"Back water," cries the harpooner, while the coxswain taking the hint at

the same moment, with a sweep of his oar the little boat performs a kind

of curvet backward, and the monster has shot past us unharming, but not

unharmed; the harpooner, cool as ever, has hurled another javelin deep

into him, and smiles half pityingly at this impotent rage, which, he

knows full well, bodes a termination of the contest. The red blood is

spouting forth from four wounds, "neither as deep as a well, nor as wide

as a church-door," but _enough_ to kill--even a whale. He rolls over

heavily and slowly; a few convulsive movements shake his mighty frame;

then he floats motionless on the water--and the whale is dead!

Ropes are now made fast round him, and he is slowly towed away to shore,

opposite the whaling establishment. A crowd is collected to see his huge

body hauled up on to the beach, and to speculate on his size and value.

In two days all his blubber is cut away and melting in the coppers.

Vultures are feeding on his flesh, and men are cleansing his bones. In

two months, barrels of his oil are waiting for shipment to England. The

fringe-work which lined his mouth, and which we call whalebone, is ready

for the uses to which ladies apply it. His teeth, which are beautiful

ivory, are being fashioned into ornaments by the turner; and his immense

ribs are serving as landmarks on the different farms about the country,

for which purpose they are admirably adapted. Meanwhile our friend the

harpooner and his crew are reposing on their laurels, and looking out

for fresh luck; while the proprietor of the establishment is five

hundred pounds the richer from this "catching a whale."

HYDROPHOBIA.

M. Buisson has written to the Paris Academy of Sciences, to claim as

his, a small treatise on hydrophobia, addressed to the academy so far

back as 1835, and signed with a single initial. The case referred to in

that treatise was his own. The particulars, and the mode of cure

adopted, were as follows:--He had been called to visit a woman who, for

three days, was said to be suffering under this disease. She had the

usual symptoms--constriction of the throat, inability to swallow,

abundant secretion of saliva, and foaming at the mouth. Her neighbors

said that she had been bitten by a mad dog about forty days before. At

her own urgent entreaties, she was bled, and died a few hours after, as

was expected.

M. Buisson, who had his hands covered with blood, incautiously cleansed

them with a towel which had been used to wipe the mouth of the patient.

He then had an ulceration upon one of his fingers, yet thought it

sufficient to wipe off the saliva that adhered, with a little water. The

ninth day after, being in his cabriolet, he was suddenly seized with a

pain in his throat, and one, still greater, in his eyes. The saliva was

continually pouring into his mouth; the impression of a current of air,

the sight of brilliant bodies, gave him a painful sensation; his body

appeared to him so light that he felt as though he could leap to a

prodigious height. He experienced, he said, a wish to run and bite, not

men, but animals and inanimate bodies. Finally, he drank with

difficulty, and the sight of water was still more distressing to him

than the pain in his throat. These symptoms recurred every five minutes,

and it appeared to him as though the pain commenced in the affected

finger, and extended thence to the shoulder.

From the whole of the symptoms, he judged himself afflicted with

hydrophobia, and resolved to terminate his life by stifling himself in a

vapor bath. Having entered one for this purpose, he caused the heat to

be raised to 107° 36" Fahr., when he was equally surprised and delighted

to find himself free of all complaint. He left the bathing-room well,

dined heartily, and drank more than usual. Since that time, he says, he

has treated in the same manner more than eighty persons bitten, in four

of whom the symptoms had declared themselves; and in no case has he

failed, except in that of one child, seven years old, who died in the

bath. The mode of treatment he recommends is, that the person bit should

take a certain number of vapor baths (commonly called Russian), and

should induce every night a violent perspiration, by wrapping himself in

flannels, and covering himself with a feather-bed; the perspiration is

favored by drinking freely of a warm decoction of sarsaparilla. He

declares, so convinced is he of the efficacy of his mode of treatment,

that he will suffer himself to be inoculated with the disease. As a

proof of the utility of copious and continual perspiration, he relates

the following anecdote: A relative of the musician Gretry was bitten by

a mad dog, at the same time with many other persons, who all died of

hydrophobia. For his part, feeling the first symptoms of the disease, he

took to dancing, night and day, saying that he wished to die gayly. He

recovered. M. Buisson also cites the old stories of dancing being a

remedy for the bite of a tarantula; and draws attention to the fact,

that the animals in whom this madness is most frequently found to

develop itself spontaneously, are dogs, wolves, and foxes, which never

perspire.

THE DOOM OF THE SLAVER.

AN ENGLISH STORY OF THE AFRICAN BLOCKADE.

On a glorious day, with a bright sun and a light breeze, Her Majesty's

brig Semiramis stood along under easy sail, on a N.W. course up the

Channel of Mozambique. Save the man at the wheel and the "look-outs" in

the tops, every one seemed taking it easy. And indeed there was no

inducement to exertion; for the sky was cloudless, and the temperature

of that balmy warmth that makes mere existence a luxury. The men,

therefore, continued their "yarns" as they lounged in little groups

about the deck; the middies invented new mischief, or teased the cook;

the surgeon divided his time between watching the flying-fish and

reading a new work on anatomy (though he never turned a fresh page);

while the lieutenant of the watch built "châteux-en-Espagne," or

occasionally examined, with his telescope, the blue hills of Madagascar

in the distance.

"Sail ho!" shouted the look-out in the foretop.

"Where away?" cried the lieutenant, springing to his feet, while at the

same moment every man seemed to have lost his listlessness, and to be

eager for action of any kind.

"Over the starboard quarter, making sou' west."

The captain hastened on deck, while the second lieutenant ran aloft to

have a look at the strange craft.

"What do you make her out, Mr. Saunders?" asked the captain.

"A fore-and-aft schooner, hull down."

"'Bout ship," cried the captain; and in an instant every man was at his

post.

"Helm's a lee--raise tacks and sheets"--"mainsail haul," &c.; and in

five minutes the Semiramis was standing in pursuit of the stranger,

while the men were employed in "cracking on" all sail to aid in the

chase.

What is it that makes a chase of any kind so exciting? The indescribable

eagerness which impels human nature to hunt any thing huntable is not

exaggerated in "Vathek," in which the population of a whole city is

described as following in the chase of a black genie, who rolled himself

up into a ball and trundled away before them, attracting even the halt

and the blind to the pursuit. But who shall describe the excitement of a

chase at sea? How eagerly is every eye strained toward the retreating

sails! how anxiously is the result of each successive heaving of the log

listened for! how many are the conjectures as to what the stranger ahead

may prove to be! and how ardent are the hopes that she may turn out a

prize worth taking! For be it remembered that, unlike the chase of a fox

on land, where no one cares for the object pursued, cupidity is enlisted

to add to the excitement of a chase at sea. Visions of prize-money float

before the eyes of every one of the pursuers, from the captain to the

cabin-boy.

The Semiramis, being on the tack she had now taken, considerably to the

windward of the stranger, there was every chance of her soon overtaking

her, provided the latter held the course she was now steering. But who

could hope that she would do that! Indeed, all on board the brig

expected every moment to hear that she was lying off and running away.

If she did not do so, it would be almost a proof that she was engaged in

lawful commerce, and not what they had expected, and, in truth, hoped.

An hour had passed; and the Semiramis had visibly gained on the

schooner; so much so, that the hull of the latter, which was long, low,

black, and rakish-looking, could now be seen from the brig's tops.

"Surely they must see us," said the captain.

"She's just the build of the Don Pedro we took off this coast," said the

second lieutenant, from the maintop.

"I hope she will turn out a better prize," replied the captain.

The truth is, they had captured that same Don Pedro, condemned her, and

broken her up. The captain and owners of her had appealed; proved to the

satisfaction of the Admiralty that she was _not_ engaged in the slave

trade; and, consequently, every man on board the Semiramis who had

assisted at her capture, was obliged to cash up his quota of "damages"

instead of pocketing prize-money. The Don Pedro, therefore, was a sore

subject on board the Semiramis.

Another hour elapsed: the hull of the schooner began to be visible from

the deck of the cruiser. She was a wicked-looking craft; and Jack

slapped his pockets in anticipation of the cash she would bring into

them.

"Well, it's odd she don't alter course, anyhow," said the boatswain on

the forecastle; "may be she wants to throw us off the scent, by

pretending to be all right and proper, and not to have a notion that we

can be coming after her."

"Show the colors," cried the captain on the quarter-deck; "let's see

what flag she sports."

The British ensign was soon floating from the Semiramis; but the

schooner at first showed no colors in reply.

Presently the first lieutenant, who was watching her through the glass,

cried out, "Brazilian by Jove!"

There was a short pause. Every sort of spy-glass in the ship was in

requisition. Every eye was strained to its utmost visual tension. The

captain broke the silence with "Holloa! She's easing off; going to run

for it at last."

"She's a _leetle_ too late," said the lieutenant. "Before the wind these

fore-and-aft schooners are tubs, though _on_ the wind they're clippers."

However, it was clear that the schooner had at last resolved to run for

her life. By going off with the wind she got a good start of the brig;

and, although it was her worst point of sailing, still the breeze was so

light that, while it suited her, it was insufficient to make the heavier

brig sail well.

For three hours the chase continued, and neither vessel seemed to gain

on the other; but the breeze was now freshening, and the Semiramis at

length began to diminish the distance between herself and the Brazilian.

