiet night, as the stone steps of the bridge ring with the tread of
the mail-clad host. It is a glorious imagining of the by-gone time.

“The Trifaen Mountain,” and. “ Lianilltyd,” are very accurate
and good pictures. ‘St. Asaph” is a pretty landscape, of the Cres-
wick school ; but the artist (Mr. Wrightson) would do well, when
he finds so many jackdaws spotting the view, like a lady’s sprigged
gown, to thin their ranks somewhat, if not murderously, at any rate
artistically. ‘Penrhyn Castle,” by Cox, is a most lovely scene-of
wood, vale, and mountain, crowned with the lofty trees of the mo-
dern-antique castle, and giving us a refreshing peep of the opposite
shore of Anglesey, anil the intervening Menai Strait, all basking in
the quiet sunniness of a summer’s day. ‘* Conway,” by Cox, is a
distant view of the Castle, but a very effective one, with one of the
strong, tower-flanked gateways of the town-wall in the foreground.
These remains of the ancient fortifications, once so jealously guard-
ed with gates and portcullises, now form merely picturesque en-
trances to the town; and greatly do they increase its romantic
beauty, as the spirited plate before us bears ample testimony. Of
the wild rocky pass of “ Nant Frangon,” we have a fine effective
view, by the same talented artist. ‘The detachment of foot-soldiers
winding along the Simplon-like road, adds greatly to its living and
picturesque appearance. The distant mountains, the torrent spring-
ing down their rocky sides, and the cattle browsing in the valley,
make altogether a very lovely picture of true Welsh scenery. In
the three numbers, now before us, of these pleasant wanderings, we
meet but one of Creswick’s delightful landscapes; it is his view of
“* Bettws y Coed :” we look, and might almost walk, down the vil-
lage-street, and, passing the stage-coach now stopping at the inn-
door, wend onwards a long ramble among those grand heaven-point-
ing mountain-ranges, piled, crag above crag, into the very clouds,
and receiving, at the same time, sunlight and showers. There is a
most happy feeling pervading all Creswick’s landscapes ; they are
all nature, but nature in her happiest moods and expressions: he
paints her often like a young beauty, with the tears glistening in
her eyes, yet radiant with a sudden smile of triumphant joy. Here,
the passing shower has just swept over the village, and every tree
is sparkling in the gleamy sunlight poured on its dropping leaves.
Nor is this effect in any degree diminished by the engraver, who
has “ done his spiriting” most gently, and succeeded in retaining in
this, as in most of the other plates, the grace and individuality of
the master. It is, indeed, evident that all the talent engaged on
this admirable work, is of a very high order.

342

SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANEA.

Licgur PRODUCED BY Fricrion AND CrystTaLiization.—The light
emitted during the attrition of some substances, such as quartz, has been
attributed to the intense heat which is produced by the friction ; a tempera-
ture sufficient, as is well known, to actually fuse the abraded particles. But
how are we to account for the luminous appearance of loaf sugar, or of tar-
taric acid, when broken—is the light electrical? We can scarcely suppose
it to be so, when wet crystals of sulphate of potash are rendered luminous by
_ being shaken in a phial. Light is, also, emitted during the spontaneous frac-
ture of crystals in the act of crystallizing. If three or four gallons of a hot
solution of sulphate of soda be decomposed by carbonate of potash, and the
whole set aside in a dark place, during the crystallization of the sulphate of
potash, on the surface of the liquor the scintillations are so brilliant as to re-
semble particles of gunpowder, ignited by being thinly scattered upon a sur-
face of heated iron. E. W. B.
Famity Concerts.—In most families in England where music is taught,
it is the custom for every individual, male and female, to receive instructions
on the piano, and each practises in separate rooms, or, at least, at different
times. If, instead of this, one were to learn the harp, another the piano, a
third the violin, and the rest the tenor, violincello, flute, &c., what delight-
ful concerts might take place within the family circle, and far greater plea-
sure would fall to the share ef both performers and listeners, from these
domestic concerts, than where each takes his solitary practice, to the great
annoyance, perhaps, of all the rest. There is, probably, nothing more pre-
judicial to the ‘ divine art’? in England, than the prevailing custom of learn-
ing only the piano—and that but indifferently. If the organ and organ mu-
sic had the attention paid to them which they deserve, great improvement
might reasonably be expected.
€oLouR PRODUCED In Oncanic Marrer sy Cutorine.—lt is well
known that chlorine destroys the colour of organic matter, but we were
scarcely prepared to find that it developes colour in some white organic sub-
stances. The wings of the whole of the white indigenous Butterflies, com-
prehended in Stephens’ genus Pontia, are rendered, by chlorine, of a beauti--
ful deep pink colour. This effect is not produced by either muriatic or nitric
acids, neither does the experiment succeed with any of the other white lepi-
dopterous insects on which it has been tried. The colour developed on the
wings of P. rape, or the smail white, is deeper than upon those of the other
species ; and it is immaterial whether the insect has been lately captured, or
has been an ancient inmate of the cabinet. The experiment is readily tried
in the following manner :—Attach the insect to a piece of cork fixed on the
inside of a tumbler, and invert the glass, for a minute or two, over a little

' SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANEA. 343
red lead, moistened with muriatic acid. The insect, unchanged in appear-
ance, is then to be replaced in the drawer of the cabinet, and, in the course
of a few hours, it changes to a beautiful pink. If the specimen be too long
exposed to the action of the gas, the colour will not be developed ; and the
pink colour produced by one exposure, is entirely destroyed by a second.

E. W. B.

Herschel, who is now at the Cape of Good Hope, has turned his attention
to meteorological subjects, and has moved “The African Literary and Phi-
losophical Institution” to request the assistance of its correspondents, and of
all who may have leisure and inclination for observations of the kind, in any
part of the world, te make simultaneous registers of the barometer, thermo-
meter, and other meteorological instruments, and of the winds and weather 5
likewise, the temperature of the earth at small depths, say ten or fifteen feet.
He proposes, in addition to the daily register, that four days in each year
should henceforth be especially set apart; and that the shewings of the dif-
ferent meteorological instruments should be registered every hour through-
out the twenty-four successive hours of those stated days—viz., the 21st of
March, the 2ist of June, the 21st of September, and the 21st of December.
The plan and modes of procedure are published in a small pamphlet of
seventeen pages, which is printed for private distribution.

BicaRBonaTEs OF Sopa anp Potasu.—Rose has shewn that bicarbonate
of soda, when in solution, is reduced, by removing the pressure of the atmos-
phere, to the state of sesquicarbonate ; and that bicarbonate of potash, though
not affected by exposure in a vacuum), in the crystalline state, is also, decom-
posed, if in solution.

Cutorovus Acrp.—It has been a subject of discussion among chemists
whether bleaching powder consists of chloride of lime, or of a mixture of
chlorite of lime with chloride of calcium. Balard, in an able paper, advocates
the latter theory. He has not succeeded in procuring chlorous acid directly,
from bleaching powder, but has isolated it, by pouring a mixture of red oxide
of mercury with twelve times its weight of water, into vessels filled with
~ chlorine: rapid absorption takes place. The fluid, separated by filtration and

_ distilled in vacuo, furnishes weak chlorous acid, which proves to be consti-

tuted of two volumes of chlorine, and one volume of oxygen. He confirms
_ the statement of M. Morin, that, by the decomposition of the bleaching chlo-
rides, either by time or by heat, twelve atoms of oxygen are disengaged ;
whilst seventeen proportionals of the chloride of the metallic base, and one of
the chlorate of the oxide remain.

PRODUCTS OBTAINED In Oncanic ANALYSIS. ode of the foreign che-
mists, by treating the cyanurets with various agents, have obtained several
singular compounds, differing widely in their appearance and properties.
These, if the contrary were not previously known, might reasonably have
been supposed to exist in the substance under examination. These facts

344 IATERARY INTELLIGENCE.

raise a doubt as to whether some of the substances obtained in organic analy-
sis, are not formed during the processes employed in performing the analysis.

A Royal Society of Sciences has been established at Antwerp, and, though
it has existed only six months, it already boasts of many eminent names of
foreign literati among its members—such as Alex. von Humboldt, Charles
Dupin, Dr. Pariset, Alexander de la Borde, De Candolle, Magendie, Hufe-
land, &c., &c.—Foreign Quarterly Review.

M. Azeglio, director of the Royal Gallery of Paintings at Turin, is pub-
lishing representations of the finest pictures in that collection, engraved by
some of the most eminent Italian artists. The work will form eighty num-
bers, of four plates each, in folio. The illustrative text accompanying them,
will be furnished by M. Azeglio himself.—Jdid.

