travelling expenses. In that case,' I observed to the countess, if it be thought a spirit of humility that you admit such poor devils at your table, I suppose those who are deemed fully worthy of that honour are entitled to dishes of melted gold.'"

What follows may serve in some measure to fill up the

outline :

"A great number of the Polish nobility come to Kioff with their families for mere amusement, so that the place presents perhaps one of the most animated and bustling scenes that can be met with in any part of Europe. Dinners, concerts, balls, and fetes of all kinds every day succeed to the transactions of business; and at night, perhaps more money is won and lost at play than by any of the regular bargains entered into in the morning. I have been assured that many Polish noblemen, of moderate fortunes, spend eleven months of the year on their estates in the strictest economy, that they may lay by a sufficient portion of their incomes to pass in splendour and extravagance the month of January at the contracts of Kioff. It may be easily imagined that rogues and sharpers are to be met with there in great numbers, and from all parts of the world; and it is calculated that they generally contrive to come off with a considerable booty. The passion of many of the Polish nobility for play blinds them to such a degree, that they are totally unmindful as to the character of the persons they associate with for the purposes of gambling, and, as must necessarily happen, they generally pay dearly for their want of precaution.'

An important portion of the population of this fair and unhappy country are the Jews. More numerous than in any other part of Europe, and equally oppressed, they have been degraded, until they have become a moral poison, lurking in every vein of the state:

"In this part of Poland, the Jews are extremely numerous, though it would be difficult to say what greater attraction they find "here than in any other part of the empire. Their mode of living is as distinct in Poland, as it is in every country they inhabit. They take no part in agricultural pursuits, nor are they to be found residing elsewhere but in towns and populous villages. The streets of Rougin were filled with them when we entered that place, and crowds of them followed our carriage, and surrounded us when we got out of it, clamorously offering their services as factors, as they call in this country those whose avocations correspond with the duties of a valet de place in France.

"The Jews in Poland begin to read the Old Testament at the age of nine; at ten they read the Jewish law; at thirteen the commandments, and at fifteen the Talmud; at eighteen they marry; and at twenty they study trade, and every means whereby money is to be acquired. Their clothes are always made of plain stuff, and they practise ablutions every morning. They do not eat the flesh of any animal which ruminates. Their law prescribes, that, on the Sabbath day, they shall neither light nor extinguish a fire, neither must they speak of business, handle any precious metals, or even bathe. A strict adherence to all these precepts is necessarily productive of great inconvenience to travellers, as, in the minor towns of Poland, the trachtirs, or houses of entertainment and accommodation, are all, without exception, kept by Jews, and no lodging is to be obtained among Christians. The vexations of all kinds to which the Jews are subject in this country appear to me in various ways impolitic, besides being wantonly oppressive. Much might be gained, if, instead of their being kept under a pressure of humiliation, a policy were adopted whereby their faculties were directed to the public good. In a country where they form so large a portion of the population, this could not fail being productive of general utility. Their peculiar aptitude for arts and manufactures would render their industry highly useful to the community. A great number of agricultural hands would be acquired, and the landowner, as well as the state, would derive considerable benefit from their co-operation in matters of husbandry. Thus, instead of being, as they are, a species of leeches on their Christian fellow-subjects, and an unavailable and useless portion of the subjects of the state, they would ease the former of public burdens, and increase the income of the latter. It is true that great difficulty would be encountered, in the early part of the attempt, to induce them to change their mode of living. Their education and their habits have given them

an aversion for agricultural pursuits, which would not be
easily conquered. They do not wish to adopt any profes-
sion but that of trade; and as their ruling passion is an
avidity for money, they think that it is more easily grati-
fied by the exercise of their skill in cheating their neigh-
bours in matters of traffic, than by honest industry. Their
intolerant religion, too, which teaches them to despise, and
accustoms them to detest, other nations, strengthens their
aversion against any mode of life at all calculated to separate
them from each other, and weakens that esprit de corps
But all these difficulties
which is peculiar to their race.
would be removed by the progress of time and good govern-
ment. Meanwhile, I do not see why they should not be
compelled to establish manufactures, whereby the indigent
might gain support, the children be brought up in habits of
useful industry, and themselves abandon a life of sloth and
idleness, so extremely detrimental to the proper balance of
social order."