Right ahead, in the course they were pursuing, lay a point of land

projecting far into the sea, and the chart showed a tremendous reef of

rocks extending some three miles beyond it. It was certain that neither

vessels could clear the reef, if they held the course they were then

steering.

"Keep her a little more to windward," cried the captain. "We shall have

her; she will be obliged to haul up in about an hour's time, and then

she can't escape, as we shall be well to windward."

The hour went by; and still the schooner showed no signs of altering her

course. The captain of the Semiramis again examined his charts; but the

reef was clearly laid down, and it seemed utterly impossible that the

schooner could weather it by the course she was then steering. Yet,

either from ignorance of the danger, or from the determination to brave

it, she tried; knowing that if she escaped it and cleared the point, she

would have gained an immense advantage over her pursuers.

It would be impossible to describe the anxiety with which all on board

the Semiramis now watched the little Brazilian. She was literally

rushing into the jaws of destruction; and, as she rose over each

successive wave, it seemed as if she must be dashed on the treacherous

reef at the next dip. Still she stood bravely on; and, though doubtless

the lips of those on board her might be quivering at that moment in the

agony of suspense, the little craft looked so beautiful, and sailed so

gayly, her white sails and slender spars flashing in the sunlight that

even her pursuers mentally prayed for her safety, quite irrespective of

the prize-money they would lose by her destruction on the rocks. Jack

does not like to see a pretty craft run ashore, at any price.

They began almost to think the schooner "bore a charmed life;" for she

seemed to be floating over the very reef itself, and the white foam of

the breakers could be seen all round her.

"Blessed, if I don't think she's the Flying Dutchman," said one blue

jacket to another.

"Gammon, Bill--ain't we round the Cape? and don't you know that's just

where the Flying Dutchman never could get to?" replied his messmate.

The little schooner bounded onward merrily--suddenly she staggers, and

every spar shivers.

"She has struck!" cried twenty voices at once.

Now she rises with a coming wave, and now she settles down again with a

violence that brings her topmasts on the deck.

"Out with the boats," is the order on board the Semiramis, and the men

fly to execute it.

Another wave lifts the schooner--another fearful crash--she rolls

over--her decks are rent asunder--her crew are struggling in the

water--and with them (every man shudders at the sight) hundreds of

negroes, manacled to each other and fettered to the lower deck, are shot

out into the foam.

Bravely pulled the seamen in the boats of the Semiramis; but two strong

swimmers, who had fought their way through the boiling surf were all

they saved. So slight was the build of the little schooner that she had

gone to pieces instantly on striking; and, within sight of the

Semiramis, within hearing of the death-shrieks that rent the air from

_six hundred and thirty human beings_, who, shackled together with heavy

irons, were dashed among the waters, and perished a slow and helpless

death, two only of their jailers survived to tell of the number that had

sunk!

Surely this sad tale may at least be added to the catalogue of ills

produced by England's "good intentions" in striving to suppress the

slave trade.

INDUSTRY OF THE INSANE.

The change that has taken place of late years in the treatment of insane

patients, presents one of the finest features in the civilization of the

age; but the boon of wholesome labor is, perhaps, the greatest benefit

that has yet been conferred upon this class of sufferers. The fact is

strikingly illustrated in the annual report for the last year of the

Royal Edinburgh Asylum. The number of patients treated was 738, and at

the close of the year there remained as inmates 476. Of this latter

number, upward of 380 were employed daily, and sometimes as many as 100

working in the open air in the extensive grounds of the asylum. "Among

these," says Dr. Skae, "may be daily seen many of the most violent and

destructive of the inmates busily engaged in wheeling earth, manure, or

stones, who for years have done little else than destroy their clothing,

or spend their days and nights in restless agitation, or incoherent

raving. The strong necessity which appears to exist, in many cases, for

continual movement, or incessant noise, seems to find vent as naturally

in active manual labor, if it can with any propriety be substituted and

regulated." And a curious illustration of this is given in the case of

"one of the most violent, restless, and unmanageable inmates of the

asylum during the past year," whose calling was that of a miner. He was

"tall and muscular, and occupied himself, if permitted to mix with

others, in pursuing his fellow-patients, and fighting with them; if left

alone in the airing courts, in running round and knocking his elbows

violently on the stone walls; and if secluded, in continual

vociferations and incessant knocking on the wall. I directed him to be

sent to the grounds, and employed with the wheelbarrow--a special

attendant being intrusted with him on his _début_. Hard work seemed to

be all he required. He spent his superfluous energies in wheeling

stones; he soon proved himself to be one of the most useful and

able-bodied of the awkward squad, and ere long was restored to his

natural condition--that of a weak-minded but industrious coal-miner."

Oakum-picking proves a useful occupation not only for imbeciles capable

of no higher industry, but for malingerers and idlers, who are soon

anxious to escape from it into the shoemaker's, tailor's, blacksmith's,

or carpenter's shops. "In the same manner the females have been

gradually broken into habits of industry to a degree hitherto

unprecedented. Those who have done nothing for many years but mutter to

themselves, or crouch in corners, now sew or knit from morning till

night. Knitting, sewing, straw-bonnet making, and other occupations, are

carried on throughout the house to such an extent that, I fear, in a

very short time, unless some outlet is obtained for exportations, we

shall be at a loss to know what to do." In addition to the usual

handicraft employments, which are all practiced in the establishment, it

is interesting to observe that some patients occupy themselves in

engraving, drawing, and land-surveying. A considerable portion of one of

the houses has been elegantly painted, and in part refurnished, by the

patients.--_Chambers._

MONTHLY RECORD OF CURRENT EVENTS.

Congress adjourned on the 30th of September, in accordance with the

resolution noticed in the last number of the Magazine. Very little

business of general interest was transacted in addition to that of which

a record has already been made. The appropriation bills were passed, and

in one of them was inserted a prohibition of flogging in the navy and

aboard merchant vessels of the United States, which received the

sanction of both houses and became a law. A provision was also inserted,

granting land bounties to soldiers in the war of 1812, and in any of the

previous wars of the United States. The passage of the bill involving,

directly or indirectly, the slavery issue, of which we have already

given a full account, restored a greater degree of harmony and of

calmness to both branches of Congress than had hitherto prevailed, and

the same influence has had an important effect, though to a less extent,

upon the country at large.

The political incidents of the month have not been without interest. A

State Convention, representing the Whigs of New York, assembled at

Syracuse, on the 27th of September, for the nomination of State

officers. Hon. Francis Granger was chosen President, and a committee was

appointed to report resolutions expressing the sentiments of the

Convention,--Hon. William Duer, member of Congress from the Oswego

district, being Chairman. The resolutions were at once reported. They

expressed confidence in the national administration, approved the

measures recently adopted by Congress connected with slavery, and

declared the respect of the Convention for the motives which had

animated the Whig Senator from New York, and the majority of the New

York Congressional delegation in the course they had taken upon them. By

a vote of the majority, the Convention proceeded to the nomination of

State officers--the minority refusing to participate in the current

business until the resolutions should have been acted on. Hon.

Washington Hunt was nominated for Governor, George J. Cornell, of New

York City, for Lieutenant Governor, Ebenezer Blakely, for Canal

Commissioner, Abner Baker, for State Prison Inspector, and Wessel S.

Smith, for Clerk of the Court of Appeals. After the nominations had been

made, the resolutions were taken up. A substitute for part of them was

offered by Hon. George W. Cornwell of Cayuga County, expressing

confidence in the ability, patriotism, and statesmanship of President

Fillmore, and approving of the course pursued by Mr. Seward in the

Senate of the United States. The latter resolution passed by a vote of

76 to 40; and the minority immediately withdrew from the Convention, the

President, Mr. Granger, leaving the chair, and organized anew elsewhere.

One of the Vice Presidents took the chair thus vacated, and the

Convention, after completing its business, and appointing a State Whig

Central Committee, adjourned. The seceders appointed a committee to

issue an address, and adjourned. The Address soon after appeared, and

after reciting the history of the Syracuse Convention, aiming to show

that its approval of the course of Senator Seward deprived its doings of

all binding force, concluded by calling a convention of delegates,

representing those Whigs who disapproved of the action at Syracuse, to

be held at Utica, on the 17th of October. Delegates were accordingly

elected in nearly all the counties of the state, and the Convention met

on the day appointed. Hon. Francis Granger was elected President.