Tue Arts anD ARTISTS IN FrancE.—According to a French scientific
publication, there are now in France 82 museums, 160 schools of the fine arts,
2,231 artists, whose names have been made eminent by their works. This
number of artists consists of 1,096 painters, 150 sculptors, 113 engravers, 263
architects, and 309 draughtsmen. In Paris itself there are no less than 35
schools of the fine arts, 20 museums, 773 painters, 106 sculptors, 102 engrav-
exs, 195 architects, and 209 draughtsmen. Total, 1,385 artists.

LITERARY INTELLIGENCE.

Suort vy will be published, “ The Romance of Flowers.” The work will
consist of highly-finished coloured engravings, with poetical illustrations,
and apposite extracts from the old poets. The drawings and original
illustrations, by Louisa Anne Twamley, author of “ Sea-Side Thoughts,” and
other poems.

A History of British Quadrupeds, by Thomas Bell, F. R.S., F. L.8., &c.,
umform with “ Yarrell’s British Fishes,” will shortly appear.

r. Thomas Turner, of Manchester, is preparing for publication, Re-
searches on the Organization, Functions, and Diseases of Membranous Se-
creting Textures, with original plans, &c.

The first number of the British and Foreign Medical Review is announced
for publication on the, first of January, under the editorship of Dr. Forbes
and Dr. Conolly, and to be continued quarterly.

A History of English Literature, critical and philosophical, by Mr. D’Is-
raeli, is announced.

Shortly will be published, the Literary Remains of Samuel Taylor
Coleridge, edited oe the permission of Mr. Coleridge’s executor) by Mr.
Henry Nelson Coleridge. . ;

Observations on the Present State of the Deaf and Dumb in Great Britain,
shewing the great increase of the calamity, and pointing out the most ap-

roved means for its removal, together with a new mode of education, by the
ei W. Fletcher, ¥. R. A. 8.

Dr. J. L. Bardsley, of Manchester, is preparing a second volume of his
Hospital Facts and Observations.

345

LIST OF NEW PUBLICATIONS,

From September 8 to December 8, 1835.

*

Agnes de Mansfeldt, by T. C. Grattan, 3 vol. post 8vo., 31s. 6d.
Aristophanes, ‘‘ The Wasps,” with Notes, by T. Mitchell, 8vo., 10s.

Asiatic Researches, (Index to first 18 vols.) reyal 4to., 15s.

Baxter’s Agricultural and Horticultural Annual, 1836, 8vo., 12s. bound.
Beechey’s (H. W.) Literary Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds, 2 vol. fcap. 16s.
Blakiston’s (Capt.) Twenty Years in Retirement, 2 vol. 8vo., 24s.

Bulwer’s (E. L.) Rienzi, the Last of the Tribunes, 3 vol. post 8vo., 31s. 6d.
Carey’s (H. C.) Essay on the Rate of Wages, post 8vo., 8s.

Channing’s (Dr.) Works, 2 vol. Sa 12s.

Cloquet’s (Dr.) Private Life of Lafayette, 8vo., 12s.

Cock’s (Edw.) Students’ Guide for Dissecting, feap., 7s.

Cocks’ Illustrations of Cooper’s Surgical Dictionary, 2 vol. 8vo., 51. 9s. 6d.
Cole’s (W.) Select Views in Greece, folio, 84s.

Collins’ (Rt.) Observations on Midwifery, 8vo., 12s. 6d.

Comet (The), Illustrated and Explained, by J. Seares, 12mo., 4s.

Conwell on the Liver, and on Hepatic Disease in India, 8vo., 14s.

Cooper’s (Sir A.) Principles and Practice of Surgery, 8vo., 18s.—col. 28s.
Davy’s (Edw.) Experimental Guide to Chemistry, 12mo., 3s. 6d.
Dissertations on the History of Physical, &c. Sciences, 4to., 36s.

Everard’s (Ann) Flowers from Nature, imp. 4to., 31s. 6d.

Family Library, Vol. LIV., (Washington’s Life, Vol. II.), 18mo., 5s.
Forget-Me-Not, for 1836, 18mo., 12s, bound.

Friendship’s Offering, for 1836, 18mo., 12s. bound.

Gallery of Modern British Artists, 4to., 16s.

Grahame’s (J. “ih ny pes of the U. S. of North America, 4 vol. 8vo., 27, 10s.
Hampden’s (R. D.) Lectures‘on Moral Philosophy, 8vo., 8s.

Hoblyn’s (R..D.) Dictionary of Medical Terms, 12mo., 9s.

Hogg’s (Dr. Edw.) Visit to Alexandria, &c., 2 vol. post 8vo., 21s.

