Scientific Items.

RECENT letters from Egypt report the dis- sonian Contributions, and to the American Nancovery in that country of a buried city. It is tical Almanac, an ephemeris of the newly-disalleged to be situated about five hours' journey covered planet Neptune, which has been received from Cairo, near the first cataract. It is said with admiration by astronomers both at home that an Arab having observed what appeared to and abroad. While in connection with the be the head of a sphinx appearing above the National Observatory, he took a leading part in ground near this spot, drew the attention of a the discussions which followed the discovery of French gentleman to the circumstance,-who that planet; and he was thus induced to grapcommenced excavating, and laid open a long-ple early with the difficulties of the entire buried street, which contained thirty-eight gran- problem. ite sarcophagi,each of which weighed about sixtyeight tons, and which formerly held evidently the ashes of sacred animals. The French gentleman, it is added, has got a grant of the spot from the Egyptian Pacha, and has exhumed great quantities of curiosities,-some of them ancient earthen-ware vessels of a diminutive size. This street when lighted up at night forms a magnificent sight. It is upward of sixteen hundred yards in length. It is added, that many of the curiosities dug out have to be kept buried in sand to preserve them from perishing.

Alexander Parkes, of England, has patented a process for the separation of gold from compounds of lead containing that metal. The gold, or auriferous earth, is first melted with lead and the usual fluxes; and the compound resulting from this operation is melted with the addition of one per cent., or twenty-two pounds four ounces of zinc to every ton thereof containing ten ounces of gold. This proportion will be increased with that of the gold present. The zinc is added when the compound is in a melted state, and at about the melting temperature of zinc; and after stirring, so as to insure the gold being all taken up, the mixture is allowed to cool, the zinc and gold in combination are removed, and the gold separated by removing the zine by means of acid, or by dis

tillation with carbon.

Arts, Chromatic Photo-printing-being a model At a late meeting of the London Society of of printing textile fabrics by the chemical action of light was discussed. The author proposes to employ the chemical agency of light in dyeing or staining textile fabrics; the clothwhether of wool, silk, flax or cotton-being first steeped in a suitable solution, then dried in the dark, and subsequently exposed to the action of light, those parts which are to form the pattern being protected by pieces of darkened paper, or some other suitable material, attached to a plate of glass. When the desired effect is produced, the time for which varies from two to twenty minutes, according to the nature of the process, the fabric has to be removed, in order to undergo a fixing operation, while a fresh portion of it is exposed to light.

The Imperial Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburgh have elected the Earl of Rosse, President member, in consideration of his high scientific of the Royal Society of London, an honorary acquirements, and of the important services which he has rendered to astronomy.

At the beginning of 1853, the extent of telegraphic communication throughout the world was about forty thousand miles.

An important improvement in the manufacture of iron has recently been made by Mr. J. Renton, of Newark, New-Jersey. For several years he has been engaged in experimenting upon iron ores, for the purpose of producing good wrought iron direct from the ore, with mineral coal. The Scientific American says:-"The process is founded upon truly scientific principles, and supersedes the necessity of previously melting into pig-iron, as the ore can be made immediately into blooms, an advantage which will be immediately appreciated by all interested in the manufacture of iron. We have personally visited the place, and can therefore speak more con

An interesting circular has been addressed by the Association for the Exhibition of the Industry of all Nations, at New-York, to the mine proprietors and metallurgists of this country, calling upon them to render their assistance in forming the nucleus of an institution similar to the Museum of Economic Geology in England, and the Mining Schools of France. European nations have already turned their attention to this. France and Germany possess admirable mining schools, in which youths are thoroughly and practically fitted for their sub-fidently on the subject. During our stay we sequent duties. England has an ample and admirable school of Economic Geology, which is always crowded with students. It will be seen from the circular itself that every care will be taken of any specimens forwarded for exhibition.