The sturdy peasantry of the Ukraine are more pleasing objects of contemplation, and their character augurs more favourably of their nation's future fate :

"The Dnieper, from Kioff to the cataracts, divides the Polish from the Russian Ukrania. The peasantry here are in a more flourishing condition than in Little Russia. This is owing to their industry, as much as to the greater Their houses are well built productiveness of the soil. and commodious, and generally surrounded by gardens and orchards, the trees of which produce excellent fruit. Their cattle are among the finest in Europe. Their corn-fields are sometimes exposed to the voracity of locusts, which come in swarms, and, in the course of a few hours, completely destroy every thing they alight upon; but when they give indications of their approach, large fires of dried dung are lighted near the corn-fields, the smoke of which not only prevents their approach, but also suffocates them if they happen to come within its reach.

"The Ukranian peasants are remarkably expert in the use of the axe. Not only do they employ it in the construction of their houses, their boats, their carriages, and their household furniture, but also in carving a variety of small things, such as little boxes, spoons, and other kitchen utensils. I purchased a very handsome snuff-box from one of them, which had been cut with a hatchet, commonly used for felling timber. In the province of Masovia, they are still better exercised in the art of rendering the axe universally available. I have been assured by several persons, whose testimony I could not doubt, that they have themselves seen peasants, who wore their hair long, go and place themselves against the trunks of trees, raising their hair as much above their heads as it would reach, while others would take aim at a certain distance, and fling their hatchets with so much dexterity, as to cut the hair in two parts, and be driven deep into the trunk of the tree! Similar feats beat William Tell's hollow. They are not, however, the only kind by which dexterity was practised in Poland, at the risk of a tragic end. In former times, it was customary, in the chateaux of the nobility, after banquets given on great occasions, for the host to show his guests his skill in firing a pistol, by making the heel of the shoe on his wife's foot his target! I could hardly convince myself that the higher classes among the Poles, who have always considered devotedness to the fair sex the glory of curs, should have suffered a practice, so directly at variance with every feeling of common humanity, to prevail among them-those men, whose notions of gallantry, in the present day, are apt to carry them to so extravagant enthusiasm, that I have seen them at table take the shoe off the foot of the mistress of the house, drink wine out of it, and pass it round!"

Whether the conversation we are about to lay before the reader ever took place we care not, knowing the facts stated in it to be materially correct :

"The conversation turned chiefly on the constitution which it was in contemplation to give to the Poles, and of which M. Novossilsoff was one of the framers. The Polish nation,' said the Russian statesman, had too long relied on the promises of a man, to whom, after all, their independence was a matter of personal indifference.'-Their illusions were excusable enough,' answered the Prince de Ligne; there are no sacrifices for which nations do not easily console themselves when they are called for by the prospect of such an achievement. Generally speaking,' replied M. Novossilsoff, this would be perfectly justifiable; but the Poles are ever carrying back their thoughts to the brilliant times of their history, and they want their country to reassume that

proud attitude of independence it enjoyed under the Batoris, the Sigismonds, the Sobieskis, without one moment thinking of the immense changes the political condition of Europe has since then undergone, and their peculiar geographical position, which makes it impossible that they should stand again on the same footing as formerly. Poland is now linked to us, and must be content with the fate which is unavoidably reserved for her political existence. If ever we allowed her to become completely independent, she would make an Asiatic nation of us, and we are not