Heath’s Picturesque Annual, for 1836, 8vo., 21s.—Lp. 50s.

History of Fossil Fuel, the Collieries, &c., of Great Britain, 8vo., 12s.
Introduction to the Study of Birds, 12mo., 10s.

Irving’s (W.) Legends of the Conquest of Spain, post 8vo., 9s. 6d.

James’s (G. P. R.) Educational Institutions of Germany, post 8vo., 7s. 6d.
Jardine’s Naturalist’s Library, Vol. X.—British Butterflies, 12mo., 6s.

Vol. XI, (Deer, Camels, &c.) 12mo., 6s.
Jenyns’ (L.) Manual of British Vertebrate Animals, 8vo., 13s.

Johnson (G. W.) on the Arrangement, &c. of the Kitchen Garden, fcap. 3s. 6d.
Landscape Annnal, 1836, 8vo., 21s.—Lp. 52s. 6d. morocco.

Lardner’s Cyclopedia, Vol. 71, (Literary and Scientific Men, vol. 2) 12mo. 6s.
Vol. 72, (Swainson’s Nat. Hist. of Quadrupeds),

12mo., 6s.

Vol. 73, (Rome, vol. 2) 6s.

Latrobe’s (C. J.) Rambler in America, 2 vol. sm. 8vo., 16s.

Lebaudy’s Anatomy of the Regions interested in Surgical Operations, royal
4to., 24s.

Lee (Edwin) on the Medical Practice of France, Italy, &c., 8vo., 8s.

Lieber’s (F'.) Reminiscences of G. B. Niebuhr, post 8vo., 9s. 6d.

Lindley’s (John) Key to Structural, &c. Botany, 8vo., 4s. 6d.

Loseley Manuscripts, edited by A. J. Kempe, 8vo., 21s.

Mackintosh’s (Sir J.) Discourse on the Study of the Law of Nature, &c.,
i2mo., 3s. |

346 METEOROLOGICAL REPORT.

Macrobin’s ho . J.) Introduction to the Study of Practical Medicine, 8vo., 5s.

Marshall’s (Dr. J.) Observations on Diseases of the Heart, &c., 8vo., 6s. 6d.

Mayo’s Outlines of Human Pathology, Part I, 8vo., 8s.

Middlemore’s (Rd.) Treatise on Diseases of the Eye, &c., 2 vol. 8vo., 11. 15s.

Minerals and Metals; their Natural History, &c., 18mo., 2s. 6d.

M‘Nab’s ag Meg” of the Ligaments, 12mo., 3s. 6d.

Mudie’s The Earth, The Heavens, The Air, royal 18mo. 5s. each.

Osborne’s (Dr.) Nature, &c. of Dropsies, 12mo., 5s.

Pearson (Dr. R.) on Action of the Broom-seed in Dropsy, 8vo., 2s. 6d.

Random Recollections of the House of Commons, post 8vo., 10s. 6d.

Reid’s ivi Jas.) Manual of Practical Midwifery, 24mo., 5s. 6d.

Rice’s (M.) Initiatory Step to English Composition, 12mo., 5s.

Robinson’s (H. B.) Memoirs of Lieut. Gen, Sir Thos. Picton, 2 vol. 8vo. 28s.

Rules for Expanding and acme ye Drawings, 4to., 8s. 6d.

Schlegel’s (F. Von) Philosophy of History, translated by Robertson, 2 vol.
8vo., 28s.

Smith’s (C. J.) Historical and Literary Curiosities, pt. 1, 4to., 7s. 6d.

Spark’s Library of American Biography, Vol. IV., 12mo., 7s.

Stanley’s (Rev. E.) Familiar History of Birds, 2 vols. feap., 7s.

Stilling’s (Heinrich) Domestic Life, &c., Vol. 2, 12mo., 6s.

Student’s Cabinet Library; or, Useful Tracts, Vol. I., 12mo., 5s.

Thomson’s (Dr. T.) Outlines of Mineralogy, Geology, &c., 2 vols. 8vo., 32s.

Thorburn’s (J. 8.) Elements of Bedside Medicine, &c., 8vo., 14s.

Thorold’s (Mrs. A.) Letters from Brussels, 1835, post 8vo., 10s. 6d.

Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, Vol. 2, 8vo., 12s.

Todd's (Rev. J.) Student’s Manual, 12mo., 6s.

Transactions of the Geological Society, Vol. IV., Pt. L., 8vo., 14s.

