would soon be in his dear mother's house. After some time she exclaimed, "But why do I stop here? come away, come away, and meet him," and so saying, attired as she was, she hurried into the road, and soon disappeared.-But what can describe her return? Her son lived, but alas! how changed since last she saw him! His arm had been carried away by a cannon-ball, the bandages of his wound were dyed with blood, he was pale and emaciated, and so weak that he was with difficulty supported on his ass, in a kind of cradle, by the help of a peasant who walked by his side. On the other side walked his mother; now looking down on the ground, now up to heaven, but chiefly on her son, with anxious eyes, and a countenance in which joy and grief, exultation and despondency, reigned by turns.' On arriving at Granada, Mr. Semple is so forcibly struck with the beauty of the prospect, as to cease to wonder that the Moors on the Barbary coast should continue to pray for the re-establishment of their empire in this seat of magnificence and luxuriance. The ruins of the Alhambra engaged in course his particular attention; and he admired its beauties in detail: but when he viewed it as a whole, he experienced the same disappointment in this as in other Moorish monuments.— Being so near the Sierra Nevada, Mr. Semple determined to ascend towards its summit as far as its condition at that season (the beginning of March) would permit his approach: but the enterprise was attended with considerable hazard, at least on the second day, when his progress is thus described: We rose by dawn of day. The morning was charming, but my companions were shivering with cold, although not exceeding that often experienced in England on a fine morning in autumn. As soon as the shadow of the peak became visible on the snow to the westward, we set out. The deep chasm or valley on our right led directly to the bottom of the peak, but other chasms from the heights on our left opening into this principal one, intersected our path at every interval of five or six hundred yards, and occasioned us infinite trouble in passing them. By degrees the sides and bottoms of these chasms became covered with snow, fragments of broken ice, and rocks smooth with the dew frozen on their surface, to which the sun had not yet reached. At length we arrived where all traces of vegetation were lost and buried beneath the snow which extended in every direction to the summit of the peak. Here my guide, fatigued and alarmed, would proceed no further, but pointed out some broken rocks on the left, called the Heights of Saint Francisco, at the foot of which he promised to watch my progress and await my return. I ascended now alone, more cautiously and slowly, along the summit of a ridge which appeared to terminate at the bottom of the very highest part of the peak. Sometimes the surface of the snow was softened, and I sunk up to the mid-leg, not without occasional apprehensions, until I found myself uniformly stopped by a 53 frozen frozen bank beneath. At other times my progress was along so slippery a surface, that I proceeded with the utmost difficulty, being frequently obliged to break small holes with my stick, and crawl upon my hands and knees. In this manner however I surmounted all the neighbouring peaks and ridges of mountains, an elevation of which I was made fully sensible by the sudden change of the atmosphere. Bathed as I was in perspiration, an extremely cold wind all at once blew upon me and caused an instant chill over my whole frame, the effects of which I felt long afterwards. But the sight of the highest peak to which I was now so near inspired me with fresh courage, and after great exertions I arrived to within two hundred yards at farthest of perpendicular height from the summit. Here all farther progress became impossible. I had now got to the end of the ridge on which I had proceeded so long, and nearly to its junction with the highest part of the peak, which rose before me exceed ingly steep, and entirely covered with frozen snow. I endeavoured to make holes with my stick, and to ascend in a slanting direction; but having proceeded twenty or thirty paces, and stopping to take breath, on casting my eyes downwards I was not a little alarmed to find, that from the moment of leaving the summit of the ridge, I had incurred the danger of slipping down into a tremendous valley on one side of it. I almost turned giddy with the sight. The pieces of frozen snow which I had broken off slid down with astonishing rapidity, and clearly shewed me what my fate must be should I make a single false step. Having stopped a few minutes to recover myself and become familiarised with the sight of the deep valley of ice, I retraced my footsteps, and never felt more thankful than when I regained the summit of the ridge. I was not before aware that in so short a distance I could have incurred 30 great a danger. From this point I was fain to content myself with the views of the surrounding mountains, which appeared everywhere tossed in great confusion, although all apparently connected with, or branching from the high mountain on which I stood. It did not appear possible, even if provided with proper instruments, to group them under any form, so strangely did they intersect each other. Towards the east the view was intercepted by the peak and its slope in that direction, but on every other side it was a stormy sea of mountains 'I was able clearly to distinguish the mountains which separate the province of Granada from that of Andalusia, those towards the northern parts of Murcia, the Sierra of Malaga, and the mountains towards Gibraltar. On some of these ridges immense white clouds rested as if immoveable, on others dark storms appeared to be brooding, whilst some were in a blaze of sunshine from their bare and stony summits to where they mingled with the plains.' On leaving Granada, Mr. S. resolved to change again his mode of travelling. He had sustained a robbery when in the company of the muleteers, and he now took care to set out together with a party who were able to protect themselves. They proceeded to Malaga, and in their route discovered the vestiges of the Moors in several of the public buildings, but more more frequently in the features of the inhabitants. The continued practice of irrigation afforded also a pleasing example of the preservation of Moorish improvements.