John Baron, MD. FRS., has in the press Delineations, of the Origin and Progress of various changes of Structure which occur in Man, and some inferior Animals; being the Continuation of Works already published on this Subject by the Author.

Mr. Mawe has recently returned from a Geological Tour in Italy, where he has visited the finest Collections, and particularly the Vesuvian Productions at Naples; and is preparing to publish his Observations, in a single volume.

In the press, and immediately will be published, in 3 vols 8vo, illustrated by Maps, Plates, &c. &c., Travels of the Russian Mission through Mongolia to China, and Residence in Pekin, in the Years 1820, 1821. By George Timkowski.

In a few Days will be published, a Concise System of Commercial Arithmetic, adapted to modern Practice. By James Morrison, Accountant, who has also in the press, the Young Ladies' Guide to Figures and Accounts; containing the useful Rules for calculating, either by the Pen or mentally. Also preparing for publication, a Compendious Dictionary of the Mercantile Law and Practice, deduced from the latest authorities, and arranged on a new Plan.

Dr. Rees has in the press, a Practical Treatise on the Means of obviating and treating the varieties of Costiveness at different periods of Life; and in Cases of pre-disposition to various constitutional Maladies, and of Disorders of the Lungs, Stomach, Liver, Rectum, &c. &c. by Medicine, Diet, &c. in 1 vol. 8vo.

A Translation of Mignet's History of the French Revolution will be published in a few days.

LIST OF WORKS JUST PUBLISHED.

Hebrew Tales, selected and translated from Ancient Hebrew Works, to which is prefixed, an Essay on the still existing remains of the Hebrew Sages of a later period than the Maccabees, and on the character and merit of the uninspired Ancient Hebrew Literature generally. 1 vol. foolscap 8vo. 7s. 6d.

A Panoramic View of Liverpool. Dedicated, by permission, to the Right Honourable William Huskisson, MP., &c., on two sheets drawing Colombier. 1. 11s. 6d. The Life of Erasmus; with Historical Remarks on the State of Literature between the tenth and sixteenth Centuries. By Charles. Butler, Esq. 8vo. 7s. 6d.

William Tell, a Drama, translated from the German of Frederick Schiller. 8vo. 6s. Varieties of Literature, being principally Selections from the Portfolio of the late John Brady, Esq. Author of Clavis Calendaria.

12mo. 8s.

A Key to the Book of Psalms. By the Rev. Thomas Boys, AM. 8vo. 8s. 6d.
The plays of Clara Gazul, translated from the French. Post 8vo. 9s.

A Plea for the Protestant Canon of Scripture, in. opposition to the Popish Canon, of which the Apocrypha makes an integral part. 8vo. 4s.

Mirror of the Months. 8vo. 8s. 6d.

An Essay on Education, applicable to Children in general; the Defective; the Criminal; the Poor the Adult, and Aged. By Richard Poole, MD. 12mo. 7s. 6d. Essays on the Evidences, Doctrines, and Practical Operation of Christianity. By J. J. Gurney. 8vo. 10s. 6d.

Granby, a Novel. 3 vols. post 8vo. 11. 7s.

The Pantheon of the Present Age, or Memoirs of Three Thousand Living or Contemporary Public Characters. 3 vols. 12mo. 21. 2s.

A Picture of Greece in 1825, as exhibited in the Personal Narrative of James Emerson, Esq. Count Pecchio, and W. H. Humphreys, Esq. 2 vols. post 8vo. 18s. An Autumn in Greece, and Greece at the close of 1825. The former by H. Lytton Bulwer, Esq. in Letters addressed to C. Brinsley Sheridan, Esq. The latter by a Resident with the Greeks, recently arrived. 8vo. 10s. 6d.

The Mission to Siam and Hue, the capital of Cochin China, in the years 1821-2. From the Journal of George Finlayson, Esq. Surgeon and Naturalist to the Mission. 8vo. 16s.

Letters on Entomology, intended for the Amusement and Instruction of Young Persons, and to facilitate their acquiring a knowledge of the Natural History of Insects.

Stories for the Christmas Week. 2 vols. 12mo.

The Danciad, or Dancer's Monitor. Part II. 3s.

