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Journal of Belles Lettres, Politics and Fashion.

NO. X.

POLITE LITERATURE.

SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 1817.

ON THE PORTICAL STYLE OF LORD BYRON
To the Editor of the Literary Gazette,
SIR, I am surprised, that amidst
a's the different attempts made to classify
the genius of Lord Byron, he has never
been compared with Dante. Both poets
ssess the same intensity of passion and 1st not enough, unhappy thing, to know
fice of thought, the same neglect of Thou art? Is this a lison so kin liv given,
grace, the same reiteration of stroke upon hou knowest not, reck at tot to what region, sɔ
That being, thon would be again, and go
struke, which produces in the aggregate,On caith no more, but nur gied with the skies
the effect of sublimity; and the same Soul will thou dream on future joy and wor
power of conveying all that is horrible | Regard and weigh you dust before it fles,
ad grand, through the medium of emo- That little urn suith more than thousand homi-
tion, rather than of description. That
angular fragment called Darkness, though
ut any adequate object in view,

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PRICE 1s.

adequacy, and by magnificence, consti |the art of poetry. From this art he bortutes an essential part of good writing, rows nothing but its metre. He does not so far Lord Byron fails. Almost every adorn or retine, or elevate that metre. He impurity and inaccuracy of diction, depends too much upon the strength of lis which had gradually been weeded from conception, or upon the profund tv of l..s our language during the last century, we emotion, and does not sufficiently consifind again springing up in his works. Ider, that a strong idea may be still will take a passage at random, strengthened, and a beautiful ore made still more beautiful, by the language in which it is couched. Had be, for instance, told us, that the dove possessed both tenderness and fierceness, instead of a ** tender fierceness,' the thought would still have remained the same, but would assuredly have lost all its portical value, To conclude, I must assert, after a seduHere some of the pauses are placed lous ani candid examination of his writnear the beginning or ending of sucings, that he has not yet produce any which could justify it as a composition,abbreviation- saith, though perhaps in but that if he would select some cessive lines. It is a most ungraceful which do justice to his own genius ; contains, nevertheless, more convincing the present instance appropriate, is quamt subject of popular and permanent inproofs of this athnity between them, than any other of Lord Byron's sketches. So so is too weak a word for a termina-terest, and not unsuitable to his own far as it goes, it may match with many tion — and homilies has neither rhyme peculiar gemus, he might, by superadpassages of the Inferno, in terrific fancy, nor accent to recommend it. This is ding the elegance and purity of modern and in the power of extracting poetical even a favorable specimen; but open diction, to the force and freedom of anrevats from philosophical causes. With any where, and the same faults still ap-cient thought, execute a work, which allats faults, I consider it the finest spe pear. posterity would not willingly let die." Caen we have hitherto had, of his Lord sigts abutties.

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I rescaped a bloodier hoor thin this." ** Now
perií a past.”

And fire unquenchool, unquenchu'le

around, within the heart shall dự !,“

aus.

PROGRESS OF THE SCIENCES,

It is wed koown that the deeper we per es
[*rate into De earth, the pirater i l'e
varmt. At
they avetera to have
icles of wan la

calcutated, that this
ut units to our de es of the itern un d'Ar

150 feet from was t is inter ed, ** al at the depths of 50 Geru ali, 145 1 ...) miles ren must melt and be in ein, ut liệ

catila be a sea ut i jo i tre,

NEW FROPERTIES DELIGHT

Dr Brewster's discovery, that a i ste of uneq lai temperature has a "erent lesa, jo me ors of polar af, ski, sætis to prove

