able, nay, perhaps a right honourable man. Here, then, there is an end of his virtue. He has now got into a public current, where his private compass can be of no service to him. He runs in proud career, his sails full blown with the monsoons of admiration and praise, but he runs all the while to perdition.

Con

We come, then, to consider those other grave matters which are inserted in the title. Consistency, among the first, deserves attention. sistency, meaning conformity, not to our own varied views and convictions of right, but to the opinions formed of us by others, is a vice, not a virtue. He who walks on the banks of the Forth, and winds with all the windings of its Links, uniformly appears to him who makes corresponding progress on the stream, to maintain a straight course. Thus, in the current of society, he is thought consistent, who deviates according to its deviations, but he who follows a really straight-forward course will often be charged with inconsistency, only because the relative positions of parties are different. Absolute adherence to principle, which is true consistency, would often require the courtier to act the patriot, and the patriot the courtier, when such conduct would occasion an outcry of inconsistency, profligacy, corruption, disappointment, or foul ambition. Cæsar, Cromwell, and Napoleon, were consistent. But so, too, was Washington. The views of the public may correspond with right reason and truth, and consistency then becomes expressive of adherence to rectitude; but infinitely sublimer as a moral spectacle is the inconsistency that prompts adherence to an honest conviction, in opposition to popularity, patronage, or public character. Human virtue has not supplied many illustrations of this kind to the historian. Perhaps the conduct of Mr Fox, in the year 1793; will hereafter be viewed as a splendid instance. Old men are much more consistent than young men. Are they better, more generous, more benevolent? They are much more attached, indeed, to character and to money, but not more full of the milk of huinan kindness. Often has the premature splendour of the morning been overcast, and the day throughout con

tinued dark and lowering. In the natural world it sometimes happens,

that

the radiant sun, with farewell sweet, Extends his evening beam, the fields revive, The birds their notes renew, and bleating herds

Attest their joy, and hill and valley ring.

Where, in the moral world, do we find those evening sunshines after the stormy agitations of prejudices and false alarms? Burke, and Southey, and Slop, and other poetical politicians, have seen no inconsistency in joining a prudent (the word is equivocal, and may suit every selfish art) age to a passionate youth. We are proud, however, to have had the fortune, for

the sake of our theories of human when the Earl of Fitzwilliam achieved grandeur in its noblest form, to live

his splendid acts of inconsistency in 1817 and 1819.

HUMBOLDT'S PERSONAL NARRATIVE. It is not wonderful that the first

discovery of America should have in

flamed the minds of the natives of

Europe, and that many magnificent have been entertained respecting the and unwarranted speculations should

vast treasures which that new country contained. Every person is aware that imagination, when once excited, is little disposed to submit to any restraint, and, in the instance before us, there was every thing that could carry the illusion to its utmost height. It was not merely an island or new district of country that had been discovered. It was nothing less than a new world, and in that world, seemed to announce that the producas it was first beheld, every thing tions of nature were on a larger and more magnificent scale than they had ever been exhibited on the ancient world, therefore, the imaginations of continent. To this newly discovered all men took wing, and every indivi

dual formed dreams for himself respecting what that country contained, and favourite pursuits. The philosocorresponding to his previous habits pher anticipated new discoveries in nature, or new arrangements in poli

Vol. V. Part II.

cy, the ambitious adventurer pleased himself with the idea of kingdoms to be conquered, and those whose only desire was to see much, and to have an opportunity of active exertion, abandoned all their affections and relatives in Europe, that, amidst the splendid scenery of the new continent, and amidst simple tribes of savages, they might give the reins to all their desires, and lead an uninterrupted life of luxurious enjoy

ment.

But perhaps there was a passion stronger than all these, which either prompted the earlier adventurers, or which at least was speedily awakened by the reports which were circulated. The simple natives of the new continent offered grains of gold for the toys of Europe, and wore pieces of this precious metal suspended from their ears and noses. The ornaments of their hair were of the same material, and the readiness with which they parted with it, confirmed their visitors in the belief that nothing was more common in the world they had discovered, and that, in some of its remoter districts, this great object of desire might be as abundantly met with as any of the common stones and ordinary ingredients of the soil in Europe. Here again imagination was let loose, and among those yet unvisited countries which lie upon the ascent of the Andes, a region was fancied, all the rocks of which glittered with gold, the dust of which was richly impregnated with that substance, the cities of which were built of stones that glowed with the same valuable ingredient, and that a mighty lake reflected these palaces of glory around all its borders. So very abundant indeed was this metal supposed to be, that the king of the region was described as being every day stuck over with gold, for the adhesion of which he had previously prepared his skin by having anointed it with odoriferous materials, and that, thus equipped, he went daily into the waters of that lake, the sands and the surface of which equally reflected the precious

lustre.

In process of time, the materials of this fiction were altered and pervert ed. El Dorado, which properly signifies the gilded king, came to be the current name of this fancied region

and nothing was talked or written about for a long time but the wonders of El Dorado,-meaning by this term, that land of gold, which all Europeans wished to conquer, and where, in the abundance of its precious metals, they should find the means of every gratification which the heart, or fancy, or senses of man could desire.

