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632

Literary and Scientific Intelligence.-Poetry.

which is to last three years. The name of the experienced navigator who takes the command is already known by the discovery of a continent, or great group of islands, near the Antarctic Pole. Captain Pendleton forms likewise a part of this expedition, and commands the Seraph, a vessel of the same size. Amongst the singularities of the equipment, is a simple, elegant, and useful invention of two new piroques, constructed of whalebone, which can be changed at pleasure into commodious sledges, to pass the mountains of ice. Dr. James Eightly is engaged as naturalist to the expedition. Mr. Reynolds, who made every effort to fix the attention of the Legislative Assembly to this enterprise, accompanies these intrepid mariners in their commercial views. Captain Edmund Fanning, who spent many years of his life in those seas, trading with the natives of the country, has imparted the information necessary for such a voyage.

EASTERN EXPEDITION.

Dr. Gerard has lately visited the valley of Sulej, and made some curious observations at that place, which is the highest inhabited spot on the globe. The principal object of his journey was the introduction of vaccination into Thibet; but it appears. that the prejudices of the Rajah prevented him from succeeding in that humane enterprise. One of the villages where he stopped was proved to be 14,700 feet above the level of the sea. At this place, in the month of October, the thermometer, in the morning, marked 8° 33' centigrades below Zero; and during the day the rays of the sun were so hot as to be inconvenient, and yet the waters in the lakes and rivers were frozen during the night, but were free from ice at two o'clock in the afternoon. By

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means of artificial irrigation, and the action of solar heat, large quantities of rye were raised at this immense height, some of the fields being at 14,900 feet. Dr. Gerard gives his opinion, that cultivation might be carried as high as from 16 to 17,000 feet. The goats bred in this region are the finest in the country, and are of that species whose wool is used for the manufacture of shawls. At a height of 15,500 feet, quantities of fossil shells are found on calcareous rocks, upon strata of granite and pulverised schyst: they consist of muscle, and others of various forms and dimensions. To the north of the frontier of Konnaour, Dr. Gerard attained a height of more than 20,000 feet, without crossing the perpetual snow. In these regions, which for a long time were inaccessible, M. Gerard met with one of the most intrepid philologists known in Hungaria, named Csoma de Koros. This traveller, after advancing towards the centre of Asia, arrived at Kounaour, in Thibet, where he fixed himself in the monastery of Kanum, and lived amongst the monks of the Lamaic religion. Aided by a learned Lama, he made great progress in the study of the literature of Thibet, and discovered an encyclopædia in forty-four volumes, which treated of the arts and sciences. The medical part of this large work forms five volumes. The art of lithography has been practised at the principal city of Thibet from time immemorial, and it has been used to display the anatomy of the different parts of the human body. It appears that sciences and letters, flying from the tyranny of the caste of the Brahmins, abandoned the plains of Hindostan, and took refuge on the mountains of Thibet, where, until the present time, they remained totally unknown to the rest of the world.

SELECT POETRY.

THE TRIUMPH OF BENEVOLENCE.
BY W. HERSEE.

THE spirit, wearied in the day of care,

Or broken by the world's unfeeling scorn,
Rests not in sleep. The body may lie down,
As nature or as custom shall require,
The eyelids close-the living form become
Inanimate; and yet the noblest part,
The wondrous faculty that renders man
Superior to the brute, rests not in sleep.
Clos'd was the day, the social evening
gone,

And 'twas the silent lonely midnight hour,
Darkness had spread her deepest shade

around,

And Labour nestled in the arms of Peace,
When, overcome by heaviness of thought,
I slept. My feverish wand'ring spirit rose
Amid the gloom, and Fancy to my view
Disclos'd mysterious things. Before mine

eyes,

Clad in celestial robes more pure than snow,
A lovely being stood. A smile of joy
Illum'd her countenance, as thus a voice,
Softer than human language can describe,
Broke thro' the stillness of the list'ning
night:

"Attend, O mortal! to the voice of Heaver;
Behold, I come a messenger from thence!
To all mankind alike the band of God
Extends his gifts of goodness and of love.
He gives his mercy, boundless as his pow'r,
To the vast tribes that people o'er the earth
From pole to pole. Thus all that live and

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Of love without distinction! Ev'n the hand
Of humble servitude, that toils for food,
The hand that rocks the cradle, and prepares
The menial comforts of the helpless frame,
Attracts the smile of infant gratitude.
Alas! that knowledge and maturer years,
Teaching gradations in the scale of rank,
Should change the early current of the heart,
And, taint its progress with empoison'd

weeds!

