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*. What struck me the most in this extraordinary man, articularly when he was abusing Napoleon, was, that scording to my opinion, he had no real knowledge of ankind; his pride, his rank, his renown, had prevented in from treating with them on a footing of equality. His hauteur and distrust had always kept them at too treat a distance to allow him to observe them properly; too much accustomed to undertake nothing but hat he could carry by main force. As some compenion, he displayed a multitude of delicate and just eas when we happened to talk of women whom he e, she always had a desire to please and to deive them. He spoke with pity of the women of Engand, of Geneva, and of Neufchatel, &c. What Lord wron's genius wanted was, to be put under the necessity negociating and discussing with his equals. I am vinced that, if he had lived to return from Greece, talents would have appeared, all at once, enlarged -half. In his endeavours to reconcile Mavrocordato

failed to do so by their singularity. Mr. Maturin was tall, in your recollection, that I have before pointed out

slender, but well proportioned, and, on the whole, a good
figure, which he took care to display in a well-made black
coat, tightly buttoned, and some odd light-coloured stock-
ing-web pantaloons, and shoes, surmounted in winter by a
coat of prodigious dimensions, gracefully thrown on, so as
not to obscure the symmetry it affected to protect. This
odd exhibition, however, of an elegant form in the street,
the church, or the drawing-room, did not suffice. The
Rev. Gentleman sang and danced, and prided himself on
performing the movements and evolutions of the quadrille,
certainly better than any other divine of the Established
Church, and equal to any private lay-gentleman of the
three kingdoms. It often happened, too, that Mr. Maturin
either laboured under an attack of gout, or met with some
accident, which compelled the use of a slipper or a bandage
on one foot or one leg, and, by an unaccountable congruity
of mischances, he was uniformly compelled on these occa-
sions to appear in the public thoroughfares of Dublin, where

Colocotroni, he would have acquired some positive melancholy spectacle of beautiful limb in pain never

wledge of the human heart; then, perhaps, Lord By

ady

might have elevated himself to the height of real traHe would have had fewer fits of misanthropy; he

could not have always thought that every one about him as solely occupied with him, and occupied with a view to cite his envy, or to deceive him. The fund of misan ropy of this great man had been increased by English ciety. His friends remarked, that the more he lived th the Italians, the more happy and obliging he became. we substitute black bile for fits of childish anger, we Il find that Lord Byron's character had the most strik

resemblance to that of Voltaire.

But I must conclude, in order not to make a dissertainstead of a letter. You must excuse me, Madam, troubling you with these general observations. I could _ve vished rather to have given you facts; but an interrval of seven or eight years has banished these from my amory, in which there now only remain the conclusions mich I drew from them at the time. I shall be very

ppy if you are satisfied with this kind of moral portrait, fyou regard these hastily-written pages as a proof of profound respect with which, I have the honour to be,

&c

"H. BEYLE."

THE REV. R. C. MATURIN.

The Irish papers, in announcing the death of this gentlesan, have indulged in various panegyrics on his character san author, a man, and a divine. Unqualified praise, wever, gives an imperfect idea of any person, and, to udge correctly of Mr. Maturin, his portrait must be drawn and coloured with a more impartial pencil than that of ither an avowed friend or a professed eulogist. If he was ifted with genius, he was also given to follies, nor were en his excellencies, however great, unalloyed with the unities and eccentricities of common-place humanity.

Before the tragedy of Bertram was produced at Druryte Theatre, and received with such distinguished approfion, Mr. Maturin was the humble, unknown, and

ticed curate of St. Peter's, Dublin; from which he med a stated income of £70, or at the utmost £100 per

failed to excite the sighs and sympathies of all the in

as

prompting their

teresting persons who passed, as well
curiosity to make audible remarks or inquiries respecting
the possessor.

some of their severities and inconsistencies; and I merely mention this, to afford myself the opportunity of again avowing an adherence to the same sentiments. The question, then, which we should now particularly look at and examine, is, not whether the law, which awards the punishment of death to perpetrators of crimes similar to those committed by Mr. Fauntleroy, is just and well founded; but whether, from its being a law long in ope ration, and by which hundreds have been consigned to the silent tomb, we can at once abrogate it, to meet the case of a particular individual? I know that it is never too late to discover an error, and upon that discovery to amend our ways; but I think it wrong, broadly and without any limitation, to apply this principle to the Government of a country: for it must be well known, that the

regulation of a state cannot exactly keep pace with indivi

dual

or family improvement, neither can it be regulated with the same nicety of feeling, or the same regard to precision and despatch. As we have gradually emerged from barbarism, so must we gradually approach the climax of human perfection. I conceive Mr. Fauntleroy to be now dead, in point of law; and that the only cheering rays which can at present illume his gloomy cell will be those arising from the contemplation of that bright and resplendent jewel which always has, and ever will dazzle, in the British diadem, MERCY! But a moment's reflection as to the nature and extent of this royal prerogative, will, I am afraid, tend to extinguish even this last and only hope; for as justice is tempered with mercy, so must mercy be tempered with justice. It is well known that the King may pardon, and that the King individually, in a temporal sense, can do no wrong; but the people of this kingdom, according to the statutes in