Resolutions, setting forth the position and principles of those

represented, were passed, and the candidates nominated at Syracuse were

adopted. The Convention appointed another State Central Committee, and

then adjourned. It will be observed that the only point in which the two

conventions came into collision, so far as future political movements

are concerned, is in the appointment of those two committees. Each will,

undoubtedly, endeavor to exercise the ordinary functions of such

committees, in calling state conventions, &c., and thus will arise a

direct conflict of claims which may lead to a permanent division of the

party.----Hon. WASHINGTON HUNT has written a letter in reply to

inquiries from Mr. GRANGER, in which he declines to express any opinion

as to the differences which arose at Syracuse. So far as that difference

relates to the merits of individuals, he considers it unworthy the

attention of a great party, each individual of which must be left

entirely at liberty to entertain his own opinion and preferences. He

considers the Whigs of the North pledged to oppose the extension of

slavery into free territory, and refers to their previous declarations

upon the subject, to show that the South must not ask or expect them to

abandon that position. He says that the terms on which the Texas

boundary dispute was settled, were not altogether satisfactory to him,

but he nevertheless cheerfully acquiesces in them since they have become

the law of the land. He expresses dissatisfaction with the provisions of

the Fugitive Slave bill, thinking it far more likely to increase

agitation than allay it, and says that it will require essential

modifications. He very earnestly urges union and harmony in the councils

of the Whig party.----The Anti-Renters held a convention at Albany, and

made up a ticket for state offices, selected from the nominations of

the two political parties. Hon. Washington Hunt was adopted as

their candidate for Governor, and Ebenezer Blakely for Canal

Commissioner--both being the Whig nominees for the same offices: the

others were taken from the Democratic ticket.----Considerable excitement

prevails in some of the Southern States in consequence of the admission

of California at the late session of Congress. Governor Quitman of

Mississippi has called an extra session of the Legislature, to commence

on the 23d of November, to consider what measures of resistance and

redress are proper. In South Carolina a similar sentiment prevails,

though the Governor has decided, for prudential reasons, not to convene

the Legislature in extra session. In Georgia a state convention,

provided for in certain contingencies at the late session of the

Legislature, is soon to meet, and a very active popular canvass is going

on for the election of delegates--the character of the measures to be

adopted forming the dividing line. Some are for open resistance and

practical secession from the Union, while others oppose such a course as

unwarranted by any thing experienced thus far, and as certain to entail

ruin upon the Southern States. Hon. C.J. JENKINS, who declined a seat in

the Cabinet, tendered to him by President FILLMORE, has taken very high

ground against the disunionists, saying that no action hostile to the

South has been had by Congress, but that all her demands have been

conceded. In every Southern State a party exists warmly in favor of

preserving the Union, and in most of them it will probably be

successful.----The Legislature of Vermont commenced its annual session

on the 13th ult. Hon. SOLOMON FOOTE has been elected U.S. Senator to

succeed Hon. S.S. PHELPS whose term expires in March next.----GEORGE N.

BRIGGS has been nominated by the Whigs for re-election as Governor of

Massachusetts.----The _Arctic_, the third of the American line of mail

steamers, between New York and Liverpool, is completed, and will very

soon take her place; the _Baltic_ will soon be ready.----The assessed

value of real and personal property in the City of New York, according

to a late report of the Board of Supervisors, is set at 286 millions;

the tax on which is $339,697. This property is all taxed to about 6,000

persons. The increase for the year is thirty millions, nearly 10 per

cent. The value of the real and personal estate of the State of New

York, according to the last report of the Comptroller, was $536,161,901.

The State tax of 1849 amounted to $278,843.10; of which $130,000, or

nearly one half, was paid by the city.----Some years since a colony of

Swedes settled in the northwestern part of Illinois, in Henry county,

near the Mississippi. They are represented as an industrious and

thriving people, supporting themselves chiefly by the manufacture of

table-cloths, napkins, sheets, and other linens. Last year they suffered

much from the cholera; but their numbers will soon be increased by a

new colony of about 300 members who are now on their way from Sweden,

and are expected soon to arrive with a considerable amount of capital,

the fruits of the sale of their own property, and the property of their

brethren already here.----A good deal of excitement prevails in some of

the Northern States in regard to the execution of the new law for the

recovery of fugitive slaves. The first instance in which it was carried

into effect occurred in New York city, where a fugitive named James

Hamlet, who had lived in Williamsburgh for some two years with his

family, was apprehended, taken to Baltimore, and restored to his owner.

The process was so summary that no resistance was offered or excitement

created: but after the whole was over a great deal of feeling was

elicited, and money enough was speedily raised by subscription to

purchase the slave, who was returned to his family amidst great public

demonstrations of rejoicing among the colored population. In Detroit an

attempt to arrest a fugitive excited a popular resistance to suppress

which it was found necessary to call out troops of the United States;

the negro was seized, but purchased by voluntary subscriptions. Large

public meetings have been held in various cities and towns, to protest

against the law, and to devise measures for defeating its operation. One

of the largest was held at Boston on the 4th ult., at which Hon. Josiah

Quincy presided. The tone of the address and resolutions was less

inflammatory than in many other places, as obedience to the law while it

stands upon the statute book was enjoined; but its spirit was warmly

reprobated, and the necessity of agitating for its immediate repeal was

strongly urged. Fugitives from service at the South are very numerous in

portions of the Northern States. Many of them, since the passage of the

law, have taken refuge in Canada, while others depend on the sympathy of

the community in which they live for immunity from the operation of the

law. The law undoubtedly requires modification in some of its details,

but the main object it is designed to secure is so clearly within the

provisions of the Federal Constitution that its enforcement is

universally felt to be a public duty.----JENNY LIND, whose arrival and

public reception in New York were mentioned in our last number, has been

giving concerts in that city, Boston, Providence, and Philadelphia. In

each place there has been a strong competition in the purchase of the

first ticket for the first concert. In New York it was sold for $250; in

Boston for $625; in Providence $650; and in Philadelphia $625. The

evident object of the purchaser in each case was notoriety. Her concerts

have been densely crowded, and the public excitement in regard to her

continues unabated.----Intelligence has been received from Rome, that

the Pope, at the request of the late council assembled in Baltimore, has

erected the See of New York into an Arch-episcopal See, with the Sees of

Boston, Hartford, Albany, and Buffalo, as Suffragan Sees. The Right

Rev. Bishop HUGHES is, of course, elevated to the dignity of Archbishop.

The brief of the Pope is signed by Cardinal Lambruschini, and is dated

on the 19th of July last.----Public sentiment in Texas seems to be

decidedly in favor of accepting the terms offered in the Boundary Bill.

No official action has yet been had upon the subject, but it is believed

that the Legislature will either accept the proposition at once or

submit it to a popular vote. Mr. KAUFMAN, one of the Members of Congress

from that State, has addressed a circular to his constituents, refuting

many of the objections that have been urged against the bill. The area

of Texas, with the boundary now established, is 237,321 miles, which is

more than five times that of New-York.----An interesting official

correspondence between our Government and that of Central America, has

recently been published, mainly relating to the subject of canals and

railroads across the Isthmus. Mr. CLAYTON'S plan appears to have been to

encourage, by every constitutional means, every railroad company, as

well as every canal company, that sought to shorten the transit between

the American States on both oceans. For this purpose he endeavored to

extend the protection of this Government to the railroads at Panama and

Tehuantepec. It was not his purpose to exclude other nations from the

right of passage, but to admit them all on the same terms; that is,

provided they would all agree equally to protect the routes--a principle

adopted originally by President JACKSON, in pursuance of a resolution of

the Senate, of which Mr. CLAYTON was the author, while a member of that

body, on the 3d of March, 1835. The principles of this resolution were

fully sustained by General JACKSON, who sent Mr. BIDDLE to Central

America and New Grenada for the purpose, and were afterward fully

adopted by President POLK, as appears by his message transmitting to the

Senate the treaty for the Panama railroad. General TAYLOR followed in

the same train with his predecessors, as appears by his message of

December last, thus fully sustaining the views of the Senate resolution

of the 3d of March, 1835, the principles of which may now be considered

as illustrating the policy of the American Government on this

subject.----In accordance with the provisions of the treaty recently

concluded with the United States, the British Government has withdrawn

all its demands for port and other dues from the harbor of San Juan de

Nicaragua, and the navigation of that noble river and the lakes

connected with it are fully open to American enterprise.----A shock of

an earthquake was felt at Cleveland, Ohio, on the 1st of October. The

shock lasted about two seconds, and was so violent as to produce a

jarring and rattling of windows and furniture, and was accompanied by a

rumbling sound, like distant thunder, which lasted three or four

seconds. On the same night a very brilliant meteor was observed in the

Eastern States, and a very remarkable aurora at sea.----The General

Convention of the Episcopal Church has been in session at Cincinnati.

The House of Bishops, to which the subject had been referred by the

Diocese of New York, has decided against the restoration of Bishop

Onderdonk, by a vote of two to one, and the General Convention has

provided for the election of an Assistant Bishop in such

cases.----Conventions in Virginia and Indiana are in session for the

revision of the Constitutions of those States.----The U.S. Consul at

Valparaiso has written a letter concerning the establishment of a line

of monthly steamers between that port and Panama. Since the discovery of

the gold mines in California, he says, the travel and trade upon that

coast has increased fivefold. For the last ten years there has been in

successful operation a line of English steamers plying between Panama,

in New Grenada, and Valparaiso, in Chili, with a grant from the British

Government of _one hundred thousand dollars per annum_, for the purpose

of carrying the English mail; which, together with the immense amount of

travel, in the last four years, renders it a most lucrative monopoly.

The charter, originally granted to the company for ten years, has lately

expired, and the liberal Republics of Chili, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia

have peremptorily refused to renew the monopoly, and have generously

opened their ports to the competition of American steamers. Between

Valparaiso and Panama there are twenty-one different ports at which

these steamers stop, in performing their monthly trips to and fro, for

freight and passengers, leaving Panama on the 27th and Valparaiso on the

30th of each month. The voyage is punctually performed in twenty-four

days. The feasibility of establishing an American line of steamers upon

that coast is strongly urged. The wealth of the silver mines of Copiapo

is so great that every English steamer at Panama transmits hundreds of

thousands of dollars' worth to England in solid bars.