Med. and Chir. Society of London, Vol. XIX., 8vo. 15s.

Trollope’s (Rev. W.) Analecta Theologica, Vol. II., 8vo., 17s.

Venables’ Interlinear Translation of Gregory’s Conspectus, 12mo., 4s. 6d.

Vow of the Peacock, and other Poems, by L. E. L., feap., 10s. 6d.

Wardrop (Dr. J.) on Blood-letting, post 8vo., 4s.

Wilson’s (Jas.) Treatise on Insects, 4to., 15s.

Yate’s (Rev. Wm.) Account of New Zealand, post 8vo., 10s. 6d.

METEOROLOGICAL REPORT.

ON THE AURORA BOREALIS.

Ow the evening of the 17th of November, 1835, there was a very brilliant
aurora; a broad sheet of white light, filling the northern part of the heavens,
from West to North-east, and extending from 35 to 40 degrees towards the
zenith. Occasionally dark clouds traversed this luminous sheet, but without
appearing at all to influence, or to be influenced by, the belts or bands of
light which every now and then extended, in a vertical direction, across. it.

ese bands, or streamers, sometimes appeared in considerable numbers,—
and at one period in particular, there were two considerable ones close toge-
ther of a very remarkable brick-dust red colour; a sn light was thrown
upon all objects around. These phenomena were observed from 9 to 11 p. m.,
and were still to be seen at 1 a.m. ‘The day had been mild and pleasant,—
light Westerly breezes, with large intervals of sun; the maximum of the
thermometer, 50; Barometer, 29.310, slowly falling. _

On the 18th, the wind was high and Westerly, with clouds and some sun
in the morning, and occasional showers in the afternoon; the barometer

METEOROLOGICAL REPORT.

347

standing, at 9 a. m., 29.200, the thermometer reaching 52,. Towards even-
ing the wind drew round to W. N. W. and N. W.., the clouds cleared off, and
at 11 p. m. the barometer had risen to 29.300. At 8 o’clock in the evening,
the atmosphere was quite free from cloud, and from this period until half
pw 10, there was the most brilliant display of Aurora I have ever witnessed,
ar surpassing that of the preceding evening. A beautiful and very lumin-
due'antit stretched from N. N. E. to West, at about 35 degrees from the ho-
rizon, sometimes gi complete, at others broken into detached luminous
masses. This arch, at 9 p..m., passed through Lyro, its upper edge just
touching the two i | a stars in Ursa Minor, and thence extending
through the Pointersin Ursa Major; long luminous streamers were shooting
out from it at all points,—sometimes more brilliant in the West, at others in
the North, and then in the N. E., varying every moment. At one period ap-
pearing, at various points between the concavity of the arch and the horizon,
ike the tail of an immense comet, at others darting out, in great numbers,
from the convexity towards the zenith. Added to all these interestin
> ag were continual and extremely rapid flashes or undulations o
light,—as if of broad, broken, horizontal bands of lambient flame—which
swept, with the rapidity of lightning, from all the northern half of the hori-
zon, toa point almost exactly over-head. These coruscations, or flashes,
very frequently left permanent streaks of light exactly resembling strongly
illuminated bands of delicate cirri... These luminous undulations, or flashes—
always converging to a particular spot—formed, at times, a most beautiful
wreathed crown, which would remain permanent over Gamma Andromeda.
‘These luminous flashes stretched, at one period, far into the southern region
of the heavens.