The effect upon a person of this temperament of the unexpected success of Bertram, led to some untoward consequences. The profits of the representation, and the copyright of that tragedy, exceeded, perhaps, one thou sand pounds, while the praises bestowed upon its author by critics of all classes, convinced Mr. Marturin that he had only to sit down and concoct any number of plays he pleased, each yielding him a pecuniary return, at least. equal to the first. He had therefore scarcely arrived in Dublin, with his full-blown dramatic honours and riches, when tradesmen of all hue, and callings, were ordered to York-street, to paint, furnish, and decorate, with suitable taste and splendour, the mansion of the great new-born tragic poet of Ireland. The Reverend Gentleman's proceedings in other respects, of course, took a corresponding spring. Unfortunately the brightest hopes of genius are often the most fallacious, and so it proved in the present it is also known, that the King hath sworn "to govern instance. A few months produced a second tragedy,

which failed, and with it not only faded away the dreams parliament agreed on, and the laws and customs of the of prosperity in which the author of Bertram so fondly same:" how then can he, consistently, be advised to adhere indulged, but his house was assailed by importunate ditors, who lodged executions, and every other disagreeable to the operations of a law, in all its bearings, except the

of the

penally, and be called upon to mitigate that penalty, in a case ten hundred times more heinous and aggravated than

other cases, where the full penalty has been rigorously inflicted? Let the manes of that host of miserable beings now mouldering with the silent dust, whose lives were forfeited for petty forgeries and uttering of forged notes, speak, and let their voice be heard! To what end shall

sort of legal inmates in that abode of genius and merit.
Time enabled Mr. Maturin gradually to extricate himself
from these embarrassments, and having thus had the wings
of his ambition somewhat shortened, he in future pursued
a safer flight. His eccentricities, however, remained in their
former vigour, and in the coteries of Lady Morgan, or
the romantic solitudes of Wicklow, the vain oddities
Curate of St. Peter's continued as remarkable as during
the height of his tragic triumphs. Of late years his pen
was chiefly employed on works of romance, in which he we listen to their voice? to perpetuate the same miseries?
evinced great powers of imagination and fecundity of lan- to pursue the same system? No! far otherwise. The
guage, with evident and lamentable carelessness in the public attention is now alive to the importance of a revi-
application of both. He wrote, in fact, for money, not sion of the criminal code, and I firmly believe that, should
for fame, and succeeded in drawing a considerable re-

venue from the sale of his productions.

The immediate cause of Mr. Maturin's death was, we understand, his having taken a lotion, containing a large quantity of laudanum, in mistake for medicine intended for the stomach.

Correspondente.

MR. FAUNTLEROY.

In the same unostentatious corner of the splendid hurch Establishment of Ireland, he died on Saturday, ber 30, 1824. Mr. Maturin, however, was at no period edant upon the emoluments of his curacy. Before dramatic performance already mentioned conferred upon his name and works, he had published one or novels, which obtained an ordinary rank in the catas of our circulating libraries, although they afforded tle profit as fame to their author; and he besides preel a few young gentlemen to pass the entrance examions of Trinity College, who for that purpose resided with him, in his house, York-street, Dublin. But, not. withstanding these combined resources, Mr. Maturin's pirations surpassed them; and, like nen of talent in geral, whose purses are mostly disproportionate to their Jetires, he was constantly beset with duns and difficulties. fess I enter upon the subject with feelings which are at till these sublunary trifles had even then no serious effect variance with each other; because, from motives of hu

TO THE EDITOR.

SIR, I am well assured, my differing with you, in opinion, on the case of the unfortunate Mr. Fauntleroy, will not exclude this letter from your columns. I con.

Mr. Fauntleroy attone for his crimes, by the forfeiture of

his existence, he will not die in vain. I forbear to work

upon the feelings, by a statement of the incalculable misery which might result from mal-practices so warily and extensively executed as those of Mr. F., because my object is merely to discuss the point with reference to the just and legal possibility of sparing his life, as the law now stands, and I have therefore confined myself within the limits of an attempt to show, that this cannot consistently be done.

"We must not make a scarecrow of the law." There must be consistency and vigour in the measures of a Government; and the laws of a country should never proceed to condemn, and then be afraid or pause to execute. I look upon this to be a certain means of bringing all law into contempt, and sapping the best interests of society.

on the Rev. Gentleman's conceit of his own importance. manity, with yourselves and many others, I should wish No alteration of the penal code can now affect the case
The person calling at No. -, York-street, on indifferent Mr. F.'s life to be spared, and yet from principles of jus- of Mr. Fauntleroy, for he is civilly dead; and therefore
Fusiness, or the creditor who "for the last time" demanded
in audience, was ushered into an apartment studiously in-
dicative of the owner's several pursuits, and having waited
a sufficiently fashionable time, was received, answered,
d dismissed with a sovereign air of superiority, which
was, at least, as much calculated to surprise as to satisfy,
The curate of St. Peter's, in short, though at that period
Dot a very young man, was, as he ever after remained, ex-
edingly vain both of his person and accomplishments;
d, as his income would not allow him to attract attention will not be supposed I am an advocate either for the

tice and of law, I think he ought to suffer. The question, it can only have a general influence in guiding and regu-
of whether it is justifiable to put a man to death for any lating subsequent legislation in the amendment of such
crime except that of murder, has, in my humble opinion,
nothing to do with the point now under consideration. The
penal code of this country is, in some instances, sanguinary,
and deals out death with a lavish hand; and, in submitting

the splendour of his dress and manners, he seldom

to your consideration the following observations, I trust it

equity, or continuance of these laws. It will, perhaps, be

code. These remarks are founded upon the principle of public justice, and I trust they will be examined with candour.

I sincerely lament that there is nothing in the case of the unfortunate Mr. Fauntleroy, which can justify a departure from the established law.

Liverpool, Nov. 22, 1824.

W.

LATIN GRAMMARS.

TO THE EDITOR

SIR,I am a solitary learner of the Latin language. The grammar recommended to me, for the purpose of acquiring a knowledge of the syntax of that language, is that of Mr. Jones, author of a Greek grammar, &c. On the whole, I much approve of Mr. Jones's Latin grammar; but there is one rule of syntax which I cannot clearly comprehend: it is rule 2, and stands thus:"When a person is distinguished by any rank, quality, or character, the noun expressing it is used in the genitive to denote the source, or in the ablative to denote the origin of that distinction; as, Adolescens summa virtutis, a youth of consummate virtue. But the ablative is used for the genitive, when the quality, rank, or character, in question, is represented, not as the source of distinction, but as the instrument or medium by which the subject is distinguished; as, Vir summâ prudentiâ, a man with the highest prudence; i. e. a man accompanied with, or distinguished by, the highest prudence." Querè :-May we not say the same of adolescens and virtue?

If, Sir, you will make the Kaleidoscope the “instrument or medium" by which some grammatical friend will elucidate the above rule, you will do a great kindness to, yours, &c. INQUIRER.