The interest excited by the Kuzzilbash is owing entirely to the spirited character of the narrative, the novel scenery to which we are introduced, and the startling nature of his adventures. Story there is none. The different adventures of the hero might be inverted in the order of time, without any shock being given to probability, in so far as they are subservient to the winding-up of the story, or the display of his maturing character. They have no natural connexion or dependence. The Kuzzilbash, except that he takes care to tell us that he has grown wiser and sedater, is the same person from first to last. Shireen Selim, all the dramatis persona, are as satisfactorily known to us the first time we meet them, as when we close the There are affecting incidents, hair-breadth last volume. escapes, and gorgeous description, but there is a want of any vital pervading interest to give unity to the whole. All this holds true of the Kuzzilbash-the Persian Adventurer is a more decided failure. It is simply a repetition of the former tale, more languidly told. The hero is, as in the former part of the work, thrown into situations from which nothing but a miracle can rescue him, and this trick has been repeated, till, from having become incredible, it fails to move us. There is a sameness, too, in the continually recurring scenes of battle and bloodshed. Two or three accounts of skirmishes may do, but six long volumes full of nothing else satiate. There are a great many passages in the three volumes now before us, which show that Mr Frazer knew what ought to be done, but He indicates fine in no one instance has he done it. things instead of executing them. One of his most successful efforts is

disposed to recede. - Burke has said,' observed the Prince, that the partition of Poland would be paid dearly for by its authors: he might have added, that such might be the case with her defenders also; for Napoleon's interference with her concerns has in no small degree contributed to the loss of his crown. I hope a better fate will be reserved for the Emperor Alexander; but all must depend upon the adoption of suitable measures, and their security on a firm basis. A people who are proud of themselves may suffer themselves to be conquered, but will not bear to be humiliated. The force of arms may achieve their conquest; but it is only through a generous and just policy that they may be thoroughly subjugated.'-' You need not apprehend any system of policy, my dear Prince, of which the Poles will ever have reason to complain at our hands. If you read this manuscript, the margin of which is full of notes, written in the Emperor Alexander's own hand, you will find how great is our desire to meet the wishes of the Polish nation. This is the constitution intended for them. It will enable you to judge whether the lofty sentiments which spring from the heart should not be taken as the guarantees of that monarch's good intentions. The institutions of that country, hereby fixed upon a solid foundation, will become the means by which the peace of Europe may be ever maintained.'-' If the bases of the edifice are proportioned to its weight, and of comparative solidity, they will, no doubt, prove durable; but if not, you may have to fear the vengeance of men who are driven to desperate means. I wish "The chief himself, wounded in body and broken in you had time to read the Memoirs of Poland, which I wrote in 1788. You may, perhaps, think, that what was written spirit, was brought before me as commander of the partythe humble organ of his majesty's pleasure. Well did he so long back, is not exactly applicable to the present period. know that for him there was no mercy. When I reminded Nevertheless, you would meet with much useful informa-bim of his crimes, upbraided him with his mad obstinacy, tion in that work, and a great deal of coincidence between your thoughts and mine on some material points. This passage will place to the mind of every reflecting reader the present contest between the Poles and Russians in its true light. The question at issue is, whether the former nation shall be governed with a view to their own advantage, or to that of another country. It is the question of national independence, the only guarantee for political as that is for personal freedom. Nicholas may be a good, kind man ; he may have lightened the burdens of the peasantry and burghers; but he can claim no right to rule Poland, in accordance with any theory of government ever promulgated. The social arrangements of that country may-do-imperatively demand improve. ment; but that can only be effected by the people itself. Nations, no more than men, can be watched and whipped into good behaviour.

The Persian Adventurer; being the Sequel of the Kuzzilbash. By J. B. Frazer, Esq. In three volumes. London. Colburn and Bentley.

THE author of the Kuzzilbash is no novelist, in the legitimate sense of the word. Fielding gives us the true notion of a novel, when he calls it a prose epic. It ought to be a story complete in itself, interesting from its skilful complexity, and happy unravelling.

This is the form; the substance ought to be, well-developed character -pictures of the human mind, unfolding its hidden recesses at the same time that it forms itself; and the evolvement of this character ought to be made subservient to the incidents—the soil, indeed, out of which they spring. Many of our best novels, it must be confessed, are deficient in the article of plot-none of them in that of character. They may be imperfect in form, but their matter is always good. But try the Kuzzilbash, and still more the sequel to that work, now under our review, and they will be found lamentably deficient.

