3,000l. in order that the society might have for 10001. a piece of ground sufficient for their purpose. The plan will probably be fixed upon at the general meeting, in March.

Arctic Discovery Expeditions.-Letters, dated the 16th of July, have been received from the ships under Captain Parry. They were all well, at Resolution Island, Hudson's Bay, had met with heavy icebergs and much obstruction from the ice, but had surmounted these obstacles, and were pursuing their voyage up the inlet at the North of the Bay.-Of Lieutenant Franklin's expedition, it is learned from a gentleman attached thereto, by a letter dated in April last, and written from Fort Enterprise, Lake Winter, which is in the neighbourhood of the Coppermine river, and in the country occupied by the Copper Indians or Redknifes, that the party had passed the winter there; during which they enjoyed good health, though they had suffered some inconvenience from the cold, which was so intense, even in the interior of their huts, as to freeze rum a very little below proof. The thermometer suddenly fell to minus 57° Fahrenheit. The party intended to prosecute their journey in June. They have found, from the information of Indians, that the maps hitherto published are not to be depended upon, but Hearne's information to be tolerably accurate. One of the guides was a boy at the time of Hearne's journey, and accompanied the party to the sea. Astronomical Observations. Captain Sabine, who served as astronomer with Captain Parry, in his voyage to the Polar Seas, proceeds in the Iphigenia frigate, Captain Sir R. Mends, to the coast of Africa, for the purpose of making nautical observations, and determining the true figure of that part of the globe. This scientific officer will commence his operations in the neighbourhood of Sierra Leone.

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Ornithology.-The Grey Phalarope was lately shot in Lancashire, (" Tringa Lobata," Linnæus.) This curious and beautiful bird is a native of Europe, Asia, and America, but has been seldom met with in the British Isles. Bewick mentions four only having been seen by naturalists in the last century.

History. Some very extraordinary documents respecting the latter days of King Charles II. have, it is said, been lately found among the records in the Heralds' College.

Trigonometrical Survey.-Captain Vetch and Mr. Drummond, the engineer officers intrusted with the conduct of the trigonometrical survey in the north of Scotland, have finished their task in Orkney and Zetland, by establishing in those clusters

of islands the several positions which serve to connect them with the mainland of Scotland. In their operations they were attended by the Protector gun brig, Captain Hewet commander; and that gentleman was employed at the same time in a nautical survey of various harbours among those islands, which stood in need, particularly in Zetland, of more accurate charts than have yet been given to mariners. The laborious and hazardous task has been brought to a conclusion, with one loss; Mr. Fitzjames, midshipman, and four men, having gone from the rendezvous at Calfsound in Eda, to the island of Sanda for some provisions, were lost on their return, in one of those fearful currents of tide (the Lashy roast), which are frequent among those islands.

Natural History.-The Leech of Ceylon. -This animal is seldom more than half an inch in length, and is nearly semitransparent. It is very active, and is said occasionally to spring. Its powers of contraction and extension are very great. It is like a fine cord when fully extended, and its point is so sharp, that it easily makes its way through very small openings. It is supposed to have an acute sense of smell, for no sooner does a person stop where leeches abound, than they appear to crowd eagerly to the spot from all quarters. "Those who have had no experience of these animals," says Dr. Davy, "of their immense numbers in their favourite haunts,-of their activity, keen appetite, and love of blood, can have no idea of the kind and extent of annoyance they are to travellers in the interior, of which they may be truly said to be the plague. In rainy weather it is almost shocking to see the legs of men on a long march, thickly beset with them, gorged with blood, and the blood trickling down in streams. In attempting to keep them off, they crowd to the attack, and fasten on quicker than they can be removed. I do not exaggerate when I say that I have occasionally seen at least fifty on a person at a time. Their bites are apt to fester, and become sores, and frequently degenerate into extensive ulcers, which, in too many instances, have occasioned the loss of limb, and even of life."

Natural History.-Dr. Clanny, of Sunderland, has presented to the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle, a very fine collection of insects made at the Cape of Good Hope, by C. Colcleugh, Esq. which is so much the more interesting to the entomologist, as it is understood to be complete.