* * * * *

From CALIFORNIA we have intelligence to the 15th of September. The

disturbances at Sacramento City, growing out of resistance to the land

claims, have entirely subsided, the squatters having been dispersed.

Three or four persons were killed upon each side in the riots of which

we have already given an account. A gentleman had arrived in California

deputed by Mr. LETCHER, U.S. Minister in Mexico, to attend to the

settlement of land titles. He had expressed the belief that most of the

grants made by the Governors before the acquisition of California by the

United States will be confirmed by our Government, on the evidence Mr.

Letcher is prepared to furnish from the official records in the city of

Mexico, as to the invariable practice of the Mexican Government in this

particular. His assurances upon the subject had given general

satisfaction.----Early in September there was a complete panic in the

money market at San Francisco, and several of the most prominent houses

had failed. Confidence, however, had been fully restored at the date of

our latest advices. The losses by the three great fires which had

visited the city were supposed to have occasioned the monetary

difficulties.----Fears were entertained that the overland emigrants

would suffer greatly during the present season. It was believed that ten

thousand were on the way who had not crossed the Great Desert, one half

of whom would be destitute of subsistence and teams on reaching Carson

River. They had been deceived into taking a longer and more difficult

route, and had lost most of their animals, and not unfrequently men,

women, and children had sunk under the hardships of the road, and

perished of hunger or thirst.----Indian difficulties still continued in

different parts of California, the troops and citizens were making some

progress in breaking up the bands which caused them the most

difficulty.----The accounts from the mines continue to be highly

encouraging. It is unnecessary to give in detail the reports from the

various localities; they were all yielding abundant returns. It was

believed that much larger quantities of gold will be taken from the

mines this season than ever before.----From the 1st of August to Sept.

13th, there arrived at San Francisco by sea 5940 persons, and 4672 had

left.----The tax upon foreign miners does not succeed as a revenue

measure.----The expedition which sailed in July last to the Klamath and

Umpqua rivers, has returned to San Francisco. It has been ascertained

that the Klamath and Trinity unite, and form the river which discharges

its waters into the sea, in latitude 41° 34´ north, and that there is no

river answering to the description of the Klamath, in 42° 26´, as laid

down in the charts of Frémont and Wilkes. From this river, the

expedition visited the Umpqua, which they found to have an opening into

the sea, of nearly one mile in width, with some three or four fathoms of

water on the bar, and navigable about thirty miles up, when it opens

into a rich agricultural district.

* * * * *

From OREGON our advices are to Sept. 2. There is no news of general

interest. The country seems to be steadily prosperous. New towns are

springing up at every accessible point, and a commercial interest being

awakened that is highly commendable. The frequency of communication by

steam between California and Oregon strongly identifies their interests.

* * * * *

From ENGLAND there is no intelligence of much interest. The reception of

Baron Haynau by the brewers of London has engaged the attention, and

excited the discussion of all the organs of opinion in Europe. Most of

the English journals condemn in the most earnest language the conduct of

the mob, as disgraceful to the country, while only a few of them express

any special sympathy with the victim of it. The London _Times_ is more

zealous in his defense than any other paper. It not only denounces the

treatment he received at the hands of the English populace, but

endeavors to vindicate him from the crimes laid to his charge, and

assails the Hungarian officers and soldiers in turn with great

bitterness. In its anxiety to apologize for Haynau, it asserts that

English officers, and among them the Duke of Wellington and General Sir

Lacy Evans, committed acts during their campaigns quite as severe as

those with which he is charged. This line of defense, however, avails

but little with the English people. The public sentiment is unanimous in

branding Haynau as one of the most ruthless monsters of modern times,

and the verdict is abundantly sustained by the incidents and deeds of

his late campaigns. After his expulsion from England he returned to

Austria, being received with execrations and indignities at several

cities on his route.----Further advices have been received from the

Arctic Expedition sent in search of Sir John Franklin, but they contain

no satisfactory intelligence. A report, derived from an Esquimaux Indian

whom Sir John Ross met near the northern extremity of Baffin's Bay,

states that in the winter of 1846 two ships were broken by the ice a

good way off from that place, and destroyed by the natives, and that the

officers and crews, being without ammunition, were killed by the

Indians. The story is very loosely stated, and is generally discredited

in England. The vessel, Prince Albert, attached to the Expedition, has

arrived at Aberdeen, and announced the discovery, at Cape Reilley and

Beechy Island, at the entrance of the Wellington Channel, of traces of

five places where tents had been fixed, of great quantities of beef,

pork, and birds' bones, and of a piece of rope with the Woolwich mark

upon it. These were considered, with slight grounds, however, undoubted

traces of Sir John Franklin's expedition. The exploring vessels were

pushing boldly up Wellington Channel.----The preparations for the great

Industrial Exhibition of 1851, are going on rapidly and satisfactorily.

In nearly every country of Europe, extensive arrangements are in

progress for taking part in it, while in London the erection of the

necessary buildings is steadily going forward.----A curious and

interesting correspondence with respect to the cultivation of cotton in

Liberia has taken place between President Roberts, of Liberia, Lord

Palmerston, the Board of Trade, and the Chamber of Commerce at

Manchester, tending to show that cotton may be made a most important

article of cultivation in the African republic.----Lord Clarendon has

been making the tour of Ireland, and has been received in a very

friendly manner by the people of every part of the island. He took every

opportunity of encouraging the people to rely upon their own industry

and character for prosperity, and pledged the cordial co-operation of

the country in all measures that seemed likely to afford them

substantial aid or relief.----The statutes constituting the Queen's

University in Ireland have received the sanction of the Queen, and gone

into effect.----A Captain Mogg has been tried and fined for endangering

lives by setting the wheels of his steamboat in operation while a number

of skiffs and other light boats were in his immediate vicinity.----The

ship Indian, a fine East Indiaman, was wrecked on the 4th of April, near

the Mauritius. She struck upon a reef and almost immediately went to

pieces. The utmost consternation prevailed among the officers and crew.

The captain seized and lowered the boat, and with eight seamen left the

ship: they were never heard of again. Those who remained succeeded in

constructing a rude raft, on which they lived fourteen days, suffering

greatly from hunger and thirst, and were finally rescued by a passing

ship.----Two steamers, the Superb and Polka, were lost, the former on

the 16th, and the latter on the 24th, between the island of Jersey and

St. Malo. No lives were lost by the Superb, but ten persons perished in

the wreck of the Polka.----The Queen has been visiting Scotland.----Some

of the Irish papers have been telling astounding stories of apparitions

of the _Great Sea Serpent_. A Mr. T. Buckley, writing from Kinsale on

the 11th instant, informs the Cork Reporter that he was induced by some

friends to go to sea, in the hope of falling in with the interesting

stranger, and that he was not long kept in suspense, for "a little to

the west of the Old Head the monster appeared." Its size, he truly

avers, is beyond all description, and the head, he adds, very like a

(bottle-nose) whale. One of the party fired the usual number of shots,

but, of course, without effect.

* * * * *

Of LITERARY INTELLIGENCE there is but little in any quarter. A good deal

of interest has been excited by a discreditable attack made by the Whig

Review upon the distinguished author Mr. G.P.R. JAMES. The Review

discovered in an old number of the Dublin University Magazine some

verses written by Mr. JAMES for a friend who without his knowledge sent

them for publication. They were upon the clamor that was then afloat

about war between England and the United States: Mr. James, alluding to

the threats from America against England, had said that "bankrupt states

were blustering high;" and had also spoken of Slavery in the United

States as a "living lie," which British hands in the event of a war,

would wipe out and let their bondmen free. The Review denounces Mr.

James, in very coarse and abusive terms for the poem, and seeks to

excite against him the hostility of the American people. The matter was

commented upon in several of the journals, and Mr. James wrote a manly

letter to his legal adviser Mr. M.B. FIELD, which is published in the

_Courier and Enquirer_, in which he avows himself the author of the

verses in question, explains the circumstances under which they were

written, and urges the injustice of making them the ground of censure or

complaint. His letter has been received with favor by the press

generally, which condemns the unjust and unwarrantable assault of the

Review upon the character of this distinguished author. It is stated

that Mr. James intends to become an American citizen, and that he has

already taken the preliminary legal steps.----The principal publishers

are engaged in preparing gift-books for the coming holidays. The

APPLETONS have issued a very elegant and attractive work, entitled "Our

Saviour with Prophets and Apostles," containing eighteen highly finished

steel engravings, with descriptions by leading American divines. It is

edited by Rev. Dr. WAINWRIGHT and forms one of the most splendid volumes

ever issued in this country. They have also issued a very interesting

volume of Tales by Miss MARIA J. McINTOSH, entitled "Evenings at

Donaldson Manor," which will be popular beyond the circle for which it

is immediately designed.----Other works have been issued of which

notices will more appropriately be found in another department of this

Magazine.----The English market for the month is entirely destitute of

literary novelties.----A series of interesting experiments has been

undertaken by order of Government, for the purpose of testing the value

of iron as a material for the construction of war-steamers. When the

vessels are comparatively slight, it is found that a shot going through

the side exposed, makes a clean hole of its own size, which might be

readily stopped; but on the opposite side of the vessel the effect is

terrific, tearing off large sheets; and even when the shot goes through,

the rough edges being on the outside, it is almost impossible to stop

the hole. If the vessels are more substantially constructed the

principal injury takes place on the side exposed; and this is so great

that two or three shot, or even a single one, striking below water line,

would endanger the ship. As the result of the whole series of

experiments, the opinion is expressed that iron, whether used alone or

in combination with wood, can not be beneficially used for the

construction of vessels of war.----The wires of the submarine telegraph

having been found too weak to withstand the force of the waves, it has

been determined to incase the wires in a ten-inch cable, composed of

what is called "whipped plait," with wire rope, all of it chemically

prepared so as to protect it from rot, and bituminized. A wire thus

prepared is calculated to last for twenty years.----In the allotment of

space in the Industrial Exhibition, 85,000 square feet have been

assigned to the United States; 60,000 to India; 47,050 to the remaining

British colonies and possessions; 5000 to China. Hamburg asked for

28,800, and France for 100,000 feet. Commissions have been formed in

Austria, Spain, and Turkey.----A correspondent of the Chronicle says

that the great beauty of the leaves of some American trees and plants

renders them an appropriate article of ornament, and suggests that

specimens preserved be sent to the Exhibition; and that a large demand

for them would ensue.----An edition of the Works of JOHN OWEN, to be

comprised in sixteen volumes, under the editorial charge of Rev.