One may clearly perceive, in the suc ressive publications of this noble author, I pithets, those vigorous auxiliares of the gradual improvement of his poetical poetry, are but thinly scattered through far thes, as time and experience contri-lus poems, whose natural dryness and bited to mature them. Nay, one might terity want the rehef of such ornaments even imagine, such an improvement vist The following beautiful smile in the in the latter passages of his first Childe Haroid, starts out of the gloomy de Harold, as compared with its canvas with all the grace of contrast, mencement. But I regret to say, Speaking of the Spanish Heroines, who, Pat neither practice nor precept has though they fought for their country, 1-duced any refinement in his style; were not the less gentle and bewitching, in the contrary, this has sensibly de- Tis but the trader ferien, as of t'ie dove, terated. If poetry be the perfection Pecking the hand that lovers ger her mate,” +4 +! night and language, and it language be the vehicle for conveying thought, I shall now quote a stanza for the pur beta these qualities, and with theme of proving, that this author does not foroperties of lies and th, se of ma poetry itself, are mjured by carelessness inability; and, that his thoughts, so far that the effects of her eye tad in el gance or correctness, from mere !!,'s jean deed his own epi data. But as other critics have ».4cently animadverted on the broader ened by these qualities. from being enfeebled, are much strength- į su is to which we car for int Tut it, the perý sexing ptica thei a 6* 2.1, atures of his writings, the plot, the wet..ments, and the characters; and as They have almost totally neglected that et verbal criticism, which, though ****, is not therefore unimportant, and wwh every entic, from Longinus downrdy cruel, early hope is crint, ti af, his conceived necessary, I shall | Stup to the last it rankies, a ducas, esfise myself, almost exclusively, both Not to be cured wish Love slaid forgets to her is on that wondered mature,

m tāra azad subsequent essays, to the con Bouera'm q of style

And those who know it best, dep'ure it met.
***Is an old lesson, Time approves it true,
whin all is won that all desire to wat,
The paitry prize in har ly worth t e cost
Youth wa ted, wind d grated bever lost

Pese are toy fruits, successful Passion thrae

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ELECTRICAL TOCE

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On the whole, I would say, that Lond No far, then, as style, by the glowin - Byron displays in his performances, the suvenation of words, by the nervoas mind of a great poet, but deuses ham self, a -=mess of sentences, by harmony, by the beacht which he might derive from joi tut liig but au evidual relativa la lis lives

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OR

Journal of Belles Lettres, Politics and Fashion.

NO. X.

POLITE LITERATURE.

SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 1817.

Thou art? Is this a boon so kindly given,
Thou knowest not, reck'st not to what region, so
That being, thon would be again, and go
On earth no more, but mingled with the skies?
Still will thou dream on future joy and woe?
Regard and weigh you dust before it flies.
That little urn saith more than thousand homi-

PRICE 1s.

adequacy, and by magnificence, consti- the art of poetry. From this art he bortutes an essential part of good writing, rows nothing but its metre. He does not ON THE PORTICAL STYLE OF LORD BYRON. So far Lord Byron fails. Almost every adorn or refine, or elevate that metre. He To the Editor of the Literary Gazette. impurity and inaccuracy of diction, depends too much upon the strength of his SIR, I am surprised, that amidst which had gradually been weeded from conception, or upon the profundity of his all the different attempts made to classify our language during the last century, we emotion, and does not sufficiently consithe genius of Lord Byron, he has never find again springing up in his works. Ider, that a strong idea may be still been compared with Dante. Both poets will take a passage at random. strengthened, and a beautiful one made possess the same intensity of passion and" Ist not enough, unhappy thing, to know still more beautiful, by the language in force of thought, the same neglect of which it is couched. Had he, for ingrace, the same reiteration of stroke upon both tenderness and fierceness, instead of stance, told us, that the dove possessed stroke, which produces in the aggregate, the effect of sublimity; and the same a "tender fierceness," the thought would power of conveying all that is horrible still have remained the same, but would and grand, through the medium of assuredly have lost all its poetical value. tion, rather than of description. That To conclude, I must assert, after a sedusingular fragment called Darkness, though Here some of the pauses are placed lous and candid examination of his writwithout any adequate object in view, too near the beginning or ending of suc-ings, that he has not yet proded any which could justify it as a composition, abbreviation-saith, though perhaps in but that if he would select some cessive lines. Ist is a most ungraceful which do justice to his own genius; contains, nevertheless, more convincing the present instance appropriate, is quaint subject of popular and permanent inproofs of this affinity between them, than any other of Lord Byron's sketches. Sotion and homilies has neither rhyme peculiar genius, he might, by superadso is too weak a word for a termina-terest, and not unsuitable to his own far as it goes, it may match with many passages of the Inferno, in terrific fancy, nor accent to recommend it. This is ding the elegance and purity of modern and in the power of extracting poetical even a favorable specimen; but open diction, to the force and freedom of an

emo

lies."