saw the operation carried on, and marked the time required for making the iron, which was at the rate of a ton per day of twelve hoursthree blooms, of over seventy pounds each, having been made in about an hour. An improvement like this on the old-fashioned slow and expensive process, by which the ore or metal has to undergo two successive exposures in the furnace before it can be made into wrought iron, is a great triumph of American skill. Any description of fuel-wood or coal, both anthracite and bituminous can be indifferently employed for heating the furnace, and with nearly

Sears C. Walker, Esq., the eminent astronomer and mathematician, died recently, near Cincin nati. For several years he had been connected with the Coast Survey of the United States, and in charge of the operations for determining differences of longitude by telegraph, and of the discussions of astronomical observations for longitude. He has contributed to the Smith-equal advantage.”

SKE

SKETCHES OF THE ARTISTS-REMBRANDT.

KETCHES of the Artists! interesting they ought to be, certainly, even in spite of the inability of the sketcher. We propose to alternate our outlines of the poets with these portraits. One thing we guarantee at least, namely, that our own artists shall do well their part of the work: it should inspire them with a fellowVOL. II, No. 6.-KK

feeling; their engravings shall befit the subject. Let it be borne in mind that we write for the people, and to no small extent for the young. Our estimates must not therefore be elaborately critical. That would be a defect. These things we propose: first, rapid biographical outlines of our subjects; second, to weave into these

outlines characteristic illustrations, incidents, anecdotes, &c.; third, to present a general appreciation of the style and merits of the artist. But we shall attempt these designs without methodical form, blending our topics, and writing easily that we may be read easily. Let not our readers be repelled then with the fear that we are about to inflict upon them a dry artistic dissertation on the artists. We shall attempt no such profanation of the subject. We shall not only better please our readers, but better appreciate our subjects by a different course. The beautiful months are passing over us; let us, then, sit down together, leisurely, in the woodland shade, or among the garden-flowers, and talk of the masters of the "Beautiful."

have a great deal of expression, but are not noble; and possess much pathos, but are deficient in what is termed style."

The character of Rembrandt, in fact, is a riddle-a collection of contradictions which must have puzzled the staid Dutchmen of his day, and which has not yet been solved by the critics of our time. His mental traits are as much a study for the psychologist, as are his wonderful productions to the lover of art. Reckless, daring, and mischievous, as a school-boy, and even in his mature years, he was, nevertheless, unwavering in his devotion to his profession, and indefatigably industrious. It is said that his vanity was only equaled by his avarice; yet the same authorities tell us that he was "coarse in his manners and neglectful of his dress." We find, too, that he married a poor village girl of Ransdorp, in the zenith of his fame, when doubtless many a fair one would have laid a fortune, with her heart, at his feet, for woman's enthusiasm for genius is acknowledged. The artist of eminence possesses the power of conferring immortality upon those connected with him. Rembrandt has given us accurate representations of his peasant wife, smiling at her blushes and finery, reflected from the mirror which she holds in her hand; while the bewitching faces of more high-bred beauties have been forgotten with their lives. It is a question, likewise, if much of his reputation for avarice was not the result of her early-formed and tenacious frugality; for though at her death he was possessed of a fortune amounting to upward of forty thousand florins, it was entirely dissipated in a few years after. Their domestic "bill of fare" would certainly not prove tempting to a fashionable

The picture at the head of our paper is known as the Rembrandt appuyé, representing the eminent artist in a rich cloak and velvet cap. It is one of the many which he has left of himself, in every variety of position and costume, at different periods of his life, from youth to advanced age. Sometimes he is portrayed with a hawk on his arm, or a saber in his hand; sometimes drawing, with a full lace ruffle about his neck; or bareheaded, with his hair standing out from his head in all directions. It is said that he painted about fifty pictures of himself. Whether these numerous" counterfeit presentments" were the result of the insatiable vanity which has been ascribed to him, or whether they were the impulse of his genius, scorning inaction, and perfecting itself by the most laborious practice in every variation of light, color, and drapery-wearying and disgusting to those unpossessed of the divine spark-we shall not attempt to determine. His personal appearance has been thus artist of our day; but if Paul Rembrandt described:

