ted this station. Fortunately they had now the satis- on after an absence of more than four years. The results of this expedition may be briefly summed thus:-The discovery of the continent and isthmus of Boothia (as the new land to the southward was named by Captain Ross,) of the Gulf of Boothia, (or the sea to the eastward,) as also of a vast number of islands, rivers, and lakes; the determining that the north-eastern point of the American continent extends to the 74th degree of north latitude; valuable observations in every branch of science, more particularly in magnetism; and the discovery of the true position of the magnetic North Pole. bhow ont to tumpa sdı VIEW OF MOUNT TABOR.ải ai broues VIEW OF MOUNT 1 This celebrated mountain, near Kadesh in Galilee, where the territories of Issachar and Naphtali almost met,* stands west of Hermon, but on the other side of Jordan, and in the great plain of Jezreel. Josephus says, it is about four miles high, and on the top is a beautiful plain about three miles and a half in circumference, and inclosed with trees, except towards the south; but according to Maundrel, Thevenot, and Pocock, one may ride to the top, and it is little more than one mile and a half of ascent; and on the top is but half a mile long, and a quarter broad-It is supposed by some that since the time of Josephus, an earthquake may have sunk it and altered its form. The mountain is in the form of a sugar loaf, and from its top is one of the most delightful prospects in the world. It was once surrounded by a wall and trench. It was on this mount that Barak assembled his army, and at the foot of it defeated the host of Jabin.† On the top of this mountain it was long thought our Saviour was transfigured-but, it is so far distant from Cesarea-Philippi, where he was before and after, that it is now doubted by most people of judgment.-Monthly Repository. Be aurar dite MIDTEN MAT7 10 1109 By the last accounts which had reached England from Captain Ross, being dated in July 1829, from Disco Island, fears the most alarming were excited for his safety, as the close of 1832 approached, and no tidings were yet heard from him. A meeting of the Geographical Society was held, to consider what steps were fit to be taken; and it was resolved to open a subscription, and organize a committee to make the requisite preparations for despatching a party in quest of him. This was done; and, on the 17th of February, 1833, Captain Back, to whom the expedition had been intrusted, sailed from Liverpool. Two days before the announcement of Captain Ross's safety, a letter was received from Captain Back, dated June 19th, from Jack River, with intelligence of his arrival at that stage of his journey. It was accordingly determined that a messenger should be despatched after him, to carry the welcome news, and direct him now to turn his attention to what had before been a secondary object of the expedition, geographical discovery. The SERPENTS IN A PILE IN SOUTH AMERICA. efforts of this gentleman will, it is hoped, complete our knowledge of the north-eastern shores of America. most wonderful, the most terrible spectacle that can be In the Savannahs of Izacubo, in Guiana, I saw the It is probable that he will, in the ensuing summer, seen; and although it be not uncommon to the inhab reach Coronation Gulf, and, passing Franklin's ex-itants, no traveller has ever mentioned it. We were treme eastern point, continue the survey along the ten men on horseback, two of whom took the lead, in shore of the Arctic Sea, to the parts surveyed by com- order to sound the passages; whilst I preferred to skirt mander James Ross, and thus connect the discoveries the great forests. One of the blacks who formed the of the late expedition with those of Franklin.de vanguard, returned full gallop, and called to me," Here. Mañavel to vidio #sir, come and see serpents in a pile." He pointed out Hover at CONCLUSION. stood soatigast A The results of the various expeditions which we nah or swamp, which appeared like a bundle of arms. to me something elevated in the middle of the savanhave recorded in the preceding pages, may be said to One of my company then said, "This is certainly one be almost conclusive in favour of the existence of a of the assemblages of serpents, which heap themselves North-West Passage; but at the same time, equally on each other after a violent tempest: I have heard of clear in establishing the impracticability of its naviga- these, but have never seen any; let us proceed eaution. Its accomplishment may now be regarded rather tiously, and not go too near." When we were within as a point of geographical science, than as an event twenty paces of it, the terror of our horses prevented likely to be at all productive of any immediate prac- our nearer approach, to which, however none of us tical benefit. The object for which it was originally were inclined. undertaken, the discovery of a shorter commercial route to the Indies, has indeed been abandoned, ever since the opinion of John Davis and the older mariners, that the "deep sea fryseth not," was refuted by the experience of modern navigators; but when the motive arising from the prospect of a lucrative traffic had ceased to exist, ancther, and still more powerful incentive sprung up in its place, the desire of enlarging the bounds of human knowledge and civilization. It must be pleasing to us to observe the strenuous efforts of our own country in this work; alone and unsupported, she has done nearly all that has been done towards effecting the solution of this great question, and still continues her unremitting exertions on its behalf, in the hope, and the well-founded hope, we trust, of success.