R. Burns.-To such a length has the mania for the relics of Burns been carried in the neighbourhood of Ayr, that, since the venerable rafters of Alloway Kirk

have been metamorphosed into chairs and snuff-boxes, some sacrilegious enthusiasts have actually laid violent hands on the tombstone of the poet's father, which is disappearing by piecemeal.

Origin of Music and the Lyre.-The Hermes or Mercury of the Egyptians, surnamed Trismegistus, or Thrice Illustrious, who was, according to Newton, the secretary to Osiris, is reported to have been the inventor of music, according to Apollodorus, under the following circumstances:-The Nile having overflowed its banks, and inundated the whole country of Egypt, on its return to its customary bounds, left on the shores various dead animals, and among the rest a tortoise, the flesh of which being dried and wasted by the sun, nothing remained within the shells but nerves and cartilages, and these being tightened and contracted by the drying heat, became sonorous. Mercury, walking along the banks of the river, happened to strike his foot against this shell, and was so pleased with the sound produced, that the idea of the lyre suggested itself to his imagination. The first instrument he constructed was in the form of a tortoise, and was strung with the dried sinews of dead animals.-There is something beautiful in this allegory, which leads us into a conception of the energetic powers of the human mind in the early ages of the world, thus directed to a discovery of the capabilities of Nature by the fingers of Omnipotence in the form of accident.

Prussic Acid.-Dr. Urwins recommends the Prussic acid (acidum hydrocyanicum), as a cure for the tooth-ache. The method of application ought at the same time to have been also specified, as the Prussic acid is the deadliest and most powerful poison known. It is necessary to be cautious as to its use in a concentrated state, a single drop applied to the tongue would kill the strongest man in two minutes, and a few drops rubbed on the skin even, would prove fatal in the same period. Even in a diluted state of six or ten drops to three or four ounces of water, it ought to be used with the utmost caution; and for the tooth-ache, or any other malady, never without the advice and assistance of a skilful medical practitioner.

Easy and entertaining Philosophical Experiments. Partial flashes of lightning, Aurora Borealis, &c. are to be beautifully exhibited, by taking in a spoon about a dram of the powder or seeds of hycopodium, and throwing it against a candle, all other light being excluded. Powder resin is equally fit for the purpose, but from its adhesive quality sticks to the hand or any thing on which it may fall. A very entertaining sort of

coruscation of light is obtained by the use of phosphorised lime. When a small quantity (20 or 30 grains) is thrown into a glass of water, bubbles of gas are successively extracted from it, which, rising to the surface of the water, are inflamed on coming in contact with the air of the atmosphere, producing a flash of bright light. And as a succession of such bubbles is produced, during a considerable time, a repetition of such flashes will be seen.

New Literary Society.-This Society is maturing its constitution, and augmenting its subscribing members, with the prospect of fully developing the whole plan by the first anniversary after its royal institution, the 29th of the present month. It professes to be unconnected with party and party politics. The King is at its head, simply as the patron and friend of Letters. Its objects are to promote the general interests of learning, and to encourage individual merit in the difficult paths of literature, by annual premiums and pecuniary as well as honourable distinctions. The premiums for the year 1821-2 have been advertised; every writer is eligible to obtain them, whether belonging to the Society or not; and the form, length, and character of the compositions rest entirely with those who enter into the competition. The Society consists of members, whose lowest annual subscription is two guineas: these are the well-wishers and supporters of the plan. Every individual of respectability, whether being what is understood by "Literary," or not, may belong to this class. Among the list of early subscribers, are, after his Majesty, their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of York, Clarence, Cambridge; the Chancellor of the Exchequer; Bishops of Durham, St. David's, Chester, Carlisle, Gloucester, Salisbury, Bangor, Lincoln, St. Asaph; the Right Hon. J. C. Villiers; Lord Chief Justice Abbott; Sirs A. Johnstone, M. Tierney, T. Acland, W. Congreve, Barts.; Sir T. Lawrence; Rev. Archdeacons Nares and Prosser, &c. &c. Communications for the secretary are addressed to him at Messrs. Hatchards, booksellers, where the Council of the Society meets provisionally. It is said that a permanent Council will be appointed to administer the business of the Society; the subscribers will have an interest in nominating its members, and also in the proposition of candidates for the rank of associates. These associates will be, first, ten individuals of literary reputation, appointed by the Society, on his Majesty's annual endowment of one thousand guineas; and, secondly, an unlimited number of the same class of persons, whose endowment will proceed from the Society's funds.