--

results from philosophical causes. With any where, and the same faults still ap-cient thought, execute a work, which

all its faults, I consider it the finest specimen we have hitherto had, of his Lordship's abilities.

pear.

"I've scaped a bloodier hour than this." "Now
peril's past."

"And fire unquenched, unquenchable—

around, within thy heart shall dwell." Epithets, those vigorous auxiliaries of

"posterity would not willingly let die."

PROGRESS OF THE SCIENCES.

One may clearly perceive, in the suc cessive publications of this noble author, the gradual improvement of his poetical poetry, are but thinly scattered through It is well known that the deeper we penefaculties, as time and experience contri-his poems, whose natural dryness and austrate into the earth, the greater is the buted to mature them. Nay, one might terity want the relief of such ornaments. calculated, that this increase of warmth warmth. At Frieberg, they pretend to have even imagine such an improvement visi- The following beautiful simile in the amounts to one degree of the thermometer ble in the latter passages of his first Childe Harold, starts out of the gloomy for 150 feet: from which it is interred, that Childe Harold, as compared with its canvas with all the grace of contrast. at the depth of 50 German, (225 English) Commencement. But I regret to say, Speaking of the Spanish Heroines, who, miles iron must melt and the interior of the that neither practice nor precept has though they fought for their country, earth be a sea of liquid fire. produced any refinement in his style; were not the less gentle and bewitching, NEW PROPERTIES OF LIGHT. on the contrary, this has sensibly de"Tis but the tender fierceness of the dove, Dr. Brewster's discovery, that a plate of teriorated. If poetry be the perfection Pecking the hand that hovers o'er her mate." unequal temperature has different local powof thought and language, and if language ers of polarization, seems to prove a close be the vehicle for conveying thought, I shall now quote a stanza for the pur-connexion between the newly investigated both these qualities, and with them fail in elegance or correctness, from mere This is indeed his own opinion, and he states pose of proving, that this author does not properties of light and those of magnetism. poetry itself, are injured by carelessness inability; and, that his thoughts, so far that the effects of his experiments are sufficiently animadverted on the broader ened by these qualities. of diction. But as other critics have from being enfeebled, are much strength-sults to which we can find nothing analogous, features of his writings, the plot, the sentiments, and the characters; and as And those who know it best, deplore it most. ""Tis an old lesson; Time approves it true, they have almost totally neglected that When all is won that all desire to woo, sort of verbal criticism, which, though The paltry prize is hardly worth the cost. minute, is not therefore unimportant, and Youth wasted, mind degraded, honor lost; which every critic, from Longinus down If, kindly cruel, early hope is crost, These are thy fruits, successful Passion, these! to Blair, has conceived necessary, I shall Still to the last it rankles, a disease, confine myself, almost exclusively, both Not to be cured when Love itself forgets to in this and subsequent essays, to the con- please."

sideration of style.

On the whole, I would say, that Lord So far, then, as style, by the glowing Byron displays in his performances, the combination of words, by the nervous mind of a great poet, but deuies himself terseness of sentences, by harmony, by the benefit which he might derive from

66 re

but in the perplexing phenomena of magnetical and electrical polarity."