-London Saturday Magazine. On a sudden, the pyramid mass became agitated; horrible hissings issued from it, thousands of serpents, rolled spirally on each other, shot forth out of the circle their hideous heads, presenting their envenomed darts and fiery eyes to us. I own I was one of the first to draw back; but when I saw this formidable phalanx remained at its post, and appeared to be more disposed to defend itself than to attack us, I rode round it, in order to view its order of battle, which faced the enemy on every side. I then sought what could be the design of this numerous assemblage; and I concluded that this species of serpents dreaded some collos sean enemy, which might be the great serpent, or the caynean, and that they reunite themselves, after Bee Joshua ríx. 12, 22 19 Judges vi. 6-8. naving seen this enemy, in order to attack or resist him | life-blood of the community: they can if they please in a mass.-Humboldt. THE HUMAN STATURE. The idea that the original progenitors of the human race were exceedingly large, and tall in stature, is still held by some European writers. Not many years since a French author published a work in which he endeavoured to prove that there has been a gradual depreciation in the size of man, from the commencement of the world downwards, and that the same lessening control will continue to exert an influence until the end of time. A corresponding decrease in the age of mankind may be observed, it is alleged, by inquiry into the longevity of the human race in the several centuries of the world. Some contend also, that the deficiency in the number of years between the various personages noticed in the ancient sacred writings and those of our day, is more than counterbalanced by the great increase of our species throughout the world, and that in the place of accumulated years, we have accumulated numbers, whose existence is brief, that the earth may not be filled to overflowing. All these are curious speculations, not without interest to the inquiring mind. A French Author, an Academian of some note, calculates that Adam was 123 feet 9 inches in height, Noah a little over 100 feet, Abraham 80, Moses 30, Hercules 10, Alexander 6, Cæsar less than 5. Progressing in this ratio, in a few years hence, the world will be filled with a race of Lilliputians. hold in their hands the destinies of our republic; they are numerous, respectable, and powerful; and they have only to be educated half as well as other professions, to make laws for the nation. POETRY. THE LOVERS OF RUM. I've mus'd on the mis'ries of life, I met with a fair one distress'd; I ask'd whence her sorrows could come; I found a poor child in the street, I went to collect a small debt, The master was absent from home; I met with a pauper in rags, I've seen men, from health, wealth, and ease I need not describe their disease, Ask prisons and gallowses all Whence most of their customers come→ The German Journals have some tables which prove that the distance between the earth and the sun is increasing annually by one thousandth part of that distance, and they argue from it that the increasing humidity of our summer and loss of fertility by the earth, is to be attributed solely to this circumstance. In the course of 6000 years from the present time, they assume the distance will be so great that only an eighth part of the warmth we now enjoy from the sun will be communicated to the earth, and that it will then be covered with eternal ice, in the same manner as we now see the plains of the north where the elephant formerly lived, and have neither spring nor autumn. No credit has hitherto been given to a tradition of the ancient Egyptians and Chinese, according to which those people formerly saw the sun's disc almost four times as large as we now see it; for they estimated the apparent diameter of the sun at double what it is seen in our days. If, however, we pay attention to the con-ciety by Mr. A. Wilbur of Raynham. tinued diminution of the apparent diameter of the sun, according to the best observations of several centuries, we must suppose that the ancients were not mistaken in the estimates which they have transmitted to us. ITEMS OF INTELLIGENCE. The failures of Calcutta since 1829 are estimated at ninetysix millions five hundred thousand dollars, I HAVE NO TIME TO STUDY. two small islands of Bahrein and Arad, in the Persian Gulf The most extensive pearl fishery in the world is at the carried on during the summer months by negro slaves trained for the purpose, who dive for the oysters ten to fifteen fathoms deep, and remain under water from two to five minutes. The produce is sometimes 150,000l. per annum. The Bahrein pearl is considered superior to that of Ceylon. has been recently presented to the cabinet of the Pilgrim So The cap worn by King Philip, the celebrated Indian warrior, A Temperance Society has been formed in Dover, N. H. among the females engaged in the Mills in that place. It consists of more than 700 members. By the constitution, the members of this Society not only pledge themselves to total abstinence, but also to avoid dealing as far as practicable with traders who are engaged in the traffic of ardent spirits. No ardent spirit is sold, either by the wholesale or retail, in the county of Liberty, Ga. ALMANACK. The idea about the want of time is a mere phantom. Franklin found time in the midst of all his labours to dive into the hidden recesses of philosophy, and to explore the untrodden path of science. The great Frederick, with an empire at his direction, in the midst of war, on the eve of battles which were to decide the and days, with an account of the rising and setting of A calendar or table