Edge-hill, November 18, 1824.

I will just observe to yourself, Sir, by way of P. S. that Grant, in his " Institutes," Syn. R. 12, says :-" If the latter of two substantives have an adjective of praise or dispraise joined with it, it may be put in the genitive or ablative; as, Vir summæ prudentiæ, vel summá pru

dentiâ."

Zumpt (translated by Kewick) sect. 70, says:-" The substantive can only be used in the genitive, when joined with an adjective, as, not homo ingenii, but homo magni, summi, excedentis ingenii." This, however, throws no light on the subject, why the noun should not be in the ablative, as in Grant's example.

Lastly, Mr. J. says, Syn. R. 15:-" Adjectives signifying qualities of mind, or of body, require a noun in the genitive, to express the origin of those qualities." In rule two he had said the ablative was to denote the origin of the distinguishing quality.

Towards the close of R. 15, Mr. J. says:-" As the genitive and ablative alike express cause or the origin of things, they are often used one for the other."

It appears to me that this last clause might serve instead of R. 2, but I think the matter well worth the investigation of some of your correspondents.

TOADS.

TO THE EDITOR.

Sia,-The very curious subject of toads being found alive in solid rocks, I was talking about lately with some · colliers at Burnley, in consequence of toads having recently, in two instances, been found there alive in a deep and solid rock of blue grit, which is nearly as hard as limestone. In working the coal-pit in summer, they said they often met with young frogs and toads, where there were cracks and little streams of water; the frogs jumped about, and became the prey of the rats and mice, with which the workings abounded: but, following the toads with the streams, one would expect them to be found in such parts of the rocks as had veins differently coloured by a sandy sediment; but, in most instances, they are found in what appears to have been an uniform rock for ages: though, doubtless, whatever is the colouring matter of the blue grit, in the above instance, may also change the colour of he sediment.-Yours, &c. H.

There have been many experiments made of burying roads in air-tight boxes for years in the ground, and when taken up again they appeared of the same size, with the yellow ring round their eyes as bright as ever.

TO THE EDITOR.

are sold at a price equal to two thirds of our whole volume. A reserve of these is kept to supply back orders, and may be had of the agents by timely application. have issued from our office, may not be uninteresting to the The following popular and cheap publications, which Irish readers:

SIR,-A few of the juvenile readers of the Kaleidoscope will consider themselves much indebted to its worthy editor, if he or any of his correspondents will oblige them by answering the following question, which occurred the other night in one of their evening debates:-"Would the gratification of every wish produce peace of mind?" The question, at first, appeared ridiculous, as every one acknow-with a GROUND PLAN of the INTERIOR of that extensive A Perspective VIEW of the LIVERPOOL NEW MARKET, ledges that abundance of possessions confer no real happi- Structure. Price Sixpence. ness, till some of the party suggested the following argument:-"If a person could obtain every wish, and wished for peace of mind, would it not be obtained?" This, of course, is a mere play upon the words; but, as it accidentally arose in conversation, and was strenuously supported on the one hand, and as positively denied on the other, a solution from a third party would decide it. An early attention to this request will particularly oblige, as the event is awaited with some anxiety by the members of the

CHIT-CHAT ASSOCIATION.

HALL, with a PLAN of the SPLENDID SUITE OF Rooms, and a An elegantly-engraved VIEW of the LIVERPOOL TOWN. fun description of that admired Edifice. Price Sixpence.-[This publication is adapted to binding with the Kaleidoscope.]

A MAP and DESCRIPTION of the celebrated MAMMOTH Twopence.

CAVE (several miles in extent) in North America. Pric

lately died in the Liverpool Workhouse, aged 110 years i A Lithographic PORTRAIT of OLD ELLEN TATE, whe months and 12 days. Price Sixpence.

Mr. ROSCOE'S DISCOURSE on the Opening of the Live. pool ROYAL INSTITUTION. Price Fourpence.

To Correspondents.

FOREIGN COMMERCE.-The elegant and entertaining essay from the Spectator, lately introduced with such happy effect by Mr. M'Culloch, in his interesting Lectures on P litical Economy, shall be given in an early number of the Kaleidoscope.

ASTRONOMY.-The second part of Newtonian's Thoughts on Astronomy, which have been unintentionally delayed, sta appear in our next.

Funeral Oration delivered in the Roman Catholic Chapel, Seel-street, Liverpool, on the 27th October, 1824, on the occasion of the death of Louis XVIII. The Rev. Mr. Orré, of Liverpool, has just published a pamphlet, of thirty pages, with the foregoing title. Our other avocations have not yet permitted us to peruse this work, which is thus noticed in the Saturday's paper: "A tract is advertised in another part of our paper, an Oration on the Death of Louis XVIII., to which respect sure, as well as personal esteem for its respectable author, MAUVAISE HONTE. The correspondent who has favoured er for the production itself, which we have perused with pleamake us desirous of calling the attention of our readers. It is a brief sketch of the life of the deceased monarch, from which is drawn the encomium on his character, and amiable man: and the obvious moral reflections which which all allow to be just ;-that he was a pious, a virtuous, are derived and enforced with grace and eloquence. It is arise out of the subject, and which are applicable to all, a remarkable example of a correct and elegant style, attained by a foreigner in our language.'

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Theatre. Our readers will perceive that the benefit of Mr. Andrews is advertised for Wednesday next, when the deeply-affecting tragedy of Jane Shore will be performed, tragedy is seldom acted here, and cannot fail to be atMrs. M'Gibbon personating the principal character. This tractive. After the play, Mr. Richard Andrews (son of the respectable and useful actor whose benefit is announced) will perform on the grand piano-forte; and the laughterloving world will have another opportunity of seeing "Life in London."-See adv.

Che Kaleidoscope.

TO THE PUBLIC IN GENERAL,

AND ESPECIALLY

TO OUR IRISH READERS.