William H. Goold, has been commenced. The doctrinal works will occupy

five volumes, the practical treatises four, and the polemical seven. The

first volume contains a life of Owen, by Rev. Andrew Thomson of

Edinburgh. This edition is edited with remarkable fidelity and care, and

will prove a valuable accession to theological literature.----Washington

Irving has received from Mr. Murray £9767 for copyrights and £2500 from

Mr. Bentley, who has paid nearly £16,000 to Cooper, Prescott, and Herman

Melville.----The Principal Theological Faculties in Germany are those of

Berlin and Halle. The subjoined list will show that almost all the

Professors have attained a wide reputation in the department of sacred

letters. At Berlin the Professors are: NITZSCH, Theology, Dogmatic, and

Practical; HENGSTENBERG and VATKE, Exegesis of the Old and New

Testaments, and Introduction; TWESTEN, Exegesis of the New Testament,

Dogmatic Theology; F. STRAUSS, Homiletics; JACOBI, Ecclesiastical

History; UBBMANN, Oriental Languages. The Professors at Halle are:

JULIUS MULLER, Theology, Dogmatic, and Practical; THOLUCK, Exegesis and

Moral Philosophy; HUPFELD, Hebrew and Oriental Languages; GUERICKE,

Ecclesiastical History, Introduction; HERZOG, MAYER, and THILO,

Ecclesiastical History.----A new apparatus for the production of heat

has been invented by Mr. D.O. Edwards. It is named the "atmopyre," or

solid gas fire. A small cylinder of pipe clay, varying in length from

two to four inches, perforated with holes the fiftieth of an inch in

diameter, in imitation of Davy's safety lamp, is employed. The cylinder

has a circular hole at one end, which fits upon a "fish-tail" burner;

gas is introduced into the interior of the cylinder, with the air of

which it becomes mixed, forming a kind of artificial fire-damp. This

mixture is ignited on the outside of the vessel, and burns entirely on

the exterior of the earthenware, which is enveloped in a coat of pale

blue flame. The clay cylinder which Mr. Edwards calls a "hood," soon

becomes red hot, and presents the appearance of a solid red flame. All

the heat of combustion is thus accumulated on the clay, and is thence

radiated. One of these cylinders is heated to dull redness in a minute

or two; but an aggregate of these "hoods" placed in a circle or cluster,

and inclosed in an argillaceous case, are heated to an orange color, and

the case itself becomes bright red. By surrounding this "solid gas fire"

with a series of cases, one within another, Mr. Edwards has obtained a

great intensity of heat, and succeeded in melting gold, silver, copper,

and even iron. Mr. Palmer, the engineer of the Western Gas-light

Company, by burning two feet of gas in an atmopyre of twelve "hoods,"

raised the temperature of a room measuring 8551 cubic feet, five degrees

of Fahrenheit in seventeen minutes. The heat generated by burning gas in

this way is 100 per cent. greater than that engendered by the ordinary

gas flame when tested by the evaporation of water. 25 feet of gas burnt

in an atmopyre per hour, produces steam sufficient for one-horse power.

Hence the applicability of the invention to baths, brewing, &c.----At

the late meeting of the British Association, Major Rawlinson, after

enumerating many interesting particulars of the progress of Assyrian

discoveries, stated that Mr. Layard, in excavating part of the palace at

Nineveh had found a large room filled with what appeared to be the

archives of the empire, ranged in successive tables of terra cotta, the

writings being as perfect as when the tablets were first stamped. They

were piled in huge heaps, from the floor to the ceiling, and he had

already filled five large cases for dispatch to England, but had only

cleared out one corner of the apartment. From the progress already made

in reading the inscriptions, he believed we should be able pretty well

to understand the contents of these tables--at all events, we should

ascertain their general purport, and thus gain much valuable

information. A passage might be remembered in the Book of Ezra, where

the Jews having been disturbed in building the Temple, prayed that

search might be made in the house of records for the edict of Cyrus

permitting them to return to Jerusalem. The chamber recently found might

be presumed to be the House of Records of the Assyrian Kings, where

copies of the Royal edicts were duly deposited. When these tablets had

been examined and deciphered, he believed that we should have a better

acquaintance with the history, the religion, the philosophy, and the

jurisprudence of Assyria 1500 years before the Christian era, than we

had of Greece or Rome during any period of their respective

histories.----M. Guillen y Calomarde has just discovered a new

telescopic star between the polar star and Cynosure, near to the rise of

the tail of the Little Bear--a star at least that certainly did not

exist in October last. According to the observations of M. Calomarde,

the new star should have an increasing brilliancy, and it is likely that

in less than a month this star, which now is visible only through a

telescope, may be seen with the naked eye.----The Senate of the

University of Padua is at present preparing for publication two curious

works, of which the manuscripts are in the library of that

establishment. One is a translation in Hebrew verse of the "Divina

Commedia," of Dante, by Samuel Rieti, Grand Rabbi of Padua, in the 16th

century. The second is a translation of Ovid's "Metamorphoses," likewise

in Hebrew, in stanzas of 18 verses of a very complicated metre, from the

pen of the Rabbi.----ELIOT WARBURTON is engaged in collecting materials

for a History of the Poor, which is to appear in the spring.

The captain and second mate of the steamer Orion, which was wrecked in

June, have been sentenced, the former to eighteen months' imprisonment,

the latter to ten years' transportation, for gross and culpable

negligence of duty.----Lieutenant Gale, somewhat celebrated as an

aeronaut, lost his life while making an ascent on horseback at

Bordeaux. He had descended in safety, and the horse was removed; the

diminution of the weight caused the balloon to ascend rapidly, with the

aeronaut, who was somewhat intoxicated, clinging to it. He of course

soon fell, and, a day or two after, his body was found, with the limbs

all broken, and mutilated by dogs.----Mr. Mongredien, a London

corn-factor, has published a pamphlet, in which he endeavors to estimate

the probable amount of home-grown food upon which Ireland can calculate

the coming year. As the result of extensive inquiries, he is of the

opinion that the potato crop will suffice as food for the masses only

until January; and that the wheat-crop amounts to but three-fourths of

last year's amount.----The Postmaster General has directed that all

letters addressed to the United States, shall be forwarded by the first

mail packet that sails, whether British or American, unless specially

directed otherwise.----Viscount Fielding, who occupied the chair at the

great Church Meeting in Free-Mason's Hall, on the 23d of July, has

abandoned the English Church for that of Rome.----A number of the

Catholic bishops of Ireland were appointed by government as official

visitors of the New College, to which they were known to be bitterly

opposed. The appointments have been scornfully rejected by the

bishops.----The Britannia Bridge, one of the greatest triumphs of modern

engineering, was completed on the 13th of September, by the lowering of

the last of the tubes to its permanent resting-place. Some curious

acoustic effects have been observed in connection with this work. Pistol

shots, or any sonorous noises, are echoed within the tube half a dozen

times. The cells at the top and bottom, are used by the engineers as

speaking tubes, and they can carry on conversation through them in

whispers; by elevating the voice persons may converse through the length

of the bridge--nearly a quarter of a mile. The total cost of the entire

structure has been £601,865. The total weight of each of the wrought

iron roadways now completed, represents 12,000 tons, supported on a

total mass of masonry of a million and a half cubic feet, erected at the

rate of three feet in a minute.----Mount Blanc was ascended on the 29th

of September, to its top-most peak, by two gentlemen from Ireland, Mr.