containing a list of the months fate of his kingdom, found time to revel in the charms the sun and moon, and other incidental matters. The of philosophy and intellectual pleasures. Bonaparte, Nautical Almanack, or Astronomical Ephemeris, is a with all Europe at his disposal; with kings in his anti-kind of national almanack, begun in 1767, under the chamber begging for vacant thrones, with thousands direction and by the advice of the astronomer royal, the of men whose destinies were suspended on the brittle late Rev. Dr. Maskelyne. Besides most things essenthread of his arbitrary pleasures; had time to converse with books. Cæsar when he had curbed the spirits of tial to general use, which are found in other almanacks, the Roman people, and was thronged with visiters from larly the distance of the moon from the sun and fixed it contains many new and important matters, particuthe remotest kingdoms, found time for intellectual cultivation. Every man has time if he is careful, to im-stars, computed to the meridian of Greenwich, for every prove it; and if he does improve it as well as he might, longitude at sea. three hours of time, for the purpose of computing the he can reap a three-fold reward. Let mechanics then This almanack is generally computed make use of the hours at their disposal, if they want to obtain a proper influence in society. They are the out upon long voyages. a few years forward, for the convenience of ships going SECTION VII. LITERATURE. HISTORY OF WRITING. Amongst the various arts and sciences which have from time to time contributed to the improvement and advancement of society, there is, perhaps, none which demands more justly the admiration and respect of mankind, none which, in point of utility and excellence, will at all admit of comparison with the art of Writing. Yet because this art may now be acquired by every body, it fails to attract the attention and command the admiration it so well merits. That which is common is despised. How curious or beautiful soever a new discovery may be, let it once become common, and from that moment it ceases to be noticed. And this principle extends in full force to the arts and sciences; those which are new and rare are cherished and courted; those, perhaps, in reality more useful and worthy, but which are within the grasp of every body, are despised. outlines, was still very troublesome, the Egyptians (for Egypt, be it remembered, was one of the earliest seats of every branch of art, literature, and science.) adopted another and more intellectual mode, and this was to substitute a kind of mark or simple character for the outlines of the object; these marks or characters still retained some resemblance to the figure made by the outlines, but they were less difficult, required less skill and much less trouble, and were therefore universally adopted. Yet even here, there was a great deal of intricacy; and no small degree of patience and skill was required, either to understand or make use of them. To simplify, therefore, the method of writing still further, the priests turned these outlines into arbitrary marks, which, although in the beginning they might still present a faint resemblance to the natural objects, in course of time deviated so much from their originals, as to render it almost impossible to trace them to their archetype, but which were nevertheless much less complicated, and more expeditious. And thus, after incredible labour, and the lapse of a vast period of time, were produced the three different modes of writing among the Egyptians, designated by the appellation of hieroglyphic, demotic, and hieratic. Into the nature and use of these, our limits do not permit us to enter more fully; they constitute a subject well worthy the attention of the scientific and curious, and which will well and abundantly repay the attention bestowed upon it. We will therefore continue our inquiry, and proceed to the next step, and this was to form a connexion between the object represented by this hieroglyphical or jour-picture-writing, and the sound (for as yet letters were not) of the word used to express it. Nor was this so difficult as would at first sight be supposed; for when a man represented any image or picture, that of" a door" for instance, he would naturally give to the combination of lines with which the figure was formed the name of "a door ;" and wherever he met with this outline or representation, or even though he should change it for some arbitrary and more simple mark, having the same signification, the same name would still remain attached to it, and by this means the word "door" would for ever afterwards become associated with a certain outline or figure. The Hebrew alphabet affords a most satisfactory illustration of this. Every letter is, in fact, a word, and expresses some simple object. Deleth, for example, their fourth letter, corresponding with our D, signifies a "door;" Beth, their second letter, answering to our B, "a house" Gimel, our G, a camel;" Jod, or J, the "hand;" and this catalogue might be continued through the remaining letters, and thus it would seem that to each of them was attached a meaning. "C Time was, indeed, when the man who possessed this enviable accomplishment was distinguished highly above his fellows, and pointed out to notice as one who had made an achievement in science; but now, in these days of refinement and literature, who dares call himself accomplished because he can write? The time will soon come, when the man who cannot write his own name will stand a chance of acquiring celebrity merely from the rarity and singularity of the cha racter. In spite of all this, it would be difficult to mention an art which