The circulation of the Kaleidoscope in Ireland has increased, is increasing, and it shall not be our fault if it do not continue to increase. Our readers in that country, to which we are much attached, have it in their power to serve us materially by their recommendations of our work, if it appear to them to deserve that favour. Such publications as ours, not containing news, stand espe cially in need of individual recommendation, which has more weight than any thing the proprietors can offer in their favour.-Our friends in the sister country are respectfully informed, that they may be supplied with any of the former four volumes of the Kaleidoscope, through Messrs. De Joncourt and Harvey, Dublin, who will forward them to any part of Ireland. These volumes contain a most copious and minute index, and the price in boards is 17s. 6d. Irish-We beg further to trespass upon the patience of our Irish friends while we state, that our original translation of L'Hermite en Italie, which is this very day brought to a conclusion, was commenced in February last; between which time and the present, we have put our readers in possession of the first, and we believe the only translation of a favourite French author, the two volumes of which, in the original,

with an essay on this subject has omitted to state whether it is original; and if not, from what work it is selected. 4's lines, addressed to Miss B. on her nuptials, are reserved VOLTAIRE'S ENGLISH PORTRY.-The two stanzas written by

for our next.

Voltaire in English, and presented to us by a correspondent, have been mislaid, but we have no doubt will be found be fore our next publication. The Italian and French pieces which accompanied them shall appear in our next. SUPPLEMENT TO THE KALEIDOSCOPE.—The next Kaleidocope will be accompanied by a gratuitous Supplement, in order that we may bring up some arrears, and put our readers fu possession of some very valuable documents connected with the great change which will take place in the British weights and measures, in May next. The supplements we have occasionally been in the habit of giving, are intended to compensate some of our readers for the introduction of any subjects in which they may take no interest-muse or advertisements; and we take occasion to repeat, that, exclusive of these two items, our subscribers will find that our annual volume contains much more general matter than could be comprised in fifty-two weekly numbers.-We expect, by means of our extra half-sheet, to find ro in our next for the following:-E. S. on the death of Madame Riego-La Gloire Militaire-L. L. on the alleged plagiarisms of Anacreon Moore-Observator's critique, Nai -Cantab-L.'s lines to his brother,

The communication of Caustic is under consideration.
Juvenis's query shall be answered next week.

MUSIC.-The Swiss Air, with which we have been favour by a correspondent, is somewhat too long for our stock f types. We are of opinion, that some of the music dealer in Liverpool would publish it. We have not made up of minds with respect to the musical offering of Soloman kişi ingale. The old Scotch air, to which a correspondent b composed a few verses, is certainly very beautiful; but appears to us that if we should give the words, and refer to the tune, which is very familiar, the object of our correspondent would be accomplished; and our m eal types might be employed on other subjects. Hower, we shall examine the accompaniment affixed to the air, and if we find that it is original, or varied from the ordinary vir sion, we shall, in all probability, introduce the whole inte an early number of the Kaleidoscope. We should be glad to speak personally with friend Solomon, which might sarth world of future explanation.

HALIFAX. We assure our agent, Mr. Whitley, that we sent the usual number of the Kaleidoscope to his address last week. We cannot form an idea of the cause of their na arrival, but to prevent disappointment we have forwarded another supply. We should be glad to know whether any copies of our work, of Nov. 23, got into circulation 22 Halifax, and by what means.

Printed, published, and sold, EVERY TUESDAY, by E. SMITH & Co. 75, Lord-street, Liverpool

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No. 232.-VOL. V.

Natural History.

The work, of which we now give the first portion of an original translation, will, we feel confident, amuse and instruct the generality of our readers. It was transmitted to us by a judicious friend in Paris, who has assured us that the work is there highly esteemed. We have seen no announcement of its having yet found its way to London; and we have every reason to believe that our translation is The first that has appeared. This production will remind ur readers of Goldsmith's celebrated work; but it posEsses one great advantage over that popular favourite: it reats of important discoveries made subsequently to the ame of Goldsmith; discoveries which have thrown a new =ight over some points, until lately, involved in great obcurity. The work is one volume, and consists of nearly ur hundred pages, illustrated by four engravings of a ce of non-descript and extinct animals.

PREFACE.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1824.

I could allege many reasons sufficient to justify me in refusing to obey your command; but, setting aside all those that do not regard yourself, are you not aware, that, although I may have succeeded in engaging your attention for some time by presenting to your mind new subjects of meditation, I can hardly hope to awaken an equal degree of interest by means of cold letters, conveying to you, periodically, ideas that will no longer possess the charm of novelty?

A letter may often tell you what you already know, without satisfying you on the subject of your immediate curiosity.

You have, however, rendered useless whatever objections I may urge to oppose the gratification of your wishes, by formally announcing your intention to listen to none. I shall, therefore, without further comment, enter upon my subject; but, if I become obscure or tedious, do not fail to let me know it.

PRICE 34d

with the earthy particles which had risen in the air, and which gradually fell as the atmosphere became purified This mixture of the oily superficial layer with the gross particles fallen from the atmosphere, formed the first land which men cultivated before the deluge. It was light, and extremely fertile; its surface was perfectly smooth, and free from inequalities of every kind.

But the first men did not long enjoy this happy abode. The heat of the sun, drying up by degrees the soil which they cultivated, at length caused it to crack at the end of fifteen or sixteen centuries, and the terrestrial crust fell into the abyss of waters beneath it.