FRANCE.

On the Phosphorescence of the Lampyris Noctiluca and Splendidula.-In a curious paper on the phosphorescence of the lampyris noctiluca and splendidula, published in the "Bibliotheque Universelle," for May 1821, p. 52, M. Macaire has drawn the following conclusions from numerous observations: --1. A certain degree of heat is necessary to the voluntary phosphorescence of these animals.-2. Their phosphorescence is excited by a degree of heat superior to the first, and is irrecoverably destroyed by a higher temperature.-3. All bodies capable of coagulating albumen, take away from phosphorising matter its power of phosphorescence. -4. The phosphorescence cannot take place but in a gas which contains oxygen. --5. It is excited by the galvanic pile, but no effect is produced on it by electricity. -6. The phosphorescent matter is composed principally of albumen.

Montpelier.-A workman employed in removing the foundation of an old house near this city, found a glass bottle hermetically sealed; it was found to contain, in an excellent state of preservation, the following Latin inscription on vellum :— Mortalis! In thesauros incidisti! Hic in Christo FIDES, rebus in humanis MODUS patent. Ampulla nec vacua, nec vilis, quæ animo hilaritatem, corpori salutem, affert. Ex hac imbibe, et haustum, vino vel Falerno vel Chio, gratiorem hauries. Scripsit Johannes Locke, Anglus; A.D. 1675.

The following is a translation: Mortal! Thou hast found a treasure! Here are placed before you FAITH in Christ and MODERATION in things terrestrial. The bottle is neither empty, nor of little worth, which affords cheerfulness to the mind, and health to the body. Quaff of this, and thou shalt imbibe what is more precious than the juice of Falernum or Chios. So wrote John Locke, Englishman, in the year of our Lord 1675.

Egyptian Obelisk.-The Journal des Debats gives the following as the version

of the inscription on the Egyptian Obelisk lately brought from the Island of Philæ to this country by Mr. Banks. The translator, M. Letronne, says that it contains a Petition from the Priests of Isis, in the Island of Phila, to Ptolomæus Evergetus the Second :

"To the King Ptolomæus; to the Queen Cleopatra, his sister * ; to the Queen Cleopatra, his wife ; the gods of Evergetus, greeting:

"We the Priests of Isis, who is adored in the Abatum and at Phile, the most mighty goddess. Considering that the Strategists, the Epistatists §, the Thebarchous ¶. the Royal Registrars, the commanders of the troops guarding the frontiers, and all others of the King's Officers, who come to Phila; in short, that the troops which accompany them, and the whole of their suite, compel us to furnish them with abundant supplies belonging to the Temple; the consequence of which is, that the Temple is impoverished, and we run the risk of not having means to defray the regular and fixed expenses, caused by the ceremonies and libations, the object of which is the preservation of yourselves and your children. We supplicate you, most powerful gods, to authorize your kinsman ** and epistolographist ++, Numenius, to write to Lorchus, also your kinsman, and the Strategist of the Thebaid, enjoining him not to practise such vexations with regard to us, nor to permit any persons whomsoever to do so; to grant us, moreover, letters testifying your decision on this subject, and granting us permission to erect a Stele ‡‡, on which we will inscribe the beneficence you have displayed to us on this occasion, in order that this Stele may transmit to the remotest posterity the eternal memory of the favours you have granted us. This being permitted us, we shall be, we and the Temple of Isis, in this, as in all other things, your grateful servants. May you be ever happy."