Gratton, late of the army, and Mr. Richards, with a party of the brave

mountaineers of Chamouni. The enterprise was considered so dangerous,

that the guides left their watches and little valuables behind, and the

two gentlemen made their wills, and prepared for the worst. The ascent

is always accompanied with great peril, as steps have to be cut up the

sloping banks of the ice; one of the largest glaciers has to be passed,

where one false step entails certain death, as the unfortunate falls

into a crevice of almost unknown depth, from which no human hand could

extricate him. A night has to be passed on the cold rock amidst the

thunders of the avalanche, and spots have to be passed where, it is

said, no word can be spoken lest thousands of tons of snow should be set

in motion, and thus hurl the party into eternity, as was the case some

years back when a similar attempt was made. This latter impression,

however, as to the effect of the voice upon masses of snow, is

unquestionably absurd. An avalanche may have occurred simultaneously

with a conversation; but that the latter caused the former is

incredible.----The Turkish government has manifested its intention to

set Kossuth and his companions at liberty in September, the end of the

year stipulated in the Convention. Austria, however, remonstrates,

contending that the year did not commence till the moment of

incarceration. The prisoners are to be sent in a government vessel

either to England or America, and are to be furnished with 500 piastres

each, to meet their immediate wants on landing.----The two American

vessels, Advance and Rescue, sent in search of Sir John Franklin, had

been seen by an English whale-ship west of Devil's Thumb, in Greenland,

having advanced 500 miles since last heard from.----The new Cunard

Steamer Africa, of the same dimensions with the Asia, is nearly ready to

take her place in the line, and the Company are about to commence

another ship of still larger size and power.----Disastrous inundations

have destroyed all the crops in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy.

Subscriptions were opened in Milan, the aggregate amount of which (about

50,000 francs) was sent to the relief of the unfortunate

inhabitants.----There are in the prisons at Naples at present no less

than 40,000 political prisoners; and the opinion is that, from the

crowded state of the jails, the greater number will go mad, become

idiots, or die.----Lines of electric telegraph are extending rapidly

over Central Europe. Within four months, 1000 miles have been opened in

Austria, making 2000 in that empire, of which 500 are under ground.

Another 1000 miles will be ready next year. The telegraph now works from

Cracow to Trieste, 700 miles.----On the 1st of October, the new

telegraph union between Austria, Prussia, Saxony, and Bavaria, was to

come into operation, under a uniform tariff, which is one-half of the

former charges.----The Hungarian musicians accustomed to perform their

national airs in the streets of Vienna, have been ordered to quit the

city. It is said they will go through Europe, in order to excite popular

sympathy in behalf of their unfortunate country, by means of their

music, the great characteristic of which is a strange mixture of wild

passion and deep melancholy.----After eight years' labor, the gigantic

statue of the King of Bavaria has been finished, and is now placed on

the hill of Saint Theresa, near Munich. The bronze of the statue cost

92,600 florins, or £11,800.----The will of Sir Robert Peel prohibits his

executors investing any of his real or personal property on securities

in Ireland.----From a late parliamentary return, it appears there are

thirty-two iron steamers in Her Majesty's Navy.----Recent letters from

the East speak of very valuable and expensive sulphur mines just

discovered upon the borders of the Red Sea, in Upper Egypt. The products

of these mines are said to be so abundant, that a material fall in the

prices of Sicilian sulphur must inevitably soon take place. The working

of the newly-discovered mine and its productiveness are greatly

facilitated by its proximity to the sea. The Egyptian Government, which

at first leased the mines to a private company, is now about to resume

possession and work them on its own account.

* * * * *

From FRANCE the only intelligence of interest relates to political

movements, concerning which, moreover, there is nothing but partisan and

unreliable rumors. The President, in his various letters, addresses,

&c., insists uniformly on the necessity of maintaining the existing

order of things, and speaks confidently of an appeal to the people.

Contradictory rumors prevail as to his intentions--some believing that

he meditates a _coup-d'état_, but most regarding his movements as aimed

to secure the popular vote. The Assembly is to meet on the 11th of

November, and his opponents intend then to force him to some

ultra-constitutional act which will afford them ground for an appeal. A

series of military reviews has engaged public attention; they have been

closely watched for incidents indicative of the President's purposes: it

is remarked that those who salute him as Emperor are always rewarded for

it by some preference over others.----The Councils-general of France

have closed their annual session. The chief topic of their deliberations

has been the revision of the Constitution, and the result is of interest

as indicating the state of public opinion upon that subject. It seems

that twenty-one councils separated without taking the subject into

consideration; ten rejected propositions for revision; two declared that

the constitution ought to be respected; thirty-three departments,

therefore, refused, more or less formally, to aid the revision. On the

other hand, forty-nine councils came to decisions which the revisionist

party claim for themselves. But a very great diversity is to be

perceived in these decisions. Thirty-two pronounced in favor of revision

only "so far as it should take place under legal conditions," or "so far

as legality should be observed;" two of those called attention to the

forty-fifth article of the constitution, which makes Louis Napoleon

incapable of being immediately rechosen; but another demanded that his

powers should be prolonged. One council voted for revision, and also

desired to prolong the President's power; ten simply voted for revision;

five pronounced for immediate revision, but by very small majorities;

one went further, and proposed to give the present Assembly--which is

legislative and not constituent--authority to effect the revision. Three

councils express merely a desire for a remedy to the present situation.

Thirty-three departments have not pronounced for the revision, or have

pronounced against it; thirty-three are in favor of a legal revision;

thirteen demand the revision without explaining on what conditions they

desire to see it effected; and six demand it immediately; making the

total of eighty-five.

* * * * *

From GERMANY the most important intelligence relates to the Electorate

of Hesse Cassel, a state containing less than a million of inhabitants,

and having a revenue of less than two and a half millions of dollars. By

the Constitution the Chamber has the exclusive right of voting taxes.

The Elector, acting probably under the advice of Austria, resolved to

get rid of the Constitution; and as the first step toward it, he

appointed as his minister Hassenpflug, a man wholly without character,

and who had been convicted of forgery in another State, and with him was

associated Haynau, brother of the infamous Austrian General. Months past

away without the Chamber being summoned, but at the time when the

session usually closed, the Parliament was called together, and an

immediate demand made for money and for powers to raise the taxes,

without specific votes of the Chamber. The Parliament replied by an

unanimous vote, that however little the ministers possessed the

confidence of Parliament, they would not go the length of refusing the

supplies, but requested to have a regular budget laid before them, which

they promised to examine, discuss, and vote. To so fair and

constitutional a resolution the minister replied by dissolving the

Parliament, and proceeding to levy the taxes in spite of the Parliament

and the Constitution. The cabinet went to the extremity of proclaiming

the whole Electorate in a state of siege, and investing the

commander-in-chief with dictatorial powers against the press, personal

liberty, and property. The town council unanimously protested against

these arbitrary acts; and such a spirit of resistance was excited that

the Elector and his minister were constrained to seek safety in flight.

The Elector left Cassel on the morning of the 13th, and arrived the same

evening at Hanover, where he was afterward joined by Hassenpflug. Some

of the accounts state that M. Hassenpflug was agitated by terror in his

flight. On the 16th, the Elector and his ministers were at Frankfort.

The government of the Electorate had been assumed by the Permanent

Committee of the Assembly.----In Mecklenberg-Schwerin a similar

revolution seems likely to take place. In October, 1849, a new

Constitution was formed by the deputies of this Duchy, which received

the assent of the Duke. This Constitution was quite democratic in

character. The Duke now feeling himself strong enough coolly pronounces

the Constitution invalid, absolves his subjects from all allegiance to

it, and restores the old Constitution, which was formed in 1755. It is

supposed that the Diet will adopt the Hesse Cassel system of stopping

the supplies, and so starving out their sovereign.

LITERARY NOTICES.

A new work by Rev. WILLIAM R. WILLIAMS, the eminent Baptist clergyman in

New York, has just been issued by Gould, Kendall, and Lincoln, entitled

_Religious Progress_, consisting of a series of Lectures on the

development of the Christian character, founded on the beautiful

gradation of religious excellencies described by St. Peter in his second

Epistle. The subjects, which succeed each other in the order of the

text, are, Religion a Principle of Growth, Faith its Root, Virtue,

Knowledge, Temperance, Patience, Godliness, Brotherly Kindness, Charity.

No one who has read any of the former productions of the author can fall

into the error of supposing that these topics are treated according to

any prescribed, stereotyped routine of the pulpit, or that they labor

under the dullness and formality which are often deemed inseparable from

moral disquisitions. On the contrary, this volume may be regarded as a

profound, stringent, and lively commentary on the aspects of the present

age, showing a remarkable keenness of observation, and a massive

strength of expression. The author, although one of the most studious

and erudite men of the day, is by no means a mere isolated scholar. His

vision is not confined by the walls of his library. Watching the

progress of affairs, from the quiet "loop-holes of his retreat," he

subjects the pictured phantasmagoria before him to a rigorous and

searching criticism. He is not apt to be deluded by the dazzling shows

of things. With a firm and healthy wisdom, acquired by vigilant

experience, he delights to separate the genuine from the plausible, the

true gold from the sounding brass, and to bring the most fair-seeming

pretenses before the tribunal of universal principles. The religious

tone of this volume is lofty and severe. Its sternness occasionally

reminds us of the sombre, passionate, half despairing melancholy of John

Foster. The modern latitudinarian finds in it little either of sympathy

or tolerance. It clothes in a secular costume the vast religious ideas

which have been sanctioned by ages, but makes no attempt to mellow their

austerity, or reduce their solemn grandeur to the level of superficial

thought and worldly aspirations. The train of remark pursued in any one

of these Lectures can never be inferred from its title. The suggestive

mind of the writer is kindled by the theme, and luxuriates in a singular

wealth of analogies, which lead him, it is true, from the beaten track,

but only to open upon us an unexpected prospect, crowned with original

and enchanting beauties. His power of apt and forcible illustration is

almost without a parallel among recent writers. The mute page springs

into life beneath the magic of his radiant imagination. But this is

never at the expense of solidity of thought or strength of argument. It

is seldom indeed that a mind of so much poetical invention yields such a

willing homage to the logical element. He employs his brilliant fancies

for the elucidation and ornament of truth, but never for its discovery.