Such, according to Burnet, was the cause of the deluge. He considers our present continents as large masses of the ancient crust, which have filled up the abyss of the waters : the islands and rocks under water are small fragments of it, and the heights and hollows, by which the face of our soil is varied, are consequences of the confusion occasioned As for the ocean, it is a part of The subject of our correspondence will be the documents by the fall of the crust. furnished to us by the enlightened observation of philoso- the ancient abyss, the remaining part of it having entered My object in publishing these letters, is to give the pub-phers, relative to the revolutions of which our globe must, the interior cavities, with which the ocean communicates. e some idea of the curious results of observations made at different periods, have been the victim. But, Madam, This system, as you see, Madam, is supported by no obour most distinguished modern naturalists, in the study before I make known to you the opinions formed by mo-servations, by no authenticated facts. It may be consithe terrestrial globe. dern naturalists on this subject, I think it will be agreeable dered merely as the production of the imagination of the If I may judge by the pleasure I have experienced in to you to have some idea of the principal systems which author; it is explanatory of nothing, and no inferences amining their interesting inquiries, I shall have per- have been invented for the last two centuries, on the origin can be deduced from it. Yet, as Burnet was not deficient ormed a service, not unacceptable to those who have of our planet, the modifications it may have experienced, in talent, and as his book was well written, it remained in aste for the acquisition of knowledge, without having it the deluge, and the causes which may reasonably be pre- repute until the period when the discovery of very ima their power to devote much time to study. portant phenomena gave a new direction to philosophical speculation.

a

Asl have endeavoured to adapt my style to the compre-
sion of persons little versed in the study of natural
tory, such an elementary knowledge of that subject as
equired in the routine of a common school education
Isuffice to render these letters intelligible.
Antious to avoid being the means of diffusing error,
imposed upon myself an obligation to adduce no
on that is not sanctioned by the authority of a cele-
ed name.

he admirable work of M. Cuvier on fossil bones has
led me with all that I have written on that subject.
tof my observations on the formation of the mineral
of the earth, on volcanoes, earthquakes, &c. are

from the lectures of M. Cordier.

have also borrowed something from the works and
res of M. Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire.
Whenever I have hazarded my own opinions, I have
careful to make known their source, that they might
be received with the confidence due to those which are
ported by the authority of the celebrated men whom I
just mentioned.

ETTERS ON THE REVOLUTIONS OF THE GLOBE.

BY M. ALEX. B.

kgère couche de vie, qui fleurit à la surface du globe, ne We que des ruines.

Paris: printed, 1824.

[Translated expressly for the Kaleidoscope.] LETTER L-OF THE DIFFERENT SYSTEMS.

sumed to involve its future ruin.

All these inquiries which so much engaged the attention of authors who wrote in the eighteenth century, on the Theory of the earth, hardly find a place in modern works on geology; and our most distinguished literati, notwithstanding the additional knowledge they have acquired, or rather in consequence of that knowledge, have deemed it fit to refrain from discussing them.

These curious phenomena, which form the foundation of all the systems invented since the beginning of the eighteenth century, consist in the existence of bones of fish, shells, and other marine animal productions in the interior of the soil of our continents. These marine productions, particularly the shells, are exceedingly numerous, and sometimes in a state of excellent preservation: they are often found inclosed in the hardest stones.

But, though the naturalists of the present day no longer lose their time in inventing theories of the earth, it may be interesting to know those which have been the most gene-ralist first made and published these important observaYou are, perhaps, Madam, curious to know what naturally received, or which have been proposed by the most tions. His name is obscure, his profession still more so. celebrated naturalists. They belong, in fact, to the history Bernard Palissy lived towards the end of the sixteenth of the progress of the human understanding on this sub-century: he was a potter, and resided at Paris. The ject, and I shall, by giving you a brief exposition of them, in some measure imitate the historians of all ages, who have thought fit to introduce the recital of well authenticated events, by an account of the fables which have obtained credit among different people, but which they have represented in their true light.

Burnet is the first author who has, in modern times, endeavoured to explain, by a system, the general revolutions which the earth has experienced, and those which it is yet destined to undergo. The following are his ideas upon the subject.

The earth, which was at first only a fluid mass, a chaos composed of matter of every species, and of every figure, began to assume a regular form, when the heaviest parts, descending towards its centre, had formed there a hard and solid nucleus, enveloped in the waters, which, being lighter, were collected around it on all sides. The air esis then, Madam, your serious request that I should caped above this superficial and watery bed, whilst, on its respond with you on the subject of our last conver-surface, floated, as being lighter, a thin layer of unctuous oily matter, at first unmixed, but soon afterwards united'

jons.

greatest natural philosopher, as Fontenelle observes, ever formed by the unassisted efforts of genius, he was the first who dared to aver at Paris, in the face of all the learned world, that fossil shells were real shells formerly deposited by the sea in the places where they were found, and not minerals, extraordinary productions, mere lusus naturæ, as they were supposed to be in his time. The proofs which he adduced appeared incontestible to all who examined them. Nearly a century, however, elapsed, before his opinions were predominant, and became the means of awakening new ideas in the minds of the learned.

The first system in which an hypothesis is proposed to explain the existence of fossil bodies in the interior of our continents, is that of Woodward. He maintains that, at the period of the deluge, God, by an act of his will, sus

• By fossils are understood the remains of organized bodies found in the interior of the earth, and, in a manner, incor

porated with it. A more accurate definition of the meaning attached to the term fossilisation will be found in the letters which treat particularly of animal fossils.

pended the power of cohesion which united together the molecules of all solid bodies; that he thus reduced all these bodies to dust, and that the waters of the deluge, moistening this dust, formed of it a sort of soft paste, easily penetrated by all sorts of marine productions.

The author has recourse to this hypothesis, because he is aware how impossible is the supposition, that during the short period of time that the deluge lasted, the water, which covered the earth, should have power to decompose the continents to any considerable depth, and to dissolve the hardest stones, so as to render them the receptacles of marine productions. We shall shortly have occasion to mention the existence of facts which prove incontrovertibly, that the deposition of marine bodies in the places where they are found, cannot be the result of a violent and sudden

movement.

The work of Woodward is filled with observations, of which the truth and accuracy have been confirmed by time. He says that he has discovered that all the terrestrial matter in England, from its surface to the greatest depths to which he has descended, was disposed in layers; that, in a great number of these layers, there are shells and other marine productions; he then adds, that he has ascertained, by means of his correspondents and friends, that the land of every country is composed in the same manner, and that shells are found mixed with it, not only on the summits of mountains, but in the bottom of the deepest hollows. He has remarked, that these layers were horizontally placed one above another, as would be the case with matter transported by the waters and deposited in the form

of a sediment.