SEPTEMBER.
1835 { Barometer. | Thermometer Remarks. CS
Sept. | Morn. | Even. | Max. } Min. Day. Night. Wind.
- 1} 29510] 29.590 |. 68 52 Fine, cloudy, sun Fine S.E.
2: 29.600 | 29.540 | 69 50.5 | Very fine Fine Ditto
3} 29.425 | 29.280} 71 52 Very fine Fine Southerly
4 | 29.145 | 29.155} 69.5 | 56 | Cloudy, fine Showers Westerly
5 275 67 57 Fine, clouds, sun Fine North, light
6)| 29.465 | 29.410} 69 54 Cloudy, hazy, rain p. m.| Fine . & 8S. high
7 | 29.415 | 29.305| 68.45 | 56 Cloudy, fog, sun, fine Fine ‘Ri
8 | 29.085 | 29.005} 60 56 Cloudy, rain Fine S.&S.W.
9 | 29. 29-100 | 62 48 Fine, windy Fine N. W. fresh
10 | 28 670 | 28.660} 59 + 48 Heavy rain, fine p. m. W.&N.W.
11 | 28.820 | 28 940} 57 47 Fine, cloudy, wind Wincy N. W. high
12 | 28.665 | 28.800} 58 48 Showers and dis. thun. | Rain South, light
13 | 28.910 | 29 100} 60 45 Clouds, shrs., fine p.m. | Showers N.W.
14 | 29.150 | 29 165| 65 50 Cloudy, sun, fine, shrs. Westerly
15 | 29.110 | 29.085 | 63 58 Lt. rain, hvy. rain p. m.| Showers Ww,
16 | 29.100 | 29. 60 46 Clouds, sun, showers, Fine Ditto
17 | 29.045 | 29.110} 60 47 Fine, sun, shrs.p. m, | Showers South, light
- 18} 29 100 | 28.830| 57 45 | Fog, Rain p. m. ine itto, ditto
19 | 28.820 | 28.880} 63 54 Fine, sun, shrs. p.m. Much rain S. W. strong
20 | 28.870 | 29.085 | 62 Heavy showers v
21 | 29.160 | 29.050 | 62 5 Cloudy, heavy showers | Fine Calm
22 | 28.785 | 28.820| 62 50.5 | Clouds, heavy showers S. W. high
23 | 28.880 | 29.115 | 61 51 | Clouds, heavy showers | Fine Ditto, ditto
24 | 29 165) 29315| 60.5 | 50 Very fine, sun Showers alm
25 | 29.315} 29.100} 58 43 | Very fine, sun Fine S. W. light
26 | 28.950 | 29.020} 61 50 Fine, sun, clouds Rain Calm, N. W.
27 | 28 930) 28.730} 59 45 Fine, rain p. m. Northerly
28| 28.750) 28815] 51 40 Fine, sun, cold Heavy rain N. W.
29 | 28.805 | 28.805} 61 48 Cloudy, fine Fine S. W. high
30 | 28.490 | 28.390} 60 505 | Cloudy, fine, rain p.m. | Rain S.E,
Mean Max. 62.1. 50.0 Mean Min,

348

METEOROLOGICAL REPORT.