"He was a man at once robust and delicate. His broad and slightly-rounded forehead presented a development that indicates a powerful imagination. His eyes were small, deepset, quick, intelligent, and full of fire. His flowing hair, of a warm color, bordering on red, and curling naturally, may possibly indicate a Jewish extraction. His head had a great deal of character, in spite of the plainness of his features; a large, flat nose, high cheekbones, and a copper-colored complexion, imparted a vulgarity to his face, which was however relieved by the form of his mouth, the haughty outline of his eyebrows, and the brilliancy of Such was Rembrandt; and the

his eyes.

character of the figures he painted partakes of that of his own person, that is to say, they

and his village bride, trained in poverty as their early years had been, preferred brown bread, salt herrings, and small beer, to the dainty fare of more refined circles, why should they not gratify their tastes? Perhaps they dieted for dyspepsia, though we must confess their round healthy faces scarcely countenance such a conjecture, and we doubt if the disease was then known.

Like most of those who have written their names on the page of history, the artist's life was commenced in obscurity. His mother's maiden name was Cornelia Van Zuitbroek; his father was a miller, Herman Gerrestz, surnamed Van Ryn, or,

of the Rhine; and the worthy couple lived on a branch of that beautiful river, at a short distance from Leyden, near the villages of Layerdop and Konkerck. On the 15th of June, 1606, in an odd-looking house, connected with the old mill, the great painter first saw the light-the light with which he was afterward to attain such triumphs.

The

The commencement of this career seemed unpromising enough; but numerous artists have since contended for the honor of forming the style of the painter whose works soon gave immortality to his name. Peter Lastman, Jaques Pinas, and George Schooten, have all been claimed as his masters by different biographers. truth is, he soon outstripped his teachers. After a few lessons in perspective, which he found tiresome in its detail, his active mind struck out a new path, which simplified the process and reduced the labor. He was absorbed and diligent in his new employment, but was ever aiming to produce great effects with little work. In his later pictures, the paint is laid on ap

such matchless knowledge of their relation to each other, that they produce, at a distance, the most harmonious and magical effect. It is said that the hair and beard of his portraits were finished with the handle of his brush. He disliked having his pictures too closely examined, but pushed back the too prying visitor, saying, paint was unwholesome, and should not be smelled.

He grew up a stout, good-natured boy, possessing, however, great resolution and independence of character, which he displayed in a most violent opposition to the occupation of his father, when it became necessary to initiate him into its mysteries. Finding labor so distasteful to his son, the old miller concluded that the easy life of the priesthood might suit him; he ac-parently in masses, but with such accuracy, cordingly sent him to the University of Leyden, to acquire an education. It must have been a sad disappointment to his paternal pride, when the youth, who liked the Latin grammar no better than grinding flour, was sent back by his teachers as incorrigible. The disheartened old man was at his wits' end; to settle his own head, and that of his son, a severe drubbing was administered, which was quite as repugnant to the taste of the young reprobate as either of his previous experiments of preparatory life. Indignant at this unsuccessful method of fascinating him with Latin, and probably fearing a repetition of the disagreeable discipline, the boy escaped the next morning to the house of the artist Van Zwanenburg, who was an acquaintance of his father's in Leyden. He kindly undertook to obtain the sturdy miller's consent to the new employment, which the runaway seemed determined to pursue; a task of no little difficulty, for it was necessary to relinquish all prospect of present gain, with uncertain hopes for the future.

One of Rembrandt's first sketches happened to meet the eye of a Leyden burgomaster, who immediately recognizing the genius it evinced, offered to interest a distinguished painter of Amsterdam in his behalf. Joyfully was the offer accepted, and under his new master the boy-artist scarcely allowed himself a moment's repose; for the old miller obstinately refused to maintain his son in what he sincerely believed to be idleness. Save the mark! To him, as to many, every one was idle who did not grind flour, or at least florins.

When his term of instruction had expired, he returned with high hopes to the old mill, where, much to his father's morti