According to M. Letronne, the date of this Petition must have been previous to

is found.

the year 126 of our era. The object of his Memoir is to extol and explain the various peculiarities which the Greek text presents, to explain the customs to which several passages of the Petition refers, and to form from it some idea of the state to which the cast of Priests was reduced under the domination of Ptolemy. M. Letronne by no means joins in the expectations which have been conceived of the advantages of comparing the Greek text engraved upon the pedestal with the hieroglyphics on the obelisk itself. He seems to think, both from the sense and the object of the Greek inscription, that, if the obelisk is not of a more ancient date, and afterwards restored by the priests of Isis, and consequently, if the hieroglyphics which cover it were really sculptured on this occasion, which seems to him the more reasonable hypothesis, these hieroglyphics contain, in the terms of the Greek text, a testimonial of the gratitude of the priests to the princes, and not a second copy, in the Sacred Language, of the petition inscribed on the pedestal.

M. Gorran, Professor of the School of Medicine at Montpelier, is no more, at the age of 88. He was the friend of Linnæus, Haller, Seguier, Jussieu, and all the most celebrated botanists of the past age.

Le Sage. Only one fac-simile of the hand-writing of the author of "Gil Blas" is known to be in existence. It is a letter addressed to the Chancellor Ponchartrain, and consists of six pages, very curious, and never published.

Schiller.―The dramatic writings of Schiller are translating into the French language, notwithstanding the prejudice which prevails in France against German literature.

The Exhibition of the French School of Painting at Rome, is open in Paris, in the ancient Museum of French Monuments. M. Michellon, before known by his "Death of Roland," and last year for his "Edipus taking refuge in the Temple of the Eumenides," has now exhibited the "Combat of the Centaurs and Lapitha." It is a picture well designed, but executed with a little hardness of manner. M. Hesse has exhibited "Procris expiring in the arms of Cephalus." A picture of M. Dubois, of a fisherman discovering the body of the young Clovis, whom Fredegonda has murdered and thrown into the Marne, is that which has attracted most attention from the critics, and, it appears, merits high commendation. A picture of Horace Vernet's is also much spoken of; the subject is the Battle of Jemappe.

Natural History.-The Jardin du Roi has recently received some very impor

tant additions, consisting principally of living plants collected in Asia, Africa, and America, by M. Perrottet, in 1819, 1820, and 1821, with the expedition commanded by Captain Philibert. M. Perrottet left Cayenne in June 1821, and arrived at Havre in July. The collection is the most considerable ever introduced into France by any single expedition. It consists of 84 cases, containing 600 living plants in the very best order, many of them very rare, and some hitherto unknown; two cases containing stratified seeds in earth, and in a state of germination; 300 bags of seeds of various kinds; seven cases of dry plants for the herbal; 26 glasses of fruits preserved in liquor; and finally, numerous cases of animals, birds, and minerals. M. Perrottet has proved that plants may be kept in a state of vegetation on board ship for a year.

SPAIN.

Madrid. It was some time ago stated in the accounts received from New Granada, that the whole, or the greatest part, of the results of the botanical researches of the celebrated Mutis, carried on at the expense of the Spanish Government for more than forty years, in one of the finest regions of South America, had been recently destroyed amidst the conflicts of contending armies; and considerable regret was excited in the breasts of scientific men on account of so irreparable a loss. It is satisfactory to announce, that the whole, with the exception of a few indices and partial descriptive catalogues, have arrived safe at Madrid, and are now deposited at the Botanical Garden, in charge of Professor Gasca. The drawings are executed in the most beautiful style, on the spot, chiefly by South Americans, who, it is acknowledged, have a peculiar taste for design and painting; and they exceed 4000. The specimens were collected in wide and secluded districts, in a tropical clime, and all copied the moment each plant was gathered. This gives to the drawings a brilliancy and nature almost unequalled, and among them are some hundreds of plants never before known in Europe. The history of the chinchona, or febrifuge-bark, in a long series of drawings, embracing the genera and extensive varieties, is peculiarly fine. This valuable treasure fell into the hands of General Morillo when he entered Santa Fé, and he had the whole packed up and sent down to a shipping port, where the packages were embarked for Spain. The descriptive pieces were at the time left in the country, and consequently they are not lost. Owing to the distressed state of the finances in Spain, it may be many years before this

collection, which no doubt stands unrivalled, can be laid before the public. General Bolivar, and the government over which he presides, in whatever arrangements they may hereafter make with the ministers of Spain, respecting the acknowledgment of their Independence, ought to stipulate for some plan for the publication of Mutis's labours.This is due to science in general, as well as to the memory of that distinguished botanist and his worthy coadjutors, some of whom, particularly the lamented Caldas, fell victims in that very contest which is now so near its close.