Nothing can be more just than these observations; but, on the other hand, it is manifestly contrary to truth, that these substances are, as Woodward affirms, disposed, with respect to their proximity to the surface of the earth, in exact proportion to their specific gravity. This would be the case if the earth, having been entirely liquified at the time of the deluge, as the author supposes, had been hardened by degrees. But, on the contrary, we may be convinced by the slightest observation, that the heaviest

with a rain so copious, that, in two days, as much water descended upon the earth, as is now contained in the whole ocean. The vapours of the tail of the comet were the flood-gates of heaven, which God opened, according to the words of Genesis, " and the windows of heaven were opened."

The author, by means of this rain continued for the space of forty days, might have accounted satisfactorily enough for the deluge, even supposing that the water had covered the earth to a height exeeeding that which is fixed by the holy scriptures. But, that he may not depart from the sacred text, he does not allow this rain, derived from so distant a source, to have been the only cause of the deluge: as Buffon says, he takes water wherever it can be found, and supposes the comet, when it approached the earth, to have exercised upon its whole mass, an attraction, by virtue of which the waters contained in the great abyss (he also supposes a great abyss of water under our continents) were agitated by se violent a commotion, that the superficial crust, unable to resist it, was burst asunder in several parts, and the waters of the interior diffused over its surface; " and the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up."

Whiston, as you see, explains with equal facility, the creation and the deluge, such as they are described by Moses. Neither is he at all perplexed in accounting for the form of the earth, the long life of its first inhabitants, and their inordinate passions. What, do you think, is the difficulty which proves insurmountable to him? The ark of Noah, which was the salvation of mankind, is the rock upon which his system splits. How was it possible to account, by natural causes, for its preservation amidst the subversion of all nature, while the waters of the tail of the comet, on one hand, and the torrents of the great abyss, on the other, were inundating and destroying all matter to the innermost recesses of the earth? "It is to imagine," says Buffon, "how distressing is the situation of a man, who, after having accounted for so many im. portant events without having recourse to miracles or the intervention of supernatural power, finds himself pre

easy

layers are frequently placed above very light substances. vented from proceeding further, by a single detached cirWho does not know, for instance, that rocks are frequently cumstance. Our author, therefore, prefers running the found placed above beds of clay, sand, coal, and bitumen, risk of being drowned with the ark, to the mortification of which are certainly much lighter than they are?

Besides, another insurmountable difficulty may be op. posed to the system of Woodward. This consists in the absurdity of supposing that there can have been a suffi. cient quantity of water on the globe, to liquify all the terrestrial matter, even allowing it, according to his hypothesis, to have been miraculously reduced to dust.

ascribing, as he ought to do, to the will of the Almighty, the preservation of this precious vessel.

While I am speaking to you of the system of Whiston, Madam, I must not omit to make known to you an opinion, which he was the first to advance, although without proofs, or rather upon entirely false suppositions, and which has been confirmed by recent experiments. He supposes that there exists in the centre of the globe a nucleus, which was already there while the earth was only a comet, and which, having been prodigiously heated, when it approached the sun, has ever since preserved a great part of the high temperature then acquired. You will be less astonished by this opinion, if you consider to how high a degree comets are sometimes heated. In 1680 a comet passed so near the sun, that, according to astronomers, it must have acquired a temperature two thousand times higher than that of red-hot iron, and that it will require fifty thousand years to cool it. We may then suppose that the nucleus a of our earth is still burning, as not more than six thousand years have elapsed since the period when it was heated.

Whiston, who, as well as Woodward, wrote in English, adopts, indiscriminately, in his work, all the observations of the latter; but he proposes new hypotheses, which will appear to you very singular, although many of them are not without ingenuity. It is this author's constant endeavour to adhere scrupulously to the text of Genesis. According to him, the earth was formerly a comet, in which all the elements, confusedly blended together, formed one vast abyss. The gross vapours, surrounding it on all sides, enveloped it in eternal obscurity, and "darkness was upon the face of the deep."

nion upon this subject, I cannot forbear telling you what has been the result of his speculations.

According to him, the planets are so many little suns, which, after having burnt a long time, have been finally extinguished for want of combustible matter, and have become opaque bodies. The fire has, by the liquefaction of the various kinds of matter, invested them with a vitre fied layer, and all bodies found upon their surface either glass reduced to very small particles like sand, glass mixed with fixed salts and water.

A large quantity of the water which had been redueel to vapour by the original burning temperature of the earth, fell to its surface as soon as it was become cold, and formed the seas and oceans, such as we now behold them.

Towards the middle of the eighteenth century, a writer (Maillet) who thought fit to assume the character of an Indian philosopher, gave to the world his idens on the formation of our globe, its original state, and future des tiny. His work met with great, and, in some degree, merited success. It is, in fact, well written, and led with just observations, particularly on the subject of found remains. The inferences deduced from those observans are certainly not admissible in the present state of sciens, but may have been so, at the period when the water wrote. Having observed traces of the presence of the sa on the summits of the highest mountains, and being that he had grounds sufficient to justify him in cou ing all the continents, without exception, as having bet formed in its interior; relying also upon observatica, which appeared to him to prove incontestibly that seas gradually diminish, and abandon their shores, be was led to conclude that our globe was formerly extind covered with water, that this immense sea had, by te grees, formed in its bosom the mountains, whose summin appeared when the waters first began to retire; that the whole surface of our continents was afterwards and that new islands will shortly arise from the bosuth the waves, whilst the present islands will be united to the continents, by the retreat of those portions of the sea, by which they are now separated from them. These infer ences are supported by facts, either carelessly observed, or entirely false. A more enlightened study of fossil re mains has proved, as we shall shortly see, that if the sel did ever really cover all the continents, it never can han been sufficiently copious to inundate them, except leaving dry a part of its ancient bed; in a word, tha has often and frequently changed its bed, but that cording to all appearances, it has never covered at the time the entire surface of the earth.