But such is human frailty-such is man!
Destined to mingle with a thoughtless world,
He grows in stature and he grows in vice.
Oh for the pow'r that Heav'n alone can give!
The spirit divine, that thro' the darken'd
soul,
Struggling to be free, can pour the living
[light
Of joy eternal, and the wandering thoughts
Turn from the present to a future life,
And guide from evil to substantial good!
By the same maker all mankind are made,
And Nature calls them brothers: but the
world,
And worldly laws, call'd forth by crime, and
[thus
Allow'd by Heav'u as instruments of good,
To warn from ill and punish trembling guilt,
Have stretch'd the rod of pow'r beyond the
bounds

Mark'd by Humanity from man to man.
Yet Nature has her claim. She claims a law
More ancient and more firm than earthly
pow'r

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Can give or take away. She binds by ties
So strong that neither life nor even death
Can tear asunder. Her mysterious law
Takes first possession of the human heart,
And dwells for ever there-a law divine!
O Nature! thro' the universal frame
Of all creation quenchless as the fire
That lights the glorious sun! thy sovereign
pow'r

Is felt by every living thing. To thee
The faithful homage of the heart is borne,
Ev'n from the cradle, thro' extended life,
Down to the borders of the gloomy grave.
In every clime around the spacious globe,
The swarthy negro, tutor'd but by thee,
And wand'ring wildly in the trackless woods;
The shiv'ring tribes beside the northern seas,
That seek in caves a shelter from the cold;
And those who revel, or repose at ease,
Amid the splendid luxuries of wealth,
Are one united family to thee.
The golden hours of friendship and of love,
The ties of kindred in the bond of
The social feelings of domestic joy,
The deep corroding agonies of grief,
Are shar'd by all-for thou art still their
guide.
Turn to the Western Isles! Thy children
[there,
Degraded by the lash and worn with toil,
GENT. MAG. Suppl. XCIX. PART II.

H

peace,

633

Look up to thee and cry aloud for help.
Let them not cry in vain : Humanity,
Of Prudence gently guided, may o'erpow'r
O Nature! taught by thee, and by the hand
The strength of prejudice, yet leave un-

touch'd

The glitt'ring golden chain that firmly binds
The various worldly interests of men.
Let this be done; let ignorance be taught
The sacred source whence every blessing
flows,

A just conception of the gifts of Heav'n."
And thus the light of knowledge shall inspire

rose,

The vision fled-and trembling I awoke
To muse upon the miseries of the slave,
When the glad voice of England's triumph
And cheer'd my soul with tidings of great
[joy.
England! my native, my delightful home!
Thou art the favour'd nation!
Of setting captives free! Thou art renown'd
That Heav'n assigns the glory and the pow'r
'Tis to thee
In Fame's bright annals for thy mighty
deeds;

Thy seats of learning, sciences, and arts;
Thy conquering armies in the field of war ;
Thy monuments of genius, and thy love
Of all that gives true dignity to man;
These are renown'd as far as oceans roll,
But now hath Heav'n committed to thy
Conveying knowledge into distant lands;
charge,

O my loved country! chosen from the world!
The noblest work that e'er was wrought on

Save by the great High Priest whose pow'r
earth,
[divine
Rescued the captive sinner from his chains,
Paid down the ransom in his sacred blood,
And crown'd the victory with eternal life!
To thee the heavenly messenger, hath call'd,
And England will not hear the call in vain.
She hath not heard in vain-Benevolence
Hath giv'n her pow'r to one whose generous
mind

Feels for affliction with a British heart.
Lo! Canning speaks amid the list'ning
throng

Of silent senators, that crowd to hear
The voice of eloquence, and every heart
Kindles with joy! He speaks his manly.
thoughts

With mild persuasion, candour, and delight.
"Tidings of comfort, happiness, and peace,
For all who suffer in the Western Isles!
I plead the cause of a benighted race,
Whom kind humanity would gently lead
By gradual steps to freedom and to light.
Pity the Negro, O ye sons of wealth!
Exalt him and improve him as a man,
Teach him the blessings we ourselves enjoy,
And gratitude shall hail the glorious task!
Ask
ye how freedom can be safely giv'u

This poem, which was intended to have been inscribed to Mr. Canning, was written during the life of that celebrated minister.

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To thousands held in slavery from their birth?
Ask ye if minds in native ignorance
Can curb the stubborn passions of the heart,
And be prepared for the important change?
O let not faithless prejudice prevail
I would not pour the sudden light of noon,
Like an o'erpowering flood, on those who
long

Have lived in total darkness, lest the blaze,
Too brilliant and intense for feeble sight,
Should strike with blindness, and misguide
their feet

Thro' paths of danger, horror, and dismay!
No; it were better, it were more humane,
That good should mildly come by slow
degrees.