THE DEATH OF AN AFGHAUN CHIEF.

and declared his doom, the pale gloomy countenance of the
Affghaun lighted up with a gleam of indignant fire: 'What
I have done, is done,' said he. I have lived your master's
foe, and his foe I will die. What good cause has he given
me to love him?' demanded he, throwing a darkening glance
on the ruin around him; the energy of his mind rose supe-
rior to his situation, and I began to be moved with admi-
ration of his constancy, and compassion for his fate, when
the Saafee at that moment stept forward like a messenger
of evil: Tyrant!' said he, in a hoarse unnatural voice,
the day of reckoning is come at last. Remember Ibrahim
Mullich! Such as the house of Ibrahim was rendered by
the arm of Waled Abbas, such is the house of Waled Abbas
this day, smitten through the might of the Omnipotent, by
the hand of his servant Polundeh! My lord, the murderer
of my
father stands before me! I demand the price of blood
I claim this man as my due-the reward of my promised

aid."

"In a moment the proud flush left the cheek of the Meer, as he heard the address of Poyundeh. His eye quailed beneath the withering frown of the young Saafee. But his hardihood at length revived, and he returned his haughty 'Thy aid, thou coward traitor! gaze with equal scorn. and darest thou boast that to thee the Affghaun power owes this last blow? Base fool! treacherous worm! thou art beneath my curses. Had Allah not seen fitting to pour out his wrath upon this people, where then had been thy pitiful revenge? Chief of the troops of Nadir! I am thy prisoner, and as such I claim to be conducted to the foot of that throne

of which thou art the servant.'

"Prisoner,' replied I, 'the orders of my master are these: That wheresoever Waled Abbas may be taken, on that spot shall he meet his doom. The youth before thee claims the price of blood.. He hath, moreover, named that just revenge as the only reward of his services; and my word is passed that into his hand thou shalt be delivered. Such is our sacred law, the injunctions of our holy faith; and far be it from Ismael to break his oath, or contravene these venerable mandates, even had his prisoner merited another fate. Young Saafee, behold thy victim! Take and But his head deal with him as it seemeth good to thee. must be laid at the foot of the king of kings, in proof that his behests have been obeyed.'

"Before the royal pavilion, the confusion was already complete. The serpurdehs were torn down in many places, a number of persons were running in and out, and blows and loud execrations were beginning to make themselves be heard. For some time, our enquiries regarding what had happened remained unanswered, and we knew not what to think, for it was not the first alarm of the kind which had proved groundless, although never before had appearances been so alarming.

"At last, observing Moossa Beg, an officer of the guard, passing hastily by, although ignorant at the time of his great share in the business, I stopped and entreated him to tell the truth. Know ye not of it?' replied he: tumaum hond! it is all over!-the bloody tyrant is dead!'-' Punahbe-Khodah! can it be?' It is true. Mahomed Sabeh Khan Affshar and the Kussukchee Bashee forced their way in not an hour ago, killed the eunuch of the guard at the entrance of the sleeping tent, cut down some women and other eunuchs, who were moving about, and sought for the Shah; but he, probably awakened and alarmed by the noise, could not immediately be found. They caught a sight of him at last by the light of a small chiraugh, and rushed towards him. But by that time he was on his guard, and while loudly calling on his own guards, actually struck down two of the gholaums who followed us, before a blow from Mahomed Saleh disabled him in some degree, and convinced him of our errand. A fearful scuffle ensued. The Shah, at last tripped up, I believe by a tent rope-for, in the scuffle, he sought to escape from the tent, and we had by that time got to its outside-fell, and cried out for mercy, promising unqualified forgiveness to all concerned. Mercy, tyrant?" said Saleh Khan, aiming at him a terrible stroke; you never knew what it was, and you shall not now.' The blow was mortal; but he received many more wounds before we left him; and then Mahomed Saleh severed the head from the body.'

"And were you then one of them, Moossa?' exclaimed I, smitten with horror and with pity; 'you, an officer !— a confidential officer of his own guard! What was to be done?' responded Moossa Beg; it was come to the point with a vengeance,-it was he or me-us, I should say. Where was the room for hesitation? besides, I had the orders of Allee Koolee Khan.'