P. Virgilii Maronis Bucolica; containing an Ordo and Interlineal translation accompanying the text; a Treatise on Latin Versification; and references to a scanning table, exhibiting, on musical principles, every variety of hexameter verse, with an ex

planatory index, intended as an Introduction to the Reading of Latin Poets. By P. A. Nuttall, LL.D. Editor of Stirling's Juvenal interlineally translated.

Every Man's Book for 1826, (to be continued annually,) comprising Remarkable Days in the year; New Acts relating to Weights and Measures, with Tables; Combinations; Jurors and Juries; Insolvent Debtors; Hawkers and Pedlars; Parish Settlement; Laws of Landlords, Tenants, and Lodgers; Masters, Servants, Apprentices, and Journeymen; New Excise Laws; All the Assessed Taxes, with Tables; Stamp and Excise Duties; Guide to the recovery of Debts in the various Courts; with a variety of other useful information. Crown 8vo. 1s. 6d.

PRICES OF THE ENGLISH AND FOREIGN FUNDS.

(From November 24 to De ember 24.)

THE

LONDON MAGAZINE.

FEBRUARY 1, 1826.

JOURNAL

DESCRIPTIVE OF THE ROUTE

FROM NEW YORK TO REAL DEL MONTE

BY WAY OF TAMPICO.

By one of the first Detachment sent by the Real del Monte Company.

HAVING described to you all that struck or interested me in the appearance of New York, I shall now pass on to a much more difficult part of my task; and I must here bespeak your indulgent recollection of the very unfavourable circumstances under which my Journal was written. We traversed, in a few days, a country which calls for the minutest examination, and affords matter for long and uninterrupted research. Add to this, that from haste, and the very inconvenient circumstances under which my notes were taken on the route, I am often at a loss to decipher them. I shall not therefore attempt to arrange my materials, but shall give them in the form in which they were written, that of a Journal.

May 4th. We embarked on board a small fast-sailing vessel, and, the wind being favourable, we lost sight of New York in an incredibly short time. How delightful is the navigation of these seas! The sky is almost invariably brilliant and serene, the waters of the deepest and loveliest blue, the breeze so soft that its breath is hardly felt, yet so steady that it bears the ship rapidly through the waves. We sailed at the rate of thirteen knots an hour, yet the motion of the vessel was scarcely perceptible.

May 8th. The heat increased sensibly every day. This day the thermometer rose to 76° in the shade. We were in Lat. 31° 30'.

May 13th. At six in the morning the thermometer stood at 79o. We found ourselves in Lat. 26° and Long. 76°.

May 14th. Early in the morning the thermometer was at 80°, and at noon at 829. We were now sailing over shoals, so that we could clearly distinguish the whitish bottom. From time to time we could also perceive large dark spots, which were visible at a considerable distance. These were masses of sponge, and we amused ourselves by fishing for them. One of singular beauty was preserved, and will, I

FEB. 1826.

L

believe, be sent to the British Museum. It was like a group of serpents, of a fine purple. This colour it has not entirely lost in drying.

May 16th. Within sight of Cuba. We could perfectly distinguish the Havannah, and a squadron leaving the port to convoy a fleet of merchantmen. This day we passed the Tropic. I began to feel the tedious uniformity of a long voyage, and even to wish for the variety and stimulus of a little bad weather, rather than the unchangeable and cloudless blue which was the only object before our eyes. But if the tropical day is wearisome, the night affords ample compensation. The refreshing temperature, the tranquil and balmy breeze, produce the most delightful serenity of mind, a serenity only broken by the astonishment and admiration which the august and splendid spectacle afforded by the firmament excites. The equator hourly rose in increasing breadth and majesty above our heads. Every moment presented to us stars never beheld before; while on the opposite side those we had seen the preceding night were now majestically descending beneath the distant horizon. The ocean presented a less sublime but scarcely less beautiful spectacle. I had often seen the sea during the warm and tranquil nights of the South of Europe, particularly on the shores of Spain, illuminated with a bright and lively light; but never did I see this phenomenon so brilliant and striking as here. Our swift vessel dashed up thousands of sparkling drops, and left behind a long track of light. Further on, the tops of the distant waves might be discerned fringed with light, or billows breaking against each other threw up a cloud of brilliant spray against the darkness.