-From Malaga, Mr. S. travelled to Gibraltar, whence he determined to cross over to the Barbary shore, and attempt a journey to Fez. In this expedition, he was accompanied by three of his countrymen, Sir William Ingilby, Dr. Darwin, (the son of Dr. Erasmus Darwin,) and Mr. Theodore Galton. Since nothing can be done among the Moors without presents, the travellers took with them patterns of cloth of various colours, each sufficient for a Moorish garment to which they added a tent, a table, and a stock of utensils for cookery; and, as they were wholly unacquainted with the language, they provided themselves with an interpreter. They crossed over to Ceuta, and proceeded without interruption as far as Tetuan: but, on applying for passports to Fez, they found it impossible to remove the suspicions which were conceived by the Moors in regard to the object of their journey to the interior. In vain they urged the pleasure which they would enjoy from the sight of a country and of manners so different from their own, since the governor and his counsellors insisted that men could never be so foolish as to take so much trouble for the gratification of mere curiosity. The Moors, however, promised to write to Fez for passports: but a tedious delay of three weeks intervened, and the permission, when received, extended no farther than Tangiers, Sallee, and a few other towns along the coast. Wearied with the evasions of the Moors, the travellers determined to confine their journey within narrow limits. They were highly gratified with the fertile and romantic country around Tetuan; and they were surprized to meet with numbers of camels, an animal which they did not expect to see so near the confines of Europe. In riding across the country from Tetuan to Tangiers, they had an opportunity of observing the simple manners of the Moors in their huts and tents; in which the women were employed in spinning a coarse kind of thread, or in grinding corn between two flat stones, while the children were making butter by swinging backwards and forwards a skinful of milk suspended from the top of the From Tangiers, the party crossed over to Tarifa in Spain. Short as this African journey was, Mr. Semple recommends a similar excursion to every person who travels in Spain. A visit to Tetuan and Tangiers may be performed in four or five days, and even this transient glance will suffice to bring under the traveller's observation many points of resemblance in the customs of the Spaniards and the Moors. The tent. armour, the dress, and the riding accoutrements of both are the same; their houses are formed on the same model; and the Spanish cookery is evidently of Moorish origin. In both countries, the implements of agriculture are the same, and the progress of the art equally slow. On returning to Gibraltar, Mr. Semple found the town thronged with Spaniards and French refugees. The cannon, mortars, and bullets of the Spanish lines had been removed into the fortress, and placed at the disposal of the Governor.From the old Rock, our traveller returned to England by way of Cadiz ; and he concludes his work with observations on the political state of Spain, written with considerable animation and energy. He is of opinion that, with so large a disposable force, as we possessed, much more might have been done to aid the Spaniards in their struggle. We regret that our limits do not permit us to make a quotation from this part of the book. The plates representing the dress of the Spaniards in various ranks of life appear to be faithful and lively delinea tions; and on the whole this little volume, though transgressing in the points to which we have already adverted, will be found equal in interest to the labours of several travellers of the present day who come before the public with loftier pretensions. ART. IV. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, for the Year 1810. Part I. 4to. Ios. td. sewed. Nicol and Son. HE MEDICINE, SURGERY, and CHEMISTRY. THE R.S.This lecture consists of some observations on three distinct subjects, the duration of voluntary action, the origin of sea-sickness, and the effects produced on the health by gestation. With respect to the first subject, Dr. W. endeavours to shew that each voluntary muscular action is produced by several successive contractions, repeated at very short intervals. He was led to this conclusion by remarking that, when the ear is stopped by the finger, a noise is heard, like the distant rumbling of carriages over pavement. These small pulsations occur at the rate of from 20 to 30 in a second, and they are conceived to arise from the alternate contraction and relaxa tion of the antagonist muscles of the parts which produce the pressure. During a short excursion by sea, while suffering from severe sickness, the author noticed a peculiar affection of his breath. ing, viz. that it was generally during the pitching of the vessel that the air was taken into the lungs. Reasoning on this fact, he supposes that, when the ship is sinking or dèscending from the subsidence of the waye, the blood-vessels in the head are rendered turgid, and press on the brain; to counteract which effect, we are induced to perform a full inspiration, when the blood passes more readily through the chest, and tends to relieve the head. Dr. W. compares this effect on the bloodvessels to the rising of the mercury in the barometer, as the vessel sinks. This pressure on the brain instantly causes sickness at the stomach, but how this effect is produced does not appear to be explained. The principal influence of gestation is supposed to be on the yenous system, of which the contents are pushed forwards by the agitation which it experiences, while the valves prevent their return. From this circumstance, the blood is enabled to circulate more rapidly, the heart and arteries have less resist ance to overcome, and it may be supposed that all the functions will be performed with more regularity. The Bakerian Lecture for 1809. On some new Electro-chemical Researches, on various Objects, particularly the metallic Bodies from the Alkalies and Earths, and on some Combinations of Hydrogene. By H. Davy, Esq., Sec. R. S. &c. In the Bakerian lecture of this year, Mr. Davy continues his researches into those objects which have of late so much engaged his attention; and though in the present instance his labours have not been rewarded by any brilliant discoveries, yet they appear to have been well directed, and to be adapted for the advancement of science. He begins by considering some objections that have been made to his ideas respecting the nature of the alkaline metals; particularly the opinion of MM. Gay Lussac and Thenard that these were not simple substances, but were composed of a metallic body in union with hydrogen. The French chemists were led to this conclusion by the effects that ensue when potassium is heated in ammonia. In this case, a quantity of hydrogen is supposed to be produced, more than that which enters into the composition of the ammonia, and this is conceived to be given out by the potassium. Mr. Davy, however, very successfully refutes this inference; both by shewing that water is present in the operation, which affords a more direct source of hydrogen, and also by proving that, when the experiment is performed with every attention to accuracy, the results are not exactly such as MM. Gay Lussac and Thenard have stated them to be. He details at full length some individual experiments of his own, in which every source of error was most scrupulously avoided; and in these it did not |