No longer shall the tender ties of love
Be torn asunder by the sale of blood.
The anxious parent and the guiltless child
Shall live together. Nature thus will teach
The lovely peaceful charities of life,
Expand the feelings of the struggling heart,
And raise the intellect above the slave.
Then shall inviting Education come,
And sweet instruction to the simple mind,
Will prove a welcome treasure of delight,
Grateful to give, and grateful to receive.
Thro' the dark wilderness a light shall break,
And Sorrow's children shall indeed rejoice!
There shall be raised the standard of our God;
Heralds of peace eternal shall proclaim
The tidings of salvation, and the sound
Of freedom for the soul shall teach the heart
To feel the value, and to prize the gift,
Of liberty on earth!”’

"Tis thus he speaks. With smiles of pleasure and with inward joy, Justly exulting in so great a theme.

Friend of mankind, and thus my country's friend!

O may the aid of Heav'n be giv'n to thee, And crown thine efforts with entire success!

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OH! for the bowret of some woodland vale ;
Where I might sit, yet hear life's busy hum,
The sunset gun, or the reveille drum,
The lowing herd, or, borne upon the gale,
The song of shepherd minstrel!—lo, a sail,
Another, and another! on they come
Scudding the emerald ocean, e'en as some
Fair flower Spring's verdant meadow, fair
but frail!

Such are the scenes I love, for such delight My soul, and sooth it. Nor the less when night

Comes o'er the landscape do I own the power
Of rural nature; the star-studded sky,
The sparkling fountain, and the moon-lit

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SONNETS ON RURAL SCENERY.
By the Author of the Garland.
(Continued from p.456.)
III.

LET others speed to some lone Alpine rock
Whereon to sit and meditate, afar

[car,

From man and man's dark destinies-the
shock
Of battling hosts, ambition's blood-stain'd
And all that come life's fairer scenes to mar-
For me, I love not thus to sit apart
From those I once companion'd, and to lar
'Gainst fellow man the portals of the heart.
Because the City kias not with the sweet
Community of feeling all mankind

Own and delight in, is there no retreat
Where we the sacred musings of the mind
May cherish, save where desolation broods
Mid the wild waste of Alpine solitudes?

The following Stanzas are written on a Sundial in Gainsford Church porch :

MORTAL, while the sunny beam
Tells thee here how Time is gliding,
Haste the moments to redeem,
For eternity providing.

Winters pass, and Springs renew,

In maturity advancing: Youth to pleasure sighs adieu,

In the fields of childhood dancing. Manhood sinks to hoary age,

And a night that has no morning; O let wisdom now engage,

Hear her dictates, and take warning. Wisely still the moments use,

Man is every moment dying; Whilst this tablet you peruse, O remember Time is flying.

W. LAMB.

part 11.]

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HISTORICAL CHRONICLE.

FOREIGN NEW S.

FRANCE.

The Paris journals have been recently occupied with reports of the proceedings in the Cour Royale, in the case of M. Bertin, proprietor and editor of the Journal des Debats, who appealed from the decision of the Tribunal of Correctional Police, which, in August last, found him guilty of a libel on the constitutional authority of the king. The cause excited great interest, both on account of the high respectability of the individual, and in consequence of the excitement which prevails in the public mind. M. Bertin, in the course of his address to the Court, enumerated the great sacrifices he had made for the Bourbons, in order to show that the charge preferred against him of hostility to that family was groundless, which he proved to the satisfaction of the Judges, who rescinded the sentence of the inferior tribunal. This decision was received by a crowded audience with the loudest marks of applause.

A decision of some importance to dramatic authors in France, has just been made by the civil tribunal of Paris, by which authors are empowered every evening, if they think fit, to demand the share of the receipts allotted to them, notwithstanding any seizure or opposition made by creditors; and, in case of resistance, they may request the aid of the commissary of police and the gendarmerie.

The distress of the vine-growers in France is represented to have increased to an alarining extent. No less than 150,000 proprietors, and 6,000,000 labourers, are said to be now reduced to the lowest state of destitution. A repeal, or at least a considerable diminution, of the heavy duties at present exacted, is considered the only method of remedying

this enormous evil.

The new suspension-bridge, between the Champ Elvsées and Gros Caillon, has been opened. Its length, exclusive of the abutments, is 380 English feet, and it is intended for carriages aa well as foot-passengers. The centre or widest opening is 219 feet, while the suspension-bridge over the

straits of Menai is 580.

AFRICA.

Public attention has been lately directed to the attempt to colonise Fernando Po. The expedition which was sent to that island, under the command of Col. Nicholls, the Civil Governor, appears to have suffered

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According to recent intelligence, two extensive cotton factories were erecting at Calcutta, one of which was nearly finished; it was furnished with two steam-engines of fifty-horse power each, and would manufacture the cotton into twist, and complete the fabric of cotton cloth in the same manner as the most improved of the establishments in the vicinity of Manchester.

Some extensive forgeries of the Company's notes have been discovered at the office of the Accountant-General. By the investigation which was going on at the PoliceOffice, it had already been ascertained that they amounted to nearly ten lacs of rupees, or 200,000. The Bengal Bank was expected to suffer in nearly one half of that sum, and there was about as much more in

Government paper. The forgeries were committed by natives, two of whom (merchants of great wealth) were in custody.