"While these words were passing hastily between us, Mahomed Koolee Khan himself came hurriedly by, his clothes sprinkled with blood, and his drawn sword in his hand. If ye desire to live till morning,' said he, do not stand here gazing upon a broken pipkin, but fly every man to his quarters, and defend his own. The Oozbecks and Toorkomans are upon us already; let the Iraunees look to it.' And, in truth, the tumult was fast thickening and swelling, and swords were flashing, and musket-shots were dropping here and there. The uproar was soon repeated in other quarters of the camp. The shouts rose into a continued yell of various sounds; the musket peals increased to a continued rattle. The gathering cries of each troop and clan were heard above the tumult. Affshars! Beyants! Jalloyers! Koords! To your arms! Hah! Gholaumee! Keep your ground! The rascally Toorkomans and Affghauns are upon us!' and soldiers were fast running about to find their comrades or officers.

hour of summer sunshine, succeeded by the wildest storm of winter, affords not an adequate image of its horrors. It was like the day of eternal doom succeeding to the joys of Paradise.

"The increasing light of day, however, appeared to calm, in some measure, and to restore to reason, the sundry furious factions, who having tried their strength in the medley of a night encounter, and having found that little was to be gained, while much was to be lost, by further violence, now drew off to parley and negotiate. But while each party stood thus on guard, surlily glaring on each other like lions breathing from a first encounter, and eying the strength and preparation of their respective adversaries be fore recommencing the combat, a cry of enquiry arose, ofWhere is the body of the Shah? Is he in reality dead?' And the Toorkomans and Affghauns, upon whom the blow could not fail of falling with most severity, were the loudest in calling out for satisfaction upon this important point. "The principal leaders of each corps were now called upon in a tumultuous manner to stand forward, and proceeded, at the common voice, to search for the corpse. It was found, after a while, lying half naked upon the ground among the ruins of the harem pavilion: the only living thing near it was an old woman, who sat lamenting over the severed head. At sight of these bloody tokens, which were instantly brought forth, and produced to the foreign troops, who soon assembled in their respective corps, a mist seemed to fall from their eyes. They now felt palpably what before they had not perceived, that their power had passed away, and with it their security; that the spell which had incorporated them, and identified them with the sons and soldiers of another land, and almost given it into their possession, was for ever broken, and that they now stood alone, unsupported, among those who had ceased to be their comrades and friends."

Illustrations of Zoology; being Representations of New, Rare, or Remarkable Subjects of the Animal Kingdom, Drawn and Coloured after Nature; with Historical and Descriptive Details. By James Wilson, F. R. S. E. Royal Folio. Edinburgh. William Blackwood. 1831. We look upon Mr Wilson's splendid work as a valuable addition to natural history. The figures of the different animals are uniformly executed with accuracy and taste; the historical details in that graphic and amusing manner which characterises all Mr Wilson's writings. Illustrations are selected from a mass of interesting subjects contained in the Museum of our University, eked out by the materials with which the author's extensive correspondence with the Zoologists of Europe have supplied him. Mr Wilson's object has been to furnish naturalists with correct representations "of such objects as are either entirely new, or have never before been adequately represented in the pages of Natural History," published at intervals.

The

"By a judicious and varied selection," he says in his Pre"The morning dawned upon a spectacle of confusion, face," of subjects from the different classes of the Animal pillage, and bloodshed, which the mind cannot imagine nor Kingdom, accompanied by a history of their habits and the pen describe; and which, from being so sudden and modes of life, it is hoped that, in the course of not many totally unexpected, was the more striking and appalling. years, such a representative assemblage may be brought toOf the lofty and magnificent pavilions of the Shah, scarce a vestige remained, except the torn serpurdehs, and walls gether," [revolutionary and democratic principles at work among the brutes, too,]" as will serve to exemplify, in a which lay scattered about, with a part of one of the harem novel and interesting manner, the numerous tribes of living tents still hanging upon its broken pole. Of those belong-creatures, of which the great family of Nature is composed. ing to the chief officers of the army, most were in a similar On the first introduction of every established order, or condition, except in those quarters where the inmates, being well-marked genus, such observations will be presented as on their guard, had manfully resisted their assailants; and may suffice to illustrate the natural history of the species among these was that of the Affshars. The lines and streets which it contains, considered in their generalities; and between the tents were encumbered with dead bodies, thus, while the subjects treated of individually may, from which, to the amount of many thousands, lay strewed their rarity, or the accuracy of their portraitures, be regardthroughout the camp. The smoke of the dying fires stilled with some degree of interest even by the scientific natufaintly rose upwards, and fragments of pillaged goods were thickly scattered over the whole ground. Among this hideous scene swarmed thousands of fierce and armed men, still thirsting for each other's lives; still threatening their former comrades with the arms which, till now, had been wielded in each other's defence. Such was this awful transmutation; a single night, nay, a few hours, had reduced the well-ordered arrangement and admirable organization of the camp to this frightful condition. On the life of a single man hung all this mighty change. The brilliant