Those who are anxious to know all that was imagined respecting this territory, will find ample satisfaction in the volumes of Sir Walter Raleigh, and of many other travellers of that period. But Humboldt and his scientific companions have recently traversed the very region which was so much an object of desire, and an author who loves so well to shew his learning in all rare and wonderful points, could not pass over El Dorado with a slight or transient notice. By far the longest dissertations in this volume relate, accordingly, to this fable, and we confess the author's ideas respecting it are, to our minds extremely probable; when he refers it to the existence of some rocks of mica slate at the foot of the Andes, and to the practice of the natives of that country of sticking pieces of that rock upon their bodies, after having first bedaubed them with certain greasy or balsamic unguents, with which the rich vegetation of that country readily supplied them. Before proceeding, however, to give our author's account in his own words, we may notice one or two other curious matters, which are nearer the beginning of the volume.

The following dish, which Humboldt says is not uncommon among the North American savages, will be considered by most of our readers as a rarity. Speaking of roasted monkeys, he thus proceeds:

"The manner of roasting these antliro. pomorphous animals contributes singularly to render their appearance disagreeable in the eyes of civilized man. A little grating or lattice of very hard wood is formed, and raised one foot from the ground. The monkey is skinned, and bent into a sitting

posture; the head generally resting on the arms, which are meagre and long; but sometimes these are crossed behind the back. When it is tied on the grating, a very clear fire is kindled below. The monkey, enveloped in smoke and flame, is broiled and blackened at the same time.

that he never remarked any alteration in the health of the natives at the period of the great risings of the Oroonoko.

"The following are the facts in all their simplicity, which we were able to verify. The Otomacs during some months eat daily three quarters of a pound of clay slightly hardened by fire, without their health being sensibly affected by it. They moisten the earth afresh, when they are going to swallow it. It has not been possible to verify hitherto with precision how much nutri tious vegetable or animal matter the Indians take in a week at the same time; but it is certain, that they attribute the sensation of satiety, which they feel, to the clay, and not to the wretched aliments which they take with it occasionally. No phy siological phenomenon being entirely insulated, it may be interesting to examine several analogous phenomena, which I have been able to collect.

"I observed everywhere within the torrid zone, in a great number of individuals, children, women, and sometimes even fullgrown men, an inordinate and almost irresistible desire of swallowing earth; not an alkaline or calcareous earth, to neutralize (as it is vulgarly said) acid juices, but a fat day, unctuous, and exhaling a strong smell. It is often found necessary to tie the children's hands, or to confine them, to prevent their eating earth, when the rain ceases to fall. At the village of Banco, on the bank of the river Magdalena, I saw the Indian women who make pottery continually swallowing great pieces of clay. These women were not in a state of pregnancy; and they affirmed, that earth is an aliment, which they do not find hurtful.' In other American tribes people soon fall sick, and waste away, when they yield too much to this mania of eating earth. We found at the mission of San Borja an Indian child of the Guahiba nation, who was as thin as a skeleton. The mother informed us by an interpreter, that the little girl was reduced to this lamentable state of atrophy in consequence of a disordered appetite, having refused during four months to take almost any other food than clay. Yet San Borja is only twenty-five leagues distant from the mission of Uruana, inhabited by that tribe of the Otomacs, who, from the effect no doubt of a habit progressively acquired, swallow the poya without experiencing any pernicious effects. Father Gumilla asserts, that the Otomacs purge themselves with oil, or rather with the melted fat of the crocodile, when they feel any gastric obstructions; but the missionary whom we found among them was little disposed to confirm this assertion. It may be asked, why the mania of eating earth is much more rare in the frigid and temperate zones, than ia the torrid; and why in Europe it

is found only among women in a state of pregnancy, and sickly children. This dif ference between hot and temperate climates arises perhaps only from the inert state of the functions of the stomach, caused by strong cutaneous perspiration. It has been supposed to be observed, that the inordinate taste for eating earth augments among the African slaves, and becomes more pernicious, when they are restricted to a regimen purely vegetable, and deprived of spirituous liquors. If the latter render the practice of eating earth less injurious, we may almost felicitate the Otomacs on their decided taste for intoxication.

"The Negroes on the coast of Guinea delight in eating a yellowish earth, which they call caouac. The slaves who are taken to America try to procure for themselves the same enjoyment; but it is constantly detrimental to their health. They say, 'that the earth of the West Indies is not so easy of digestion as that of their country.' Thibaut de Chanvalon, in his Voyage to Martinico, expresses himself very judiciously on this pathological phenomenon. Another cause,' he says, of this pain in the stomach is, that several of the Negroes, who come from the coast of Guinea, eat earth; not from a depraved taste, or in consequence of a disease, but from a habit contracted at home in Africa, where they eat, they say, a particular earth, the taste of which they find agreeable, without suffering any inconvenience. They seek in our islands for the earth the most similar to this, and prefer a yellowish red volcanic tufa. It is sold secretly in our public markets; but this is an abuse, which the police ought to correct. The Negroes who have this habit are so fond of caouac, that no chastisement will prevent their eating it.'