Lett bate

Our knowledge of the real planetary system does permit us to pause for a moment on the pretended liamed's visionary notions respecting the future destin our earth. They differ widely from the imaginatio Whiston; of a part of which it may at least be said, although they are whimsical, they are not absolutely trary to the laws of nature. He is of opinion, that w our present sun shall have become extinct, we shall. having wandered for some time in the space of the rean, exchange it for another. He maintains that we already undergone similar revolution at the time of deluge, and he thus accounts for that great catastrop and for the different length of the year before the pet when it took place.

a

Although the opinion of Maillet, upon the origin of human race, resembles that of a celebrated naturalis the present day, I am so well aware of the ridiculous wa

The day after the creation, the earth, having acquired greater degree of solidity, became a planet, and assumed a spherical form. The atmosphere was cleared from the gross particles which had before darkened it, and which However this may be, one of the most curious observanow fell to the surface of the globe; the air was purified, tions of latter years is that, by means of which it is defree passage to the rays of the sun, per- monstrated that the temperature is invariably more ele- ner in which it will strike you, that I hardly dare mitted it, for the first time, to shine on the surface of our vated in proportion to our proximity to the centre of the earth. Thus was executed the will of the Almighty, earth, a fact necessarily leading to the supposition of a

and, yielding

a

when he said, "Let there be light."

very considerable internal heat. But I will not anticipate Whiston, after having endeavoured to explain, consist- what I have to say upon this subject.

ently, all the particulars of the creation, arrives at the I should fear to weary your attention by describing deluge. According to him, this great disaster was occa- particularly to you all the other systems which, before the sioned by the passage of a comet, whose tail met our time of Buffon, have been invented to explain the formaearth, and enveloping it, during forty days, in its thick tion of the planets, the deluge, the future fate of the

it known to you. According to him, our first aners were fish, which, having, become amphibious and when the primitive earth was left dry, have finally as an entirely terrestrial nature. He is not ashamed to port his system by the most ridiculous stories of s tritons, marine men, men with tails, and men hav only a single leg and a single hand. He sometimes ex

vagantly distorts real facts, that he may adduce the

and watery vapour, inundated it, during all that time, earth, &c. Nevertheless, as Leibnitz has given his opi- corroboration of his opinions; he eagerly avails hind Dumb

the se

etca

of the discovery made by an English vessel of a large of Esquimaux, who were navigating in their boats of Greenland. The English succeeded in seizing one of these men, whom they had the barbarity to suffer to die of grief, perhaps of hunger, on board their vessel. As the only food which they offered him was entirely different from that to which he had been accustomed, he onstantly refused it, and died at the end of twenty days, rithout uttering a word. The boat and the remains of the nan are preserved at Hull, in England, at the Admiralty Hall; and Maillet carries his ignorance so far as to believe that the body of this wretch was covered with seales from the waist to the soles of the feet, and that he did not pos

sese the power of speech.

(To be continued.)

Fashions for December.

EVENING DRESS.-Gold-colour striped gossamer dress: the corsage cut straight, and rather high; the upper part -full, and ornamented with narrow gold-colour satin rouleaus: a trimming of bouffants, separated by turban folds, rises from the waist, and forms a stomacher front; it extends over the shoulder, and meets behind. The sleeve is short and full, and has a row of satin leaves emanating whom the band, and spreading half way: the point of each af is fastened to a small corded satin band, and attached the shoulder. Two rows of very full bouffants, fastened the dress by gold-colour satin turban folds, ornament he bottom of the skirt. Dress hat of crepe lisse; the brim ircular, with one puffing and another beneath the edge. Lound crown, ornamented with shaded satin ribbon and etrich feathers of white and amber colour. Necklace, ar-rings, and bracelets of topaz and turquoise: the earings large, and of the Chinese bell-shape. French trim ted white kid gloves and white satin shoes.

letter. He had treated that letter lightly, and said he ocean, are rare accompaniments of city grandeur; and
would not answer it. He was not able to keep his resolu- Edinburgh, instead of being a blot upon the fair scene,
tion; and, on finding his correspondent to be a fine young harmonizes with it and ornaments it. The Calton-hill
woman, and distinguished for eccentric notions, he became overlooks it as much as St. Paul's overlooks London. How
so enraptured, so intoxicated, that his time and thoughts different is the scene! From the one, nothing but town
were almost entirely devoted to reading her letters and an- is visible: as far as the eye can reach, the scene is filled
swering them. One morning he was so absorbed in the
the composition of a letter to her, that he barely noticed
me as I entered the room. I said, "Pray go on;" and sat
down at one side of the table at which he was writing,
where I looked over a newspaper for some time. Finding
that he did not conclude, I looked at him, and was asto-
nished at the complete abstraction of his mind, and at the
emanation of his sentiments on his countenance. He had
a peculiar smile on his lips; his eyes beamed the pleasure

he felt from what was passing from his imagination to his
paper; he looked at me, and then at his writing; but I
am persuaded he did not see me, and that the thoughts
with which he seemed labouring, prevented his see-
ing any thing about him. I said, "I see you are
deeply engaged." His ear was as little open to sound
as his eye to vision. I got up, on which he said, "Pray
sit." I answered that I would return. This roused
him a little, and he said, "I wish you would." I do
not think he knew what passed, or observed my quitting
him. The scene gave me great pain; I began to fear that
his fame would be dearly bought. Previous to the appear-
ance of "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage," his mind had
gained some important conquests over his senses; and I
also thought he had barred his heart against the grosser
attacks of the passion of vanity. If these avenues of de-
struction to the soul were again to be thrown open by the
publication of the poem, it were better that it had never been
published. I called upon him the next day, when I found
him in his usual good humour. He told me to whom he had
been writing, and said he hoped I never thought him rude.
I took my usual liberty with him, and honestly warned
him of his new dangers. While I was with him the lady's
page brought him a new letter. He was a fair-faced de-

MORNING DRESS.-Demi-blouse dress of rainbow-licate boy of 18 or 14 years old, whom one might have

aded gros de Naples; the waist long, and the corsage all and straight, and the stripes placed perpendicularly. The sleeves are of the gigot de mouton shape; the upper being very large, and small towards the wrist, where is introduced, and arranged by three flat bands,

art

fulness

ently corded with satin edges; at the bottom of the skirt te four wadded rouleaus of the same material as the ress, headed with narrow satin roleaus, and a broad wadded hem beneath. Lace or worked muslin frills, pelerines, collerettes, are usually worn with high silk dresses: this in the print is a richly worked vandyke muslin pelerine, formed of two rows, with long embroidered ends crossing Over the bust, and confined by the ceinture, which is of gros de Naples, edged with corded satin. The hair is ressed in large curls. Pale yellow gloves and shoes. Reticule of ponceau velvet, with gold chain, clasp, and

Raments.