On this account, he inspires a feeling of trust in the sanity of his

genius, although its conclusions may not be implicitly adopted. Still,

with the deep respect with which we regard the intellectual position of

Dr. Williams, we do not think his writings are destined to obtain a wide

popularity. Their condensation of thought, the elaborate and often

antique structure of their sentences, the profoundly meditative cast of

sentiment with which they are pervaded, and even their Oriental

profusion of imagery, to say nothing of the adamantine rigor of their

religious views, are not suited to the great mass of modern readers,

whose tastes have been formed on models less distinguished for their

austerity than for their airiness and grace.

Gould, Kendall, and Lincoln, Boston, have recently issued neat reprints

of _The Poetry of Science_, by ROBERT HUNT, a popular English work,

exhibiting the great facts of science, in their most attractive aspects,

and as leading the mind to the contemplation of the Universe; _The

Footprints of the Creator_, by HUGH MILLER, with a memoir of the author,

by Professor AGASSIZ, who characterizes his geological productions as

possessing "a freshness of conception, a power of argumentation, a depth

of thought, a purity of feeling, rarely met with in works of that

character, which are well calculated to call forth sympathy, and to

increase the popularity of a science which has already done so much to

expand our views of the plan of Creation;" and a third edition of _The

Pre-Adamite Earth_, by JOHN HARRIS, whose valuable contributions to

theological science have won for him a high reputation both in England

and our own country.

Harper and Brothers have published Nos. 7 and 8 of LOSSING'S _Pictorial

Field Book of the American Revolution_. The character of this popular

serial may be perceived from the extracts at the commencement of the

present number of our Magazine. With each successive issue, Mr.

Lossing's picturesque narrative gains fresh interest; he throws a charm

over the most familiar details by his quiet enthusiasm and winning

naïveté; and under the direction of such an intelligent and genial guide

it is delightful to wander over the battle-fields of American history,

and dwell on the exploits of the heroes by whose valor our national

Independence was achieved. Among the embellishments in these numbers, we

observe a striking likeness of the venerable Timothy Pickering, of

Massachusetts, portraits of Gen. Stark, Joel Barlow, Gen. Wooster, and

William Livingston, and exquisite sketches of Baron Steuben's

Headquarters, View near Toby's Eddy, The Susquehanna at Monocasy Island,

The Livingston Mansion, The Bennington Battle-Ground, and other

beautiful and interesting scenes in the history of the Revolution.

_Household Surgery; or Hints on Emergencies_, by JOHN F. SOUTH (H.C.

Baird, Philadelphia), is a reprint of a popular and amusing work by an

eminent London surgeon, designed for non-professional readers, and

pointing out the course to be pursued in case of an accident, when no

surgical aid is at hand. The author puts in a caveat against

misapprehending the purpose of his book, which he wishes should be

judged solely on its merits. No one is to expect in it a whole body of

surgery, nor to obtain materials for setting up as an amateur surgeon,

to practice on every unfortunate individual who may fall within his

grasp; but directions are given which may be of good service on a pinch,

when the case is urgent, and no doctor is to be had. In the opinion of

the author, whoever doctors himself when he can be doctored, is in much

the same case with the man who conducted his own cause, and had a fool

for his client. With this explanation, Dr. South's volume may be

consulted to great advantage; and although no one would recommend a

treatise on bruises and broken bones for light reading, it must be

confessed, that many popular fictions are less fertile in entertainment.

An exquisite edition of _Gray's Poetical Works_ has been issued by H.C.

Baird, with an original memoir and notes, by the American Editor, Prof.

HENRY REED, of Philadelphia. It was the intention of the Editor to make

this the most complete collection of Gray's Poems which has yet

appeared, and he seems to have met with admirable success in the

accomplishment of his plan. The illustrations of Radclyffe, engraved in

a superior style of art, by A.W. Graham, form the embellishments of this

edition. We have rarely, if ever, seen them surpassed in the most costly

American gift-books. The volume is appropriately dedicated to JAMES T.

FIELDS, the poet-publisher of Boston.

The second volume of the _Memoirs of Dr. Chalmers_, by his son-in-law,

WILLIAM HANNA, is issued by Harper and Brothers, comprising a most

interesting account of his labors during his residence at Glasgow, and

bringing his biography down to the forty-third year of his age. The

whole career of this robust and sinewy divine is full of instruction,

but no part of it more abounds with important events than the period

devoted to efforts in bringing the destitute classes of Glasgow under

the influence of Christian ministrations. Whether in the pulpit, in the

discharge of his parochial duties, in the construction of his noble

schemes for social melioration, or in the bosom of his family, Dr.

Chalmers always appears the same whole-hearted, frank, generous,

energetic man, commanding our admiration by the splendor of his

intellect, and winning our esteem by the loveliness of his character.

Some interesting reminiscences of the powerful but erratic preacher,

Edward Irving, who was at one time the assistant of Dr. Chalmers in the

Tron Church, are presented in this volume.

_History of Propellers and Steam Navigation_, by ROBERT MACFARLANE

(G.P. Putnam), is the title of a useful work, describing most of the

propelling methods that have been invented, which may prevent ingenious

men from wasting their time, talents, and money on visionary projects.

It also gives a history of the attempts of the early inventors in this

department of practical mechanics, including copious notices of Fitch,

Rumsey, Fulton, Symington, and Bell. A separate chapter, devoted to

Marine Navigation, presents a good deal of information on the subject

rarely met with in this country.

_The Country Year-Book; or, The Field, The Forest, and The Fireside_

(Harper and Brothers), is the title of a new rural volume by the bluff,

burly, egotistic, but good-natured and humane Quaker, WILLIAM HOWITT,

filled with charming descriptions of English country life, redolent of

the perfume of bean-fields and hedge-rows, overflowing with the affluent

treasures of the four seasons, rich in quaint, expressive sketches of

old-fashioned manners, and pervaded by a generous zeal in the cause of

popular improvement. A more genial and agreeable companion for an autumn

afternoon or a winter's evening could scarcely be selected in the shape

of a book.

_Success in Life. The Mechanic_, by Mrs. L.C. TUTHILL, published by G.P.

Putnam, is a little volume belonging to a series, intended to illustrate

the importance of sound principles and virtuous conduct to the

attainment of worldly prosperity. Without believing in the necessary

connection between good character and success in business, we may say,

that the examples brought forward by Mrs. Tuthill are of a striking

nature, and adapted to produce a deep and wholesome impression. In the

present work, she avails herself of incidents in the history of John

Fitch, Dr. Franklin, Robert Fulton, and Eli Whitney, showing the

obstacles which they were compelled to encounter, and the energy with

which they struggled with difficulties. She writes in a lively and

pleasing manner; her productions are distinguished for their elevated

moral tone; and they can scarcely fail to become favorites with the

public.

_Alton Locke, Tailor and Poet; An Autobiography_, is the quaint title of

a political and religious novel, understood to be written by a clergyman

of the Church of England, which is said to have fallen like a bomb-shell

on the old-fashioned schools of political economy in that country. It

purports to be the history of a youth of genius, doomed to struggle with

the most abject poverty, and forced by the necessity of his position to

become a Chartist and a Radical. Brought up in the sternest school of

ultra-Calvinism, he passes by natural transitions from a state of

hopeless and desperate infidelity, to a milder and more cheerful

religious faith, and having taken an active part in schemes for the

melioration of society by political action, he learns by experience the

necessity of spiritual influences for the emancipation of the people.

The tone of the narrative is vehement, austere, and often indignant;

never vindictive; and softened at intervals by a genuine gush of poetic

sentiment. With great skill in depicting the social evils which are

preying on the aged heart of England, the author is vague and

fragmentary in his statement of remedies, and leads us to doubt whether

he has discovered the true "Balm of Gilead" for the healing of nations.

The book abounds with weighty suggestions, urgent appeals, vivid

pictures of popular wretchedness, deep sympathy with suffering, and a

pure devotion to the finer and nobler instincts of humanity. With all

its outpouring of fiery radicalisms, it is intended to exert a

reconciling influence, to bring the different classes of society into a

nearer acquaintanceship, and to oppose the progress of licentious and

destructive tendencies, by enforcing the principles of thorough reform.

Such a work can not but be read with general interest. Its strong

humanitary spirit will recommend it to a large class of readers, while

its acknowledged merits as a work of fiction will attract the literary

amateur.--Published by Harper and Brothers.

_The Builder's Companion_, and _The Cabinetmaker and Upholsterer's

Companion_, are two recent volumes of the _Practical Series_, published

by H.C. Baird, Philadelphia, reprinted from English works of standard

excellence. They present a mass of valuable scientific information, with

succinct descriptions of various mechanical processes, and are well

suited to promote an intelligent interest in industrial pursuits.