"In the Indian Archipelago, at the island of Java, Mr Labillardière saw, between Surabaya and Samarang, little square and reddish cakes exposed to sale. These cakes, called tanaampo, were cakes of clay, slightly baked, which the natives eat with appetite. The attention of physiologists, since my return from the Oroonoko, having been powerfully fixed on these phenomena of geophagy, Mr Leschenault (one of the naturalists of the expedition to the Southern Lands under the command of Captain Baudin) has published some curious details on the tanaampo, or ampo, of the Javanese. The reddish and somewhat ferruginous clay,' he says, which the inhabitants of Java are fond of eating occasionally, is spread on a plate of iron, and baked, after having been rolled into little cylinders in the form of the bark of cinna

mon.

In this state, it takes the name of ampo, and is sold in the public markets. This clay has a peculiar taste, which is

owing to the torrefaction; it is very absorbent, and adheres to the tongue, which it dries. In general, it is only the Javanese women who eat the ampo, either in the time of their pregnancy, or in order to grow thin; the want of plumpness being a kind of beauty in this country. The use of this earth is fatal to health; the women lose their appetite imperceptibly, and no longer take, without disgust, a very small quantity of food; but the desire of becoming lean, and of preserving a slender shape, can brave these dangers, and maintains the credit of the ampo.' The savage inhabitants of New Caledonia, also, to appease their hunger in times of scarcity, eat great pieces of a friable lapis ollaris. Mr Vauquelin analysed this stone, and found in it, beside magnesia and silex in equal portions, a small quantity of oxid of copper. Mr Goldberry had seen the Negroes in Africa, in the islands of Bunck and Los Idolos, eat an earth of which he had himself eaten, without being incommoded by it, and which also was a white and friable steatite. In looking over these examples, which are all taken from the torrid zone, we are struck by the idea of finding a taste, which nature, it would seem, should have reserved for the inhabitants of the most sterile regions, prevail among races of rude and indolent men, who live in the finest and most fertile countries in the globe. We saw at Popayan, and in several mountainous parts of Peru, lime reduced to a very fine powder, sold in the public markets to the natives among other articles of provision. This powder, when used, is mingled with cocc, that is, with the leaves of the erythroxylon peruvianum. It is well known, that Indian messengers take no other aliment for whole days, than lime and coca; both excite the secretion of spittle, and of the gastric juice; they take away the appetite, without giving any nourishment to the body. In other parts of South America, on the coast of Rio de la Hacha, the Guajirocs swallow lime alone, without adding any vegetable matter to it. They always carry with them a little box filled with lime, as we do snuff. boxes, and as in Asia, people carry a betelbox. This American custom excited the curiosity of the first Spanish navigators. Lime blackens the teeth; and in the Indian Archipelago, as among several American hordes, to blacken the teeth is to beautify them. In the cold regions of the kingdom of Quito, the natives of Tigua eat habitually from choice, and without being incommoded by it, a very fine clay, mixed with quartzose sand. This clay, suspended in water, renders it milky. We find in their huts large vessels filled with this water, which serves as a beverage, and which the Indians call agua or leche de Ilanka.

"When we reflect on the whole of these facts, we perceive, that this disorderly appetite for clayey, magnesian, and calcareous earth, is most common among the people of the torrid zone; that it is not always a cause of disease; and that some tribes eat earth from choice, while others (the Otomacs in America, and the inhabitants of New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean) eat it from want, and to appease hunger. A great number of physiological phenomena prove that a temporary cessation of hunger may be produced, without the substances that are submitted to the organs of digestion being, properly speaking, nutritive. The earth of the Otomacs, composed of alumen and silex, furnishes probably nothing, or almost nothing, to the composi tion of the organs of man. These organs contain lime and magnesia in the bones, in the lymph of the thoracic duct, in the colouring matter of the blood, and in white hairs; they afford very small quantities of silex in black hair: and, according to Mr Vauquelin, but a few atoms of alumin in the bones, though this is contained abundantly in the greater part of those vegetable matters, which form part of our nourishment. It is not the same with man as with animated beings placed lower in the scale of organization. In the former, assimilation is exerted only on those sub'stances that enter essentially into the composition of the bones, the muscles, and the medullary matter of the nerves and the brain. Plants, on the contrary, draw from the soil the salts that are found accidentally mixed in it; and their fibrous texture varies according to the nature of the earths, that predominate in the spots which they inhabit. An object well worthy of research, and which has long fixed my attention, is the small number of simple substances (earthy and metallic) that enter into the composition of animated beings, and which alone appear fitted to maintain what we may call the chemical movement of vitality.

"We must not confound the sensations of hunger with that vague feeling of debility, which is produced by want of nutrition, and by other pathologic causes. The sensation of hunger ceases long before digestion takes place, or the chyme is converted into chyle. It ceases either by a nervous and tonic impression exerted by the aliments on the coats of the stomach, or because the digestive apparatus is filled with substances, that excite the mucous membranes to an abundant secretion of the gastric juice. To this tonic impression on the nerves of the stomach, the prompt and salutary effects of what are called nutritive medicaments may be attributed, such as chocolate, and every substance that gently stimulates and nourishes at the same time. It is the absence of a nervous stimulant