has gone through more stages in its ney to perfection, has more exercised the talents and ingenuity of mankind in its gradual development, or required a longer period of time to bring it to maturity; and it may, perhaps, not be uninteresting, to trace, as far as our limits will allow, its rise and progress. Let us first of all obtain a definition of the term. Writing is an art by means of which we communicate to an absent person, or to posterity, the ideas or objects which present themselves to our minds; and in the present improved state of the art, this representation is made by means of arbitrary, yet fixed and defined signs, called letters. In the first ages of the world, while society was in its infancy, mankind had clearly no other method of expressing their ideas in writing, than the simple one of making a figure or shape of the object. And this mode must have been long before their dispersion; for it has been found to exist, more or less, amongst the most rude, as well as the most polished, nations of the globe,-nations who, from their natural position, and their immense distance from the other civilized parts of the world, could not have held any intercourse with the rest of mankind. The difficulty, however, and labour attached to this mode of writing, soon induced the people to be satisfied with the outlines only of the figure which expressed the object; and this method seems to have obtained in most, if not all, the nations of the earth. It was found in Mexico and Peru at the discovery of America, and, in some respects, exists to the present time in China. But as this method of expressing objects, even by Having attained this state of advancement, the progress of the art was more rapid. Every nation in its turn contributed some letters to the common stock; in a happy moment it was discovered, that each monosyllable terminated by a sound, which, with very little variation, was repeated in all. Nor was it difficult to ascertain the number of these sounds, which were invariably fixed to the four or five inflexions of voice. Thus were vowels added to consonants, and mankind gradually arrived at the greatest of all inventions, the invention of the Alphabet. But who was the man, or what his nation to whom | Romans gave her the honour of a goddess, but in realthe honour of so noble an invention is due? This is ity she was a woman of infamous character, who, by a subject which has long divided the learned, and the her abominable trade, heaped up a great deal of money, variety of opinions upon it is in truth appalling: but and made the people of Rome her heir. She left a the presumption appears to be strongest in favour of certain sum, the yearly interest of which was set:led, Thoth, a son or descendant of Mizraim, the father of that the games called Florales, or Floralia, might be the Egyptians. The Phoenician writer, Sanchonia- celebrated annually, on her birth-day. But because tho, expressly attributes the formation of the Sacred this appeared impious and profane to the senate, they Characters of the alphabet to this celebrated person. covered their design, and worshipped Flora under the There is, moreover, a passage in Plato which, if rightly title of "goddess of flowers ;" and pretended that they understood, and worthy of credit, should set the ques-offered sacrifice to her, that the plants and trees might tion at rest. He says, "That during the reign of Pha- flourish. raoh Thamus, his secretary, Thouth or Theuth, came to lay before him the several discoveries he had made, amongst which was the invention of the alphabet, and he came to consult Pharaoh Thamus whether it ought to be made public."-(London) Saturday Magazine. MYTHOLOGY. PALES, "Pales was the goddess of shepherds and pastures, Some call her Magna Mater and Vesta. To this goddess they sacrificed milk, and wafers made of millet, that she might make the pastures fruitful. They instituted the feasts called Palilia, or Parilia, to her honour, which were observed upon the eleventh or twelfth day of the calends of May by the shepherds in the field, on the same day in which Romulus laid the foundation of the city. These feats were celebrated to appease this goddess, that she might drive away the wolves, and prevent the diseases incident to cattle. The solemnities observed in the Palilian feasts were many the shepherds placed little heaps of straw in a particular order, and at a certain distance; then they danced and leaped over them: then they purified the sheep and the rest of the cattle with the fume of rosemary, laurel, sulphur, and the like; as we learn from Ovid, who gives a description of the rites. "Great Pales, help; the past'ral rites I sing, "Ovid follows the same fiction, and relates, that Chloris, an infamous nymph, was married to Zephyrus, from whom she received the power over all the flowers. But let us return to Flora and her games. Her image, as we find in Plutarch, was exposed in the temple of Castor and Pollux, dressed in a close coat, and holding in her right hand the flowers beans and peas. For while these sports were celebrated, the officers or ædiles scattered beans and other pulse among the people. These games were proclaimed and begun by sound of trumpet, as we find mentioned in Juvenal." The feasts of the Floralia were noted for lewdness, the women celebrating them naked. Cato once entered the assembly; but the sight was too much for his unbending virtue; he retired with the utmost speed, from the shameful spectacle. FERONIA. "Feronia, the goddess of the woods. is justly placed near Flora, the goddess of flowers. She is called Feronia, from the care she takes in producing and propagating trees. The higher place is due to