May 17th. At six in the morning the thermometer stood at 820. We had the good fortune to-day to catch some fish; one, which was larger than the dorey, equalled it in beauty. When dying, its skin exhibited an infinite variety of colours. The albicoa, which is excellent for the table, is a most beautiful fish. Lastly, our anatomical skill was put to the proof by an enormous sea-hog.

May 22d. As we drew near the land of rain the sky began to be darkened, and on our nearer approach the weather was cloudy, rainy, and cold. The shore presents a wretched and barren appearance. It has no trees, and the few naked stems that cover it are intermingled with whitish streaks of bare rock or sterile sand. The wind was fresh and the anchorage insecure, and we were forced to coast along during the rest of the day and night.

May 23d. As we passed the bar of Tampico the captain pointed out to me the fort by which it is defended. I could not form an exact notion of this admirable fortress at such a distance, but I should certainly have taken it for a few miserable fishermen's huts. This evening we anchored under the fort, and a little way from the bar. The force and rapidity of the current of the river is gradually diminished by the resistance offered to it by the sea till it reaches a point where the force is so exactly balanced that there is scarcely any perceptible motion. At this spot the waters of the river have deposited a bank of clay in the form of an horse shoe. This bank formed by the river Panuco is called the bar of Tampico, and renders the entrance to the river impracticable to large vessels, and difficult even to small As soon as we had anchored we fired a gun as a signal to the pilot to come out to us. The right of pilotage is the exclusive property

ones.

of an individual, to whom it is sold by government; no one can pass the bar without his assistance, or without paying him four duri. You will of course see how unfavourable such a monopoly is to commerce, which has indeed already suffered from it. As the pilot has but two boats, and there are often several vessels waiting to cross the bar, it follows that they waste their power in calling him in vain, and whatever be the urgency of their business they must wait his pleasure. After a considerable delay we saw a point in the distance which we soon discovered to be a little black boat of a somewhat more horrible aspect than that which crosses the Stygian ferry; on its nearer approach it offered to our astonished eyes a dozen animals whom I was at a loss to class, but who were described to me as a mixture of Negroes, Samboes, Mestizoes, and Indians. Whatever they were, their countenances were truly horrible; there was a mingled expression of melancholy and ferocity which rendered them painful to look at. Their colours were of several indefinable dark shades, and the clothes of those who were clothed at all consisted of a short shirt. In short, give each of them a pair of bat's wings, and I would defy Michael Angelo to people the infernal streams with more dreadful figures.

One of our party being slightly ill, it was determined to remain on board till the 26th.

May 26th. We intended taking a sketch of the mouth of the river and the fort by which it is defended, but we were cautioned not to write, still less to draw, in the sight of the suspicious inhabitants, who already regarded us with rather an evil eye. This was a great mortification to me: not that this view could have any merit as a work of art, but I wished to show you the entrance to this new and extraordinary part of the globe. I am afraid you would have found it difficult to give credit to my pencil, and would have thought me so poor an engineer as to take a hen-coop for a fortress. I cannot however resist trying by words to give you some faint idea of this most singular fort. On the right bank of the river the engineer has exhausted the stores of his science and skill, and has placed his chef d'œuvre, which consists of the following details:

1st. Four old trunks of trees, in the selection of which considerable time and labour seem to have been bestowed. Any more twisted, knotty, and irregularly formed, I should think it difficult to find. They are stuck in the earth so as to support a rude sort of latticework, or hurdle, upon which a nearly naked soldier mounts guard. He scrambles up to his post by means of a ladder of a construction suitable to the rest of the works.

2d. Two or three huts constructed of canes stuck in the earth vertically, and connected by others placed horizontally at such distances that the interior of the buildings may be easily seen through the interstices. These walls are surmounted by magnificent bomb-proof roofs of dry palm leaves. One of these huts surpasses the others in splendour, being plastered over with mud; this serves as a custom-house.

3d. A few fascines, ill made and worse distributed, which imperfectly conceal four or five rusty old cannon placed in a low and inconvenient situation. The garrison is composed of thirty half-naked soldiers.