Biographical Notices.

PALLAS'S RECOLLECTIONS OF LORD BYRON. Among the other marks of favour which the renown of Childe Harold" brought down upon its author, was the e of the Prince Regent, and the condescension of a whose amour with his Lordship seems to have been

yun in admiration of his genius.

taken for the lady herself. He was dressed in a scarlet
hussar jacket and pantaloons, trimmed in front in much
the same way, with silver buttons and twisted silver lace,

narrow

with which the
embroidered. He had light hair curling about his face;
and held a feathered fancy hat in his hand, which com-
pleted the scenic appearance of this urchin Pandarus. I
could not but suspect at the time that it was a disguise.
If so, he never disclosed it to me; and as he had hitherto
had no reserve with me, the thought vanished with the
object of it, and I do not precisely recollect the mode of
his exit. I wished it otherwise, but wishing was in vain.

slit cuffs of his jacket were also

The Traveller.

DESCRIPTION OF EDINBURGH.

On the morning after our arrival, B. called me up at an early hour, and proposed a walk to the Calton-hill. We went the nearest way through some mean lanes, crossing a long street of black and dirty-looking buildings, which had a melancholy air of uninhabitedness.

with human habitations, of which the red-tiled roofs only are visible. From the other, the town, instead of forming the whole scene, appears only as an ornament to the country: as an appropriate decoration of art, to perfect a scene on which nature has lavished her noblest ornaments. Edinburgh is built on three distinct ridges, each contrasting so much with the other as to make even deformity, like the discords in music, add to the beauty of the general effect. The northern ridge is with elegant build

ings of white stone, uniformly disposed in parallel streets, crossed by others at right angles. Queen-street, facing the north, forms a terrace, overlooking the rich gardens which extend to the sea. Prince's-street faces the south, forming another terrace, looking towards the old town, from which it is separated by a valley, in which a lake formerly stood. The openness, the regularity, the elegance of this new part of the town, contrasts finely with the strange and fantastic masses of the enormously-high black edifices of the middle ridge, which, rising gradually from the ancient palace of Holyrood-house, terminates in a perpendicular rock, on which the castle holds a most commanding aspect. The southern ridge is covered with regular streets; but, being at a distance from the place where we stood, my attention was more directed to the part of the town of which we had a bird's eye view, and I could not sufficiently admire the happy effect of contrast, which rendered insipid uniformity beautiful, and blackness and irregularity venerable and sublime. Letters from Scotland.

The Beauties of Chess.

"Ludimus effigiem belli"........... VIDA.

SOLUTION TO GAME ΧΧΙΙ.

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I hurried up the steep hill, glad to escape the hell behind me, and gained the summit before I looked back. I gazed around me with astonishment! I felt as if I had been translated into another world: every unpleasant feature of the picture was thrown into shade. The city lay below us in all the pride of ancient grandeur and modern elegance. Any thing I had ever imagined of superlative magnificence, shrunk into poverty and meanness when my eye fell on this wonderful place; and yet the sublimity of the scene immediately below me was comparatively insignificant with that of the objects which surrounded it. On the north lay the Firth, the estuary of a noble river, to the east widening into the ocean, to the west apparently losing itself in a mass of blue hills, which bounded the distant horison. A rich and beautifullyvaried plain lay between the Firth and the capital, over which, to the south, appeared the Salisbury crags, a cir. ection of which he knew not the value; for while the fruits cular ridge of rocks, presenting the appearance of a hill happiness clustered around him, he neglected them, and of which one half had sunk into the bowels of the earth, There is an exquisitely beautiful work just published came absorbed in gratifications that could only tend to leaving the rocky section to frown in commanding majesty by Ackermann, of the Strand, London, intended as a token

Ivas now (says his biographer) to see Lord Byron in a point of view. The town was full of company, as l in the spring. Besides the speech he had made on frame-breaking bill, he again attracted notice on the tholic question, which was agitated warmly in the Peers the beginning of April. His name was in every mouth, And his opinion in every hand. He converted criticism to dalation, and admiration to love. His stanzas abounded with passages which impressed on the heart of his readers y for the miserable feelings of a youth who could express admirably what he felt; and this pity, uniting with the light proceeding from his poetry, generated a general af

WHITE.

ure the reputation he had gained. He professedly de- over the town. From this strange line of precipices rose a of friendship and affection, entitled, "Forget Me Not," the most captivating charm to his heart. He had not ad- and, stretching far to the west, the Pentland hills formed little momento. The letter-press is neat and elegant; but sed the society of women, yet female adulation became hill, sublime in its altitude and picturesque in its form; for 1825; and, for this purpose, it is assuredly a splendid ladies of his own family to any degree of inti- the southern boundary of the rich plain, which, extending its embellishments are to any thing we have yet acy; his aunts, his cousins, were kept at a distance, and from them to the Forth, was finely ornamented by the Cor- seen. The most eminent artists, such as Westall, Heath, the admirers who had paid their tribute, in prose and verse, the prospect of the distant mountains, the indistinct forms it is altogether a work highly creditable to the enterprise even his sister had hitherto shared the like fate. Among storphine hills, a beautiful ridge, not too high to interrupt and others, have been employed to execute the plates; and the muse of the "pilgrimage," I have already mentioned of which mingled with the clouds. of the publisher, and to the talents of the respective artists Rocks, and hills, and mountains, a noble river and the who have been employed in its execution.-See adv.

mitted the

me who asked for an acknowledgment of the receipt of her

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