ralist, the work itself will at the same time serve as an elementary introduction under a popular form, not unadapted to the purposes of the general reader. It will be the author's aim to combine the precision of a scientific treatise with the more excursive and agreeable character of a popular miscellany; and by avoiding alike the vagueness and inaccuracy of the one, and the repulsive dryness of the other, to gain the favour of both classes of readers."

The author has performed all that he has here promi

sed. In the course of nine numbers, (the ninth, which concludes the first volume, has just been published,) he has furnished us with figures and histories of thirty-two rare species; and in addition to this, he has given, on the introduction of every individual belonging to a new genus, comprehensive and scientific generic descriptions. We know not whether we have been most delighted with the accuracy of the systematic portions of the work, or the fresh breathings of forest adventure, which come across us in his particular descriptions. We roam in fancy with him through the luxuriant forests of tropical America, listening with beating hearts to the howlings of the puma, or the yet more dreadful jaguar; or, treading upon the arctic ice, we lie in watch for the grey American wolf. We enjoy the good-humoured indolence of the water-hog as he sits comfortably cooling his fore-paws in the water, and laugh at the antic grimace of the giant ourang-outang. We quote a passage, which may serve as a specimen of Mr Wilson's powers of generic description :

art which has handed down unimpaired to a far removed posterity, the form and features of so frail a creature. The perfection of an unknown process has almost defied the raindividuals exist in a tangible form, which wandered along vages of time, and through its intervention, the self-samethe banks of the mysterious Nile in the earliest ages of the world, or, in dim seclusion veiled,' inhabited the sanctuary of temples, which, though themselves of most magnificent proportions, are now scarcely discernible amid the desert dust of an unpeopled wilderness.

"The natural and mythological histories of this species possible to gather from their statements any rational meanare so closely combined by ancient authors, that it is scarcely ing. Those, indeed, whose province it is to illustrate the history of mankind, by explaining the rise and progress of superstition, and the frequent connexion between certain forms of a delusive worship, and the physical conditions of clime and country, may find in the distorted history of Egyptian animals an ample field for the exercise of such with things as they are, than as they are supposed to be; ingenious speculations; but the zoologist has to do rather and his province is to explain-or attempt so to do-the "Animals of the cat kind are, in a state of nature, almost works of the God of Nature, as they exist in their most continually in action, both by night and day. They either beautiful and harmonious simplicity, undeformed by the walk, creep, or advance rapidly by prodigious bounds; but multitudinous fables of a remote antiquity. We need not they seldom run, owing, it is believed, to the extreme flexi- then to enquire whether the basilisk be born from an egg bility of their limbs, and vertebral column, which cannot produced in the body of the ibis, by a concentration of all preserve the rigidity necessary to that species of movement. the poison of all the serpents which it may have swallowed Their sense of sight, especially during twilight, is acute in the course of a long and reptile-eating life;-nor whetheir hearing very perfect-their perception of smell less so ther the casual touch of its lightest plume still suffices, not than in the dog tribe. Their most obtuse sense is that of only to enchant and render motionless the largest crocodile, taste, the lingual nerve in the lion, according to Desmoulins, but even to deprive it at once of life;-nor whether the being no larger than that of a middle-sized dog. In fact, ibis itself, according to an expression of the Priest of Herthe tongue of these animals is as much an organ of masti-mopolis, sometimes attains to so great an age that it cancation as of taste, its sharp and horny points, inclined backnot die,' unless when, removed from the sustaining soil of wards, being used for tearing away the softer parts of the its beloved Egypt, it sinks under the nostalgia of a foreign animal substances on which they prey. The perception of land! For we know that the basilisk does not exist; that touch is said to reside very delicately in the small bulbs at young ibises have been seen flapping themselves across the the base of the mustaches. out-stretched bodies of sleeping crocodiles, which afterwards sought the waters of the Nile with their accustomed alacrity, and that the age of the sacred bird, though, from the skill of the embalmers, it may be said to be in death immortal,' does not exceed that of the rest of its congeners.