ELECTRICAL TORPEDO. Some very curious discoveries, highly interesting to the lovers of Natural History, have recently been communicated to the Royal Society, by Mr. Todd, a medical gentleman, as the result of numerous experiments on that wonder of nature, the Torpedo, or Electrical Fish. Mr. Todd observes, that the shocks received from the animal, were never sensible above the shoulder, and seldom above the elbow joint: the intensity, also, of the shock bore no relation to the size of the fish, but an evident relation to its live

liness and vice versa. The shock did not In the last number of the "Annals of Phi- | water, olive oil, gum and water, or butter;" always follow the touch; but required a de-losophy," published this day, we are told that the result of such a decree may, I fancy, be gree of irritation, such as pressing, pricking, a Mr. Magendie resolved to " put to the test ascertained without a philosophical analysis. or squeezing the animal; whilst not unfre- of experiment" the difficult problem whether You, I am sure, Sir, will be convinced that quently animals to appearance perfectly viva-" sugar, gum, oil, butter, and other similar nothing but a pure admiration of the sciences cious, suffered this irritation without dis- bodies," be fit for the nourishment of ani- has dictated these supplementary observacharging any shock whatever. But the most mals. For this purpose he fed a dog "upon tious; I therefore entreat you to place them curious fact is, that when caught by the sugar and distilled water. He (the dog) eat where they may catch the Doctor's eye, and hand, they sometimes writhed and twisted his food readily, and for some time retained avert this dire omen from the realms of exabout, endeavouring to extricate themselves his health and liveliness. But in about a perimental philosophy. I am, &c. T. S. M. by muscular exertion; and did not, until fortnight he began to get bean, though his ap- London, March 1, 1817. they found these means unavailing, attempt petite continued good. His alvine excretions N. B. The same number of the "Annals the exercise of their electrical powers: were scanty, but his urine was abundant." Af of Philosophy" contains an account of four though in many instances they had recourse ter these recondite symptoms, which no one nore dogs, a gendoo, a young lutra, two to that power in the first moment of coer- could have suspected without the assistance birds, a mouse, a monkey, a cat, a species cion. It was also ascertained by repeated of philosophy, appearances of disease pre-of ox, and a fowl, who were poisoned with the experiments, putting two animals of equally sented themselves, and “as the leanness con

straction of its electric fluid!

BOTANICAL EFFECTS OF CLIMATE.