OCTOBER.
1835| Barometer, |Thermometer, Remarks,
Oct. | Morn. | Even. | Max. { Min. as, es Night, Wind
1 | 28.430 | 28.350) 58.5 | 45 | Cloudy, rain ateven. | Showers 8. W. high
2 | 28.500 | 28.685} 59 50 Sun, clouds, showers Cloudy South light
3 | 28.700 | 28.705} 56 42 | Sun, clouds, showers Fine, hvy. dew} Vble. light.
4 | 28.730 | 28.870} 56 47.5 | Cloudy, fine Cloudy, fine Light, north
5 | 29.005 | 29,180} 59 45 | Fine, sun, and clouds Ditto N. W. light.
6 | 29,240 58 47 | Fine, elds., lghtg. in ev. | Fine, lt. shrs. | Calm, south
7 | 29.410 | 29.420} 50.5 | 47 Cloudy, damp Fine, dew Ditto north
8 | 29.320 | 29.006} 56 45 | Fine, cloudy Fine, cloudy Ditto vble.
9 | 28.770 | 29,250} 51 47 Cloudy, sun, showers Heavy rain Northerly
10 | 28,325 | 29.670} 49 43 Sun, showers Ditto Westerly
11 | 28.830 | 29.180} 50 37 | Clouds, shrs., fine, cold | Showers Northerly
12 | 29.305 | 29.280] 53 39 | Clouds, fine Cloudy . N, then S,
13 | 29,330 | 29.470} 60 52 | Cloudy Showery S. W. high
14 | 29.635 | 29.760| 56 51 | Cloudy, fog, It. rain Rain Calm, N. W.
15 | 29.805 | 29.810} 58 51 | Cloudy , Showery Ditto, North
16 | 29.805 | 29.725} 58 51 | Cloudy, fine Cloudy Light, vble.
17 | 29.700 | 29.625} 55 50.5 | Cloudy, fine Ditto
18 | 29.690 | 29.700} 53 48.5 | Cloudy, fine post Calm
19 | 29,640 | 29.430} 51 39.5 | Fine, sun Fine, hyy. dew | Ditto, south
20 | 29.275 | 29.170} 49 39 | Cloudy, It. rain Fine South fresh
21 | 29.165 | 29,100} 49 35.5 | Clouds, sun, It. shrs. Fine, dew Westerly
22 | 29.005 | 28.810} 50 37 | Cloudy, shower Fine S. W. light
23 | 29.018 | 28.810} 51 38.5 | Sun, fine, cloudy Showers Ss. W.
24 | 29.000 | 29.050} 51 39.5 | Sun, fine, showers Hvy. showers | Ditto
25 | 29.025 | 28.290} 52 39 =| Very heavy rain Rain Do. hgh. lat.
26 | 28.600 | 28.910} 48 37.5 | Cloudy, fine Ditto, wind South
27 | 29.100 | 29.305} 48 38 | Fine, showers Fine W. mod.
28 | 29.370 | 29.300} 47.5 | 37 | Fine, sun, clouds Fine Norther!
29 | 29.205 | 29.555} 53 43 | Fine, sun, clouds Rain W.S. Ww.
30 | 29,605 | 29.400} 46 40.5 | Cloudy, damp. rain evg. | Fine Calm
3k 29.515' 47 43 | Fog. Rain
Mean Max, 52.8 43 4 Mean. Min,
NOVEMBER.
1835, Barometer. |Thermometer : Remarks, :
Noy. | Morn, ; Even. | Max. | Min. Day. Night, _ Wind.
1 | 29.605 | 29.635 | 47.5 | 39 Fine, sun Fine Light, calm
2 | 29.600 | 29.420} 46.5 | 35 | Cloudy, rain even. Ditto Light, south
3 | 29.340 | 29.400} 45 45 | Continued rain Rain Ditto
4 | 29.400 | 29.345 | 39.5 | 39.5 | Ditto S. W.
5 | 29.335 | 29.300} 40 36 | Cloudy, rain Showery Light, south
6 | 29.290 | 29.405} 42 38 | Sun, clouds, rain Fine Vble., calm
7 | 29.370 | 29.340} 49 38 | Cloudy, showers’ Cloudy Light, N. W.
8 | 29.410 | 29.480| 47.5 | 39 | Fine, sun, light clouds | Fine Ditto, N.
9 | 29.575 | 29.680} 40 38 | Cloudy Rain and sleet | N. & N. E.
10 | 29.770 | 29.825 | 38.5 | 32,5 | Cloudy ine Easterly
11 | 29.830} 29.740| 39.5 | 33 | Cloudy, fine Ditto Light, N. E.
12 | 29.690 | 29.750| 42.5 | 36,5 | Cloudy, showersearly | Ditto Ditto North
13 | 29.805 | 29.715] 41 35.5 | Clouds, sun, haze Ditto Ditto
14 | 29.530 | 29.550} 40 35 | Cloudy, Itl. snow & rain | Ditto Ditto
15 | 29.579 | 29.560) 43 38 | Sun, cloudy, haze Cloudy Northerly
16 | 29.440! 29.415| 45.5 | 38 | Fine, sun, clouds Ditto itto
17 | 29.319 | 29.300} 50 43 | Fine, sun, clds., aurora. | Ditto S. W., light
18 | 29,200 | 29.300} 52 46 | Clds.,sun, wind, aurora | Fine . & N. W.
19 | 29.419} 29.495} 49 39 | Fine, sun, andclouds | Ditto Light, N. W.
20 | 29,350 | 29.215; 49.5 | 42 | Fine, Windy Some showers | W. & S. W.
Qi | 29,220/ 99.180] 52.5 | 48.5 | Fine, clonds, wind Clouds S. W. high
g2 | 29,100 | 29.105| 54 48 | Cloudy, wind, showers | Showers itto
93 | 29,145 | 299.150| 53 45 Cloudy Ditto Ss. W.
24 | 29.120 | 99.075| 52 44 | Cloudy, fine, rain Rain Ditto, light
25 | 29.135 | 29.090} 54 48.5 | Fine, clouds, sun Fine South, light.
26 | 28.970 | 98.650| 54 50 | Cloudy, rain Cloudy Ditto, fresh
27 | 28,705 | 28.645} 53 48 | Fine, clouds, rain Showers Ditto, light
28 29.050} 48.5 | 45 | Rain, fine
29 | 28. 28.750} 49 42 | Clouds, continued rain | Copiousdew | S. W.
30) 28,575 47 | Heavy rain, fine Fine Ditto
Mean Max. 46,80. 41.0 Mean, Min.

INDEX.