M. Rodriguez.-The sciences have suffered a severe loss by the death of M. Rodriguez, an eminent astronomer, who also was long engaged in scientific pursuits at London and Paris. He had the honour of being appointed by the Spanish government to assist the French astronomers, Messrs. Biot and Arago, in measuring an arc of the meridian. He died suddenly, at the age of nearly 45 years.

New Journals.-Every day the publication of new journals is advertised in Madrid: : many of them bear the most singular and out-of-the-way titles; such are, "The Periodical Mania," "The Cries of the Parrot of Granada,"--- (Clamores del Papagayo Granadino,) &c. &c.

ITALY.

Canova's New Work.-This is a group representing Pity. The subject having been so often treated already, and particularly by the celebrated Buonaroti, seemed not to have left aught of novelty; but Canova has discovered the secret of making his group admired by dispositions altogether new. It is composed of three grand figures, the Virgin mourning, Jesus Christ dead, and Saint Mary Magdalene. The professors of Sculpture have agreed that there prevails among them the most perfect harmony in the position of all their members. The figures are pletely interlaced, the draperies cover them with a grace and a natural adaptation, and the view of the whole group is so entirely harmonious, that it strikes with astonishment from all the points where it is contemplated.

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Portrait of Laura.-The Gazette of Bologna announces that the original portrait of Laura, by Simone Memini, has been discovered. "The most authentic documents prove that the portrait engraved and published by Morghen is ideal, or at least that of another Laura, who lived in 1500, that is to say, nearly

two centuries after the death of her whom the love and the verses of Petrarch have rendered so celebrated."

Quadrature of the Circle.-M. Scamarella, a Venetian geometrician, announces in the Gazette of Venice of 23d November, that he has solved the problem of the quadrature of the circle, and that he is ready to demonstrate it incontrovertibly to all the mathematicians in the world. According to M. Scamarella, the superficies of a circle is equal to the square of the proportional between the diameter of the circle and a line equal to three-fourths of the same diameter. It is also equal to the square of the circumference multiplied by half the radius, estimating their ratio as 7 to 21, and not as 7 to 22, as Archimedes taught. M. Scamarella farther engages to solve all the most difficult problems of this nature, in faccia a qualcunque Matematico.

GERMANY.

Extraordinary Travels.-A German, accompanied by proper attendants, went on a mission to Tombuctoo, from the French army in Egypt, and on his route, hearing of the defeat of the French army by Abercrombie, resolved to proceed, rather than become a prisoner to the English. He lost three of his attendants during his journey. They crossed a desert in 53 days, in about the centre of which they discovered three human skeletons, by the side of one of whom was a belt with a chronometer and compass attached to it, one of them made by Harris, the other by Marchmont, this circumstance leaving little doubt that they were English travellers.

Magnetism.-Dr. Seebeck has communicated to the Academy of Science at Berlin, in three different sittings, the last on the 26th of October, a paper "on the Magnetic Properties inherent in all metals and many earths, (and not in Iron alone, as was hitherto supposed,) according to the difference of the degrees of heat." This discovery, it is stated, opens, in this part of Natural Philosophy, an entirely new field, which may lead to interesting results with respect to hot springs, connected with the observations made by the inspector of mines, M. Von Trebra, and others, relative to the progressive increase of warmth in mines, in proportion to their depths. According to M. Von Trebra's observations, the heat at the depth of 150 feet below the surface of the earth is 1 degree, at 300 feet deep 2 degrees, at 600 feet 4 degrees, &c.