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juice of the Oopas tree at Java, and after being apparent health into vessels of water, draw-tinually increased, the animal lost its strength for some time deliberately tortured, died in ing successive shocks from one, and suffer- and died on the 32nd day. The dead body horrible agonies, martyrs in the cause of sciing the other to remain quiescent, that the was found destitute of fat, and the muscles entific research!!! As this article is marked death of the animal was hastened by the ab-deprived of five-sixths of their usual volume."" to be continued," I thought it high time to After a description of a few other physical communicate to you these remarks. effects, deduced from the sacrifice of this victim to the sciences, the learned narrator pro- We are much pleased with the ridicule ceeds to inform us, with true philosophical our correspondent so justly throws over these It is a newly established fact in Natural calmness, that "a second, and a third dog, brutal and disgusting experiments. History, deserving the attention of orna-fed likewise upon sugar and water, shared a must further observe, that men so destitute mental Botanists, that a much greater pro- similar fate!" of heart as these experimenters, have never portion of the various species of the botanical Your readers will now, I presume, be dis- head enough to promote the real advancedivision of nature, is fitted for the endurance posed to cry "Murder!" But though three ment of science. Mr. Magendie might have of extreme heat than of violent cold. Recent dogs might have stopped the mouths of the saved himself much trouble and contempt if writers have drawn this observation from an three-headed dog of hell, nothing will stop he had merely recollected that the creatures accurate survey of vegetation through its dis- the mouth of a philosopher. "Two dogs fed which he thus treated with vegetable subtinct gradations from the polar towards the upon olive oil and water died on the 36th day stances were carnivorous animals!—that they equatorial regions, marking, in each stage, with precisely the same phenomena." "Seve want the glandular system and long intesthe progressive course. The only exception ral dogs were fed with gum and water, their tinal canal which are essential even to the to the general rule is that of the Lichens, fate was precisely the same." "A dog fed on mere digestion of such substances-and that which are to be found in all climates, and butter" (and here I cannot help exclaiming therefore any conclusion drawn from such alike unassailable by the extremes of each. with Pallet: "Lord in heaven! what beastly experiments, respecting the nutritive nature It is evident from this, that the varieties of fellows these philosophers' are!") died on of these substances, must be false and ridieuindigenous plants, increase in proportion as the 36th day, with precisely the same phe-lous. They do not even enter into the system we approach the equator: for, although in nomena; though on the 34th flesh was given of the animals: they cannot digest them. We lands nearest to the pole, Spitzbergen and him, and he was allowed to eat of it at plea- are astonished that Dr. Thompson could adGreenland, the number of species do not ex- sure." mit such a paper into his work. Similar obceed 30, yet they increase gradually thus- You will naturally ask what result these servations we would apply to the monsters Lapland, 534-Iceland, 553-Sweden, 1300 exploits of grey-headed iniquity were ex- who open animals alive, &c. &c. They ob-Centre of Europe, 2000-Piedmont, 2800 pected to produce. "From these curious ex- serve not that the tortures they inflict al-and 4000 in Jamaica. This is an increas-periments of Mr. Magendie and Dr. Thomp-ways induce a morbid action; that this acing ratio which cannot be the effect of son, it is obvious that none of these articles tion alone they discover, instead of the chance, and is worthy botanical considera- are capable of nourishing dogs!" Without any healthy one; that nature thus baffles the ention. But it must be remembered that alti-pretence to the double application of "Vates," quiries of those who violate her most sacred tude produces a greater change than latitude; I would have ventured to predict the same, laws; and that they thus retard, instead since it has been clearly ascertained that 4 or and since it has been justly observed that lit- of promote, the advancement of physio5000 yards in elevation in the hottest parts tle minds delight in contemplating the stumb-logy. of the globe, produce greater changes in tem-ling of their superiors, it must be my ignoperature than 5000 miles in distance from rance which induces me to smile at the the equator. learned Doctor's conclusion. But if the It is also a curious fact, as ascertained by learned Doctor will take the advice of a plain Humboldt, that in South America, plants unlettered man, he will suspend these ope- professor of Physiology in Sardinia has been will grow at a height of 1800 yards above rations in the dog-days; for I am but half discharged from his office for having emthat elevation, where on the Alps and Pyre- persuaded of the truth of Mr. Locke's obser- ployed in his last publication the heretical nees vegetation ceases. vations on the extent of the reasoning faculty words nature, and natural history. in animals, and should this avowedly saga- PROGRESS OF THE SCIENCES IN SPAIN,EXPERIMENTAL PHILOSOPHERS. cious animal comprehend the nature of the Madrid, March 11.-" Principles of policy apconspiracy, which is fomenting against his plicable to all representative governments, Mr. Editor, Among the various experi- domestic quiet, I tremble to think of the con- and particularly to the present constitution ments of that gifted class of beings whose sequences of a philosophic hydrophobia. of France, by M. Benjamin de Constant, titular denomination I have inscribed above, The question also involves another seri-Counsellor of State," as containing maxims I had long considered that of "my uncle," ous consideration. The different religious and propositions false in politics and the hiwho confined frogs in waxen brceches, as the sectarians are daily petitioning parliament erarchical order, contrary to the spirit of remost sagacious; but, it appears, I considered for relief and protection, and should any ligion, captious, subversive of the power of wrongly, for I am enabled to lay before you, zealous follower of the Pythagorean system the church,anti-dogmatical, leading to schism from the respectable authority of Dr. Thomp- take this matter in hand, parliamentary in- and to religious tolerance, and pernicious to son, the operations of a Philosopher, whose fluence might possibly obtain the enactment the state, were prohibited here by order of progress in the career of science seems preg-of a lex talionis, which might reduce the the King on the 2nd of March. mant with alarm and danger to the canine Doctor and his associates to the disagreeable teibo. necessity of living upon " sugar and distilled

W.