Bishop Burnett’s History of his own
Time, Remarks upon, 1

British Association, Meeting of the,
113

Birds (The) of Britain, systeriati-
cally arranged, 197

Botany to Medicine, On the Impor-
tance of the Study of, 259

Botanicze, Notitize, 280

Caterpillars, An Outline of British,
283

Chemistry, Observations on, 248

Climates of Great Malvern and
London, A Comparison between
the, 54

Comets, On the Influence of, 218

Correspondence, 288

Critical Notices of New Publications:
Boswell’s Life of Samuel Johnson,
159. Loudon’s Gardener’s Maga-
zine, 160. Britton’s History and
Antiquities of the Cathedral
Church of Worcester, 161. Ob-
servations on certain Indentations
in the Old Red Sandstone, by J.

. Allies, Esq., 167. De Lamartine’s
Souvenirs pendant un Voyage en
Orient, 170. The Works of Wil-
liam Cowper, by Rev. T. Grim-
shawe, 171. Yarrell’s History of
British Fishes, 171, 336. Burmeis-
ter’s Manual of Entomology, 172,
334. Elements of Bedside Medi-
cine and General Pathology, by J.
S. Thorburn, M. D. 317. The Air,
The Earth, The Heavens, By
R. Mudie, 324. Swainson on the
Natural History and Classification
of Quadrupeds, 327. The Phre-
nological Journal and Miscellany,
No. 46., 330. The Irish Farmer’s
and Gardener’s Magazine, 330.—
The Naturalist’s Library ; Orni-
thology, 332. The Earth ; its phy-
sical condition, and most remark-
able Phenomena, by W. Mullinger

Higgins, 332. A Practical Trea-
tise on Diseases of the Teeth,
by W. Robertson, 334. Middle-
more’s Treatise on Diseases of the
Eye, 335. Loudon’s Gardener’s

agazine, and Magazine of Na-
tural History and Architecture,
and Arboretum Britannicum, 336.
Bent’s London Catalogue of Books,
336.

Education, Remarks on the necessity
of Improvement in, 253.

Frontal Sinuses, Aphorisms on the,
43

Fine Arts: Birmingham Society of
Arts; modern Exhibition, 100.—
Roscoe’s Wanderings through
North Wales, 169, 340. Lewis’s
Sketches and Drawings of the Al-
hambra, 337.

Halley’s Comet, Hints to Observers
of, 134

Ichthyolites, Professor Agassiz on,
132
See rten, On the effects of certain
ental and Bodily States upon
the, 177

Latin, On the Study of, more parti-
cularly as regards the Medical
Profession, 46

Literary Intelligence, 173, 344

Meteorological Report, 175, 346

Non-Permeability of Glass by Wa-
ter, On the, 72
New Publications, List of, 173, 345

Ornithological Nomenclature, Re-
marks conducive to the Improve.
ment of, 26

350 INDEX.

Ornithology, A Retrospect of the
Literature of British, 78_

Ornithology, Sketches of European,
265

Painting and Sculpture, Cursory ob-
servation on certain inconsiderate
criticisms respecting, 230

Poetry: The Sinner’s Agony, 35.—
Sonnet, 53, 77

Proceedings of Provincial Societies:
Meeting of the Provincial Medi-
cal and Surgical Association, 138.
Birmingham School of Medicine,

Society, 309. Liverpool Literary,
Scientific, and Commercial Insti-
tution, 150, 310. Manchester
Mechanics’ Institution, 152. The
Mechanics’ New Institution, Man-
chester, 155. Worcestershire Na-
tural History, 156. Shropshire
and North Wales Natural History

Society, 157, 293. Worcester Li-

terary and Scientific Institution,
312; lecture on the Nervous Sys-
tem of Man and Animals, by E.
A. Turley, Esq.

142, 300. Birmingham Philoso- River Huallaga, Remarks on the

hical Institution, 146, 301 ; Ana-
ysis of Mr. Taylor’s lectures on
the “ Early English Opera,” 303.

practicability of Navigating the,
36.

Birmingham Mechanics’ Institu- Scientific Miscellanea, 342

tion, 149, 307. Liverpool Medical

Errata.—Page 133, line 30, insert, after Professor Agassiz, “ has been
derived.” Page 200, line 10, for Nictea cinerea (Steph. ), read Surnia cinere
(Dum.) Page 200, line 14, for Tawny Surn, Surnia stridula, ( ig 2 Sod

Tawny Aluc, Aluco stridua,(W.) Page 202, line 23, for Silvia

(Lath.), read Silvia loquax, ( Herb.)

‘ippolais,

END OF THE THIRD VOLUME, —

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