"The females are remarkable for their tender attachment to their young: the males, on the other hand, are distinguished by a peculiar jealousy, as it may be called, which frequently renders them the most formidable enemies of their own offspring. Hence it is, that the former sex usually conceal the places where they have brought forth, or frequently remove their young. They are a solitary tribe, and, like most animals which feed on living prey, rarely seek each other's society, except during the season of love. Like the mighty hunters' among the human race, they require an extensive domain for the exercise of their predacious habits; and a near neighbour can only be regarded as a mortal foe. It is the uneradicable nature of this sentiment which causes that very peculiar noise in the throat, and the mistrustful rolling of the eye, observable even in the most perfectly reclaimed individuals, when they are approached during meal-time.

"If we were to judge from the great uniformity of aspect which prevails among the different species of this genus, we would naturally conclude that they were all inhabitants of one and the same climate. The fact is,, however, that there is scarcely any genus more truly cosmopolite; for every zone has its species of felis, and the tiger itself extends its ravages from the equatorial regions almost to the polar circle. The cry varies greatly in the different species. The lion roars with a voice resembling distant thunder, deep, tremulous, and broken; the jaguar barks almost like a dog; the cry of a panther is like the grating of a saw; and they all purr after the manner of a domestic cat, with an energy proportioned to the size of the species."

As a specimen of the discussions with which Mr Wilson adorns and illustrates his narratives of different animals, we select the following from his account of the sacred or Egyptian ibis.

"Among the ancient Egyptians, a people prone to award divine honours to the brute creation, the ibis was regarded as an object of superstitious worship, and its sculptured outline frequently occurs among the hieroglyphical images which adorn the walls of their temples. The conservation of its mystical body occupied the assiduous care of their holiest priests while living, and exercised the gloomy art of their most skilful embalmers when dead. The embalmed bodies of this species are still found in the Catacombs, and other places of ancient sepulture; and the utiquary and the naturalist marvel alike at the wonderful

"The sacred ibis is usually observed either in pairs, or in small groups of eight or ten individuals. They build their nests on palms and other elevated trees, and lay two or three whitish eggs. They do not breed in Egypt, but arrive in that country when the waters of the Nile begin to swell. This apparent connexion between the presence of these birds, and the fertilizing flow of the mighty river, probably gave rise to their worship as divine agents, in immediate connexion with those grander processes of nature by which the surface of the earth was regulated and sustained in a fit condition for the health and prosperity of the human race. A slight knowledge of natural history would indeed have sufficed to show, that such divine honours had not been awarded as a consequence of their destruction of serpents and other venomous reptiles; for the modern Egyptians confirm the views of Colonel Grobert, that the ibis does not prey on serpents at all, but feeds very much after the manner of the curlew, on insects, worms, small fishes, and molluscous animals."

These extracts will suffice to show the reader that Mr Wilson possesses an acute perception of the characteristic features of nature, an imagination alive to its poetry, and that of the low voice of antiquity, together with the power of giving vent to his thoughts and feelings in lively and picturesque language. His work is an object of elegant and intellectual luxury, and will form an appropriate ornament in the drawing-rooms of the wealthy, as well as on the shelves of the student.

The Foreign Quarterly Review. No. XIII. January, 1831.

The Edinburgh Review. No. CIV. January, 1831.

THE present is, in our opinion, the most powerful Number that the Foreign Quarterly has yet published. Some may, perhaps, object to a want of sufficient variety in the subjects treated of; and, for a continuance, we ourselves would certainly object to such a sameness; but