PROGRESS OF THE SCIENCES IN ITALY.-A

PROGRESS OF THE ARTS.

MEDICINE.

EXPERIMENTS ON THE PLAGUE.

To the Editor of the Literary Gazette. Dear Sir, As you have inserted in your valuable publication, an account of the experiments of M. Von Rosenfeld, I doubt not you will be glad to have the succeeding letters of Dr. Burghardt. In the preceding statements there seems to be some inaccuracy. It does not appear that Mr. Von R. was a medical man, and still less that he inoculated himself for the plague; for the first of the following letters expressly states that he refused to tell his preservative.

I remain, &c. II. E. L. CONSTANTINOPLE, JAN. 25, 1817.-The following letters of Dr. Burghardt (who conducted M. Von Rosenfeld into the Lazaretto, and observed him there) give the continuation of the accounts of Mr. Von Rosenfeld's experiments with his preventative of the plague and the unfortunate result of thein.

plague, remain uninjured, and yet are infect- The Government has purchased the ed (as numerous examples prove) months or Giraud Palace, in order to establish there the years afterward, by other means. This tem- Manufactory of Mosaics, as the buildings of porary susceptibility can be explained, per- the Holy Office, where it had been for some haps, only by decisive circumstances, such as, years, have been restored to that tribunal. irregular way of life, uncleanliness, repressed The Palace Giraud Borgo nuovo, is one of passions, which render persons very suscep- the finest works of the architect Bramante. tible of the plague, and easily produce infec- It was built in 1504, for Cardinal Hadrian de Corneto, and belonged for a long time (till Henry VIII. separated from the Romish Church) to the kings of England.

tion.

REVIEW OF NEW BOOKS.
WAT TYLER; a Dramatic Poem.

12mo.