NORTH AMERICA.

The Message of the President of the United States (General Jackson), delivered to Congress on the 7th of Dec., breathes throughout a kindly feeling towards this country, and is, on the whole, very satisfactory. The President enters, with busi、" ness like minuteness, into all the departments of the State, of which he is the official organ, and the responsible agent. He begins by congratulating "twelve millions of happy people' on the "most cheering evidence of general welfare and "With Great progressive improvement." Britain, alike distinguished in peace and war, we may look forward to years of peaceful, honourable, and elevated competition. Every thing in the condition and history of the two nations is calculated to inspire sentiments of mutual respect, and to carry conviction to the minds of both, that it is their policy to preserve the most cordial relations." In the course of his remarks

636

Foreign News-Domestic Occurrences.

on the general politics of Europe, as they affect the United States, the President congratulates the Congress on the prospective benefits to their commerce from the un

locking of the navigation of the Black Sea, by the Treaty between the Allied Powers and Russia. He next predicts the restoration of peace and internal quiet in the Southern Republics of America. With regard to commercial transactions with other nations, the existing Tariff is acknowledged to require modification in some of its provisions, the extent of which, however, is very limited.

SOUTH AMERICA.

BRAZIL.-Letters from Rio de Janeiro to the 27th of October, bring intelligence of the arrival there of the bride and daughter of the Emperor. The marriage took place on the 17th, and was celebrated with great splendour, the capital being illuminated in the evening, and the Emperor embraced that opportunity of instituting a new order, to be styled the Order of the Rose, and to be conferred on foreigners as well as natives; the Emperor to be the Grand Master, and the next dignities to be held by members of his family.

BUENOS AYRES-The government of this province, since the termination of the civil war, is almost solely occupied in efforts to restore public credit, especially that of the paper currency; new taxes have been imposed, and other expedients resorted to, and a sinking fund established, for the general redemption of the bank notes. The new ministers have a difficult task to make head against the poverty and desolation which the late domestic war has occasioned.

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The party now in power is composed of what may be termed the moderate federals.

The Topographical Commission appointed to examine the obstacles which oppose the opening of a communication between the Atlantic and the Pacific through the Isthmus of Panama, have informed the Government, that in their opinion one considerable difficulty has vanished in the discovery that the two seas prove the same level; but notwithstanding this, they consider the enterprise as not very easy to be accomplished. The present mode of communication would perhaps be preferable. The navigation of the river Chagres being improved by means of steam-boats, and a road constructed from Cruces to Panama, which is scarcely seven leagues, and can be made passable for carriages, the course to the Pacific would be very short. Even as the case is at present, Senor Hurtado, going with his family as fat as Panama, has travelled from Jamaica to Buenaventura, Popayan, in only twenty days. Whatever may be the mode, the Government of the Republic is disposed to encourage the projects which may be presented to facilitate the communication across the Isthmus, and will give the undertaking all the favour in their power, which shall be compatible with the security and defence of the

country.

Several Mexican manuscripts, brought some time ago to Europe, and forming part of the celebrated collection of Botturini, have been purchased for the Royal Library, Paris. Amongst the number is the report of the spies sent by Montezuma to the Spanish camp; a third manuscript represents the human sacrifices.

DOMESTIC OCCURRENCES.

IRELAND.

The system of intimidation, particularly in the county of Ross, has become so overawing, that the outrages which heretofore were perpetrated only under cover of the night, are now fearlessly committed in the face of day; and, although the delinquents are well known, there is not to be found an individual who dares give the necessary information to ground a warrant for their apprehension. On Saturday, the 12th Dec. at noon day, a party of men, well armed, and apparently marshalled, computed at more than 200, assembled within view of the glebe-house, on the lands of Kilgiffin, and, being supplied with the necessary implements for felling timber, deliberately set to work, and cut down upwards of forty fine trees, the property of M. A. Mills, Esq., which surrounded and were contiguous to the church. On the night of the following Wednesday another armed party assembled

in the demesne of Farymount, and cut down forty-seven fine ash and deal trees, also the property of Mr. Mills.

One of the most atrocious and savage outrages ever recorded, was committed on the 19th Dec. at about two o'clock in the morning, at Dromelihy, within four miles of Kilrush, upon two men (brothers) of the name of Doyle, who were recently appointed drivers to the Westropp property, in which situation they succeeded persons of the name of M'Grath, who were discharged for misconduct by Mr. Westropp. This appointment, or the manner in which they conducted themselves in it, brought upon them the vengeance of Terry Alt's boys, who broke into their house, and brought out the two brothers, one at a time, and cut out their tongues! Another brother avoided a similar fate by hiding under a bed.

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