her, because fruits are more valuable than flowers, and trees than small and ignoble plants. It is said she had a grove sacred to her under the mountain Soracte: this was set on fire, and the neighbours were resolved to remove the image of Feronia thence, when on a sudden the grove became green again. Strabo reports that those who were inspired by this goddess used to walk barefoot upon burning coals without hurt. Though many believed that by the goddess Feronia, inat kind of virtue only is meant by which fruit and flowers were produced. FLORA. ΡΟΜΟΝΑ. "Pomona is the goddess, the guardian, the president, not of apples only, but of all the fruit and the product of trees and plants. She follows after Flora and Feronia in order; but in the greatness of her merit she far surpasses them, and has a priest who serves her only, called Flamen Pomonalis. "Once when Pomona was very busy in looking after her gardens and orchards with great care, and was wholly employed in watering and securing the roots, "Flora is the goddess and president of flowers. The and lopping the overgrown branches, Vertumnus, a happiness even of a god, to have her to wife. Observe, says he, the trees which creep up this wall: how do the apples and plums strive which shall excel the other in beauty and colour! whereas, if they had not props or supports, which like husbands hold them up, they would perish and decay. All this did not move her, till Vertumnus changed himself into a young man; and then she also began to feel the force and power of love, and then received him with favour." THE CLIFF WAGON, FOR THE PRESERVATION OF LIFE FROM SHIPWRECK, As scarcely any of our readers are unconnected with, or uninterested in individuals who are occasionally exposed to the perils of shipwreck, we give a sketch of the Cliff Wagon for communicating with persons who have been wrecked, or have reached the shore, at the bottom of high cliffs, to whom there is not any access from the summit, or by boats, on account of the heaviness of the sea, and the rocky nature of the coast. Attention was very painfully excited to the best means of rendering assistance on rocky and precipitous coasts to shipwrecked persons, when it was found, in the case of the Wilhelmina, a foreign vessel, that the Life-Boat, and Captain Manby's mortar apparatus, could not afford succour. The Wilhelmina, after a fearful suspense of many hours, in which there were occasional gleams of hope that she might escape, struck, and was speedily broken up against a detached rock, at some distance from the main cliffs, considerably to the southward of the entrance of the river Tyne. The labourers of the adjacent farms, and others, were watching her, with such ropes as they could procure. A portion of the wreck conveying five persons drove in shore, and was brought by the wind into a bay: they seemed to have escaped: a subsequent wave carried them back into destruction. Though the cliff was not very high, there was not any path or descent, and the ropes were not strong enough to allow of lowering by them the men, amongst the anxious bystanders, who earnestly desired to make the dangerous experiment. In their sight, the whole crew of the Wilhelmina, including a woman and an infant child, perished.* shipwreck. The machine here described was built under the direction and at the expense of the Whitburn Establishment for the preservation of life from ship wreck. The Cliff Wagon was invented by Mr. James Davison, master mariner, of Whitburn, near Sunderland, who was for some time very active in charge of the Life-boat, at Redcar, near the mouth of the river Tees, and has since been in the superintendence of the establishment at Whitburn, for the preservation of life from *Their bodies were eventually found, and buried with the rites of the Church of England, in Whitburn churchyard. It is a platform a a, 14 feet 9 inches, by 6 feet, made of 11 inch deal planks, guarded by rails B B at the sides and one end, moving on four wheels by one or two horses, with a shaft like a common wagon. Three strong uprights DDD, on each side, each 10 inches by 2 thick, support an inclined beam EE, 17 feet long, and 6 inches by 5, on rollers, upon which works a sliding lever FF, 21 feet long, of the same dimensions as the supporting beam EE; they are connected by hoops dd, and pass through the tops of the uprights D 1, D 2, and through the bottom p 3. At the extremity r of each lever, is suspended, by means of blocks and the strongest patent rope, made of whale-line, a sling or seat; the ropes connected with which pass through a sheaf or block in the end r, of each lever, and of the upright D 3; and thus, by the assistance of a few men, four or more persons with ropes, life-buoys, &c. &c. be may lowered down at the same time, from the top of the inaccessible cliff, to the aid of the unfortunate mari. ners below. One swing may remain down, if required, for the security of the men, when the sea beats upon the base of the cliffs; into the other swing, they can put each person as they rescue them from the waves. For women and children, or men who may be injured or exhausted, a strong wicker basket has been provided, to be substituted for the swing, in which they may be laid at length, and carried when laid to the summit of the cliff, without the pain of further removal, to the nearest house. The ordinary sling is provided with a strong strap to buckle round the waist, and will, with the person saved, convey a man to take care of him. When called into service, the wagon is backed as near to the edge of the most perpendicular part of the cliff as may be deemed sufficiently solid to bear the weight of it. It is made fast by letting down the spur |