at his

JANUARY 21.-SIR, With heartfelt grief, I have to inform you, that the day before yesterday, (the 19th) M. Von Rosenfeld complained of Vertigo, and a slight headache: this increased very much till noon, and his tongue was quite white: towards 1 o'Clock P. M., he felt an inclination to vomit, which however did not take place; but toward 3 o'Clock, he was seized with a Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, having violent diarrhea, which weakened him so an electioneering object to carry against much that he was soon obliged to lie down. Lord Grimstone, got into her possession the He had a fever through the night, and was manuscript of a foolish play, called "Love at times delirious: the diarrhea became in a Hollow Tree," written by that noblemore violent, and his weakness increased in man when a boy at school. This comedy proportion. When I desired to speak to him she published and circulated with great inDECEMBER 27, 1816. Having been inform- yesterday morning, I learned with affliction dustry, and at a considerable expense, for the ed by the Dragoman of the Porte, that M. Von that the unfortunate man, by his heroic zeal purpose of covering her opponent with ridiRosenfeld, before he visited persons infected in the service of humanity, had himself be- cule; but all that her Grace gained by the with the plague, (which he did regularly twice come the victim of the scourge which he vindictive manoeuvre was the raising a a day) rubbed himself with oil, I immediately sought to avert. Two hours before my ar- laugh against his Lordship and herself. went to him, and soon discovered that this rival, a plague-bubo appeared under the left The artifice of the Duchess, however, was a report was set on foot out of envy, by a per-armpit. His mental faculties abandoned only harmless piece of pleasantry, compared with nicate his secret. More certainly to contro-ation, which excited in him a kind of gloomy all honour and honesty, sent the poem of son to whom Rosenfeld would not commu- for moments, he was fully aware of his situ- the rancorous malevolence or wicked cupidity of those persons who have, contrary to vert this suspicion, I caused Mr. Von Rosen-affliction, which was expressed in his ges- Wat Tyler into the world, without the confeld, in my presence, to wash his hands with tures. The symptoms of the disorder resoap, to dry them, and then, also in my pre-mained the same during the day (the 20th), sent of the author. Whether their intensence, to touch fresh plague ulcers, which he but in the course of the night preceding the tion has been to hold him up to public ridishowed himself perfectly willing to do. He 21st became more violent: the disease cule, or to put money into their own pockets, touched upon several patients six or seven reached the highest degree, and all the sympexpense, the inference drawn by every pustules and as many buboes, and even put toms began to be mortal. When I visited liberal mind will be equally decisive in rehis fore-finger so deep into the buboes, that him this morning early, he was already near probating the nefarious transaction. But if the pus ran down upon his hands, which he his end; he was no longer able to swallow this conduct be so reprehensible, what then with the palms of both hands rubbed in the medicines. Towards noon, the body be- apology can be made for those legislators on his bare arms till no trace of moisture was gan to turn blue, and lost its natural warmth, (we speak without the slightest refervisible. I remained fifteen minutes with and about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the ence to party, with which we have nothing to him after this operation, in order fully to last spark was extinguished of the life of a do, and for which we feel only contempt,) convince myself that the pestiferous matter man universally lamented by all, who even who, forgetful of their intimate connexion must in that time have been wholly received after his death will retain a grateful remem-with the laws and constitution of the coun by the absorbent vessels, into the system. brance of his generous but unsuccessful I followed the same process with the Drago-enterprise. man, whom he had also provided with his M. Von Rosenfeld had been 38 days in the Lazzaretto. In his last moments he had JANUARY 12, 1817.-M. Von Rosenfeld, as the spiritual assistance of the worthy Cathowell as his Dragoman, found themselves per-lic clergyman, who also took down his last fectly well after the trial made on the 27th of will, in which he recommends his necessitous December, as described in the preceding let-family to the favor of his sovereign the ter; and as no change has appeared in his Emperor Francis." health up to this day, (being the 16th day) his preservative may perhaps be considered MECHANICAL ARTS. as thereby confirmed, or, what perhaps is more ROME, 22 FEBRUARY.-An object of adprobable, he is not susceptible of the plague, miration at present is an equally ingeor at least is not at present so dispused as to be nious and bold scaffolding in the Church of infected by it. In my opinion, all depends St. Peter, within the interior of the dome, on this circumstance, and repeated experience has confirmed this opinion. Thus, for instance, we see people who during the most malignant plague, have served for years in the hospitals, as attendants on the sick, without being infected, and yet fall at last victims to the contagion, without any satisfactory reason appearing, why they should be infected just at that moment, and not years before. Physicians, who are inevitably exposed to the contagion every year, sometimes remain untouched, till at last one or other of them is seized with the plague. Fathers of families, who have attended their family in the

preservative.

up to the lantern, in order to repair the
Mosaics there. It is of the invention of
Angelo Pazacini, Engineer of St. Peter's, and
will soon be engraved by the care of the
architect Marini.-A scaffolding designed by
the celebrated Nicola Zadaglia was not found
applicable.

A Sun-dial is now constructing in St.
Peter's Place, to which the obelisk standing
there is to serve as the index, and thus be
restored perhaps to its original destination.
Monsignor Maccazani, Prefect della Fabrica
(of the works of St. Peter), has this Sun-dial
erected at his own expence,

ry, have dragged this surreptitious piece into their political debates, with the view of wounding the feelings of the author still more severely, and of aggravating an injury which was already sufficiently enormous. The poem, it seems, was composed at the early age of nineteen, and at a period, too, when older heads than that of the author were heated to a degree of enthusiastic transport by revolutionary doctrines, then rendered dazzling through the deceitful medium of the French declaration of equal rights. That a youth of lively imagination, under such circumstances, should take a popular story out of the English annals, and turn it into a scenic representation, corresponding in sentiment with what was actually passing on the great stage of the world, ought neither to excite surprize, nor to provoke severity. But the poem, though it does in fact make the insurgents of the fourteenth century speak the language of modern zealots on the subjects of liberty and equality, is so far in character, that the truth of the history is by no means violated, unless it be in the hypocrisy ascribed to the Archbishop, and the charge of treachery cast upon the King. Our object here, however, is not to review the draina, which

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