_Lessons from the History of Medical Delusions_ (Baker and Scribner), is

a Prize Essay by Dr. WORTHINGTON HOOKER, whose former work on a similar

subject has given him considerable reputation as a writer in the

department of medical literature. He is a devoted adherent to the old

system of practice, and spares no pains to expose what he deems the

quackeries of modern times. His volume is less positive than critical,

and contains but a small amount of practical instruction. There are many

of his suggestions, however, which can not be perused without exciting

profound reflection.

RUSCHENBERGER'S _Lexicon of Terms used in Natural History_, a valuable

manual for the common use of the student, is published by Lippincott,

Grambo, and Co., Philadelphia.

Another volume of LAMARTINE'S _Confidences_, translated from the French,

under the title of _Additional Memoirs of My Youth_, is published by

Harper and Brothers, and can not fail to excite the same interest which

has been called forth by the previous autobiographical disclosures of

the author. It is written in the rich, glowing, poetical style in which

LAMARTINE delights to clothe his early recollections, and with a naïve

frankness of communication equal to that of Rousseau, is pervaded with a

tone of tender, elevated, and religious sentiment. The description of a

troop of family friends gives a lively tableau of the old school of

French gentlemen, and furnishes the occasion for the picturesque

delineation of manners, in which LAMARTINE commands such an admirable

pen. The Confessions would not be complete without one or two love

episodes, which are accordingly presented in a sufficiently romantic

environment.

Harper and Brothers have published a cheap edition of _Genevieve_,

translated from the French of LAMARTINE, by A.R. SCOBLE. This novel,

intended to illustrate the condition of humble life in France, and to

furnish popular, moral reading for the masses, is written with more

simplicity than we usually find in the productions of Lamartine, and

contains many scenes of deep, pathetic interest. The incidents are not

without a considerable tincture of French exaggeration, and are hardly

suited, one would suppose, to exert a strong or salutary influence in

the sphere of common, prosaic, unromantic duties. As a specimen of the

kind of reading which LAMARTINE deems adapted to the moral improvement

of his countrymen, _Genevieve_ is a literary curiosity.

Little and Brown, Boston, have published a handsome edition of Prof.

ROSE's _Chemical Tables for the Calculation of Quantitative Analyses_,

recalculated and improved, by the American Editor, W.P. DEXTER.

Harper and Brothers have issued _The History of Pendennis_, No. 7,

which, to say the least, is of equal interest with any of the preceding

numbers, showing the same felicitous skill in portraying the every-day

aspects of our common life, which has given Thackeray such a brilliant

eminence as a painter of manners. The unconscious case with which he

hits off a trait of weakness or eccentricity, his truthfulness to

nature, his rare common sense, and his subdued, but most effective

satire, make him one of the most readable English writers now before the

public.

STOCKHARDT'S _Principles of Chemistry_, translated from the German, by

C.H. PEIRCE, is published by John Bartlett, Cambridge. This work is

accompanied with a high recommendation from Prof. Horsford of Harvard

University, which, with its excellent reputation as a textbook in

Germany, will cause it to be sought for with eagerness by students of

chemistry in our own country.

_Petticoat Government_, by Mrs. TROLLOPE, is the one hundred and

forty-eighth number of Harper's _Library of Select Novels_, and in spite

of the ill odor attached to the name of the authoress, will be found to

exhibit a very considerable degree of talent, great insight into the

more vulgar elements of English society, a vein of bitter and caustic

satire, and a truly feminine minuteness in the delineation of character.

The story is interspersed with dashes of broad humor, and with its

piquant, rapid, and not overscrupulous style, will reward the enterprise

of perusal.

George P. Putnam has published _A Series of Etchings_, by J.W. EHNINGER,

illustrative of Hood's "Bridge of Sighs." The plates, which are eight in

number, are executed with a good deal of spirit and taste, representing

the principal scenes suggested to the imagination by Hood's exquisitely

pathetic poem.

A.S. Barnes and Co. have published _The Elements of Natural Philosophy_,

by W.H.C. BARTLETT, being the first of three volumes intended to present

a complete system of the science in all its divisions. The present

volume is devoted to the subject of Mechanics.

G.P. Putnam has issued a new and improved edition of Prof. CHURCH's

_Elements of the Differential and Integral Calculus_.

_Lonz Powers, or the Regulators_, by JAMES WEIR, Esq. (Philadelphia,

Lippincott, Grambo, and Co.), is a genuine American romance, written in

defiance of all literary precedents, and a vigorous expression of the

individuality of the author, as acted on by the wild, exuberant frontier

life in the infancy of Western Society. The scenes and characters which

are evidently drawn from nature, are portrayed with a bold, dramatic

freedom, giving a perpetual vitality and freshness to the narrative, and

sustaining the interest of the reader through a succession of

adventures, which in the hands of a less skillful chronicler, would have

become repulsive by their extravagance and terrible intensity. In

addition to the regular progress of the story, the author leads us

through a labyrinth of episodes, most of them savoring of the jovial

forest life, in which he is so perfectly at home, though dashed with

occasional touches of deep pathos. The reflections and criticisms, in

which he often indulges to excess, though considerately printed in a

different type to show that they may be skipped without damage, are too

characteristic to be neglected, and on the whole, we are glad that he

had enough verdant frankness to present them to his readers just as they

sprung up in his mercurial brain. We imagine that the fame of Milton

will survive his attacks, in spite of the mean opinion which he

cherishes of the Paradise Lost. With all its exaggerations and

eccentricities, Lonz Powers has many of the elements of a superior

novel--glowing imagination, truthfulness of description, lively humor,

spicy satire, and an acute perception of the fleeting lights and shades

of character. If it had ten times its present faults, it would be

redeemed from a severe judgment, by its magnetic sympathies, and the

fascinating naturalness with which it pours forth its flushed and joyous

consciousness of life.

_The History of Xerxes_, by JACOB ABBOTT (Harper and Brothers), is

intended for juvenile reading and study, but its freshness and

simplicity of manner give it a charm for all ages, making it a

delightful refreshment to those who wish to recall the remembrance of

youthful studies.

_Universal Dictionary of Weights and Measures_, by J.H. ALEXANDER,

published by Wm. Minifie and Co., Baltimore, is a work of remarkable

labor and research, presenting a comparative view of the weights and

measures of all countries, ancient and modern, reduced to the standards

of the United States of America. It is executed in a manner highly

creditable to the learning and accuracy of the author, and will be found

to possess great practical utility for the man of business as well as

the historical student.

_America Discovered_ (New York, J.F. Trow), is the title of an anonymous

poem in twelve books, founded on a supposed convention of the heavenly

hierarchs among the mountains of Chili in the year 1450, to deliberate

on the best mode of making known the American continent to Europeans.

Two of their number are elected delegates to present the subject before

the Court of Heaven. In the course of their journey, after meeting with

various adventures, they fall in with two different worlds, one of which

has retained its pristine innocence, while the other has yielded to

temptation, and become subject to sin. Their embassy is crowned with

success, and one of them is deputed to break the matter to Columbus,

whose subsequent history is related at length, from his first longings

to discover a new world till the final consummation of his enterprise.

The poet, it will be seen, soars into the highest supernal spheres, but,

in our opinion, displays more ambition than discretion. He does not

often come down safe from his lofty flights to solid ground.

_Christianity Revived in the East_, by H.G.O. DWIGHT (Baker and

Scribner), is a modest narrative of missionary operations among the

Armenians of Turkey, in which the author was personally engaged for a

series of several years. The volume describes many interesting features

of Oriental life, and presents a vivid picture of the toils and

sacrifices by which a new impulse was given to the progress of

Christianity in the East. The suggestions of the author with regard to

the prosecution of the missionary enterprise are characterized by

earnestness and good sense, but they are sometimes protracted to so

great an extent as to become tedious to the general reader.

_Grahame; or, Youth and Manhood_ (Baker and Scribner), is the title of a

new romance by the author of _Talbot and Vernon_, displaying a natural

facility for picturesque writing in numerous isolated passages, but

destitute of the sustained vigor and inventive skill which would place

it in the highest rank of fictitious composition. The scene, which is

frequently shifted, without sufficient regard to the locomotive

faculties of the reader, betrays occasional inaccuracies and

anachronisms, showing the hand of a writer who has not gained a perfect

mastery of his materials. Like the previous work of the same author, the

novel is intended to support a certain didactic principle, but for the

accomplishment of this purpose, recourse is had to an awkward and

improbable plot, many of the details of which are, in a high degree,

unnatural, and often grossly revolting. The pure intentions of the

writer redeem his work from the charge of immorality, but do not set

aside the objections, in an artistic point of view, which arise from the

primary incidents on which the story is founded. Still, we are bound to

confess, that the novel, as a whole, indicates a freshness and fervor of

feeling, a ready perception of the multifarious aspects of character

and society, a lively appreciation of natural beauty, and a racy vigor

of expression, which produce a strong conviction of the ability of the

author, and awaken the hope that the more mature offerings of his genius

may be contributions of sterling value to our native literature.

_George Castriot, surnamed Scandeberg, King of Albania_, by CLEMENT C.

MOORE (D. Appleton and Co.), is an agreeable piece of biography, which

owes its interest no less to the simplicity and excellent taste of the

narrative, than to the romantic adventures of its subject. Castriot was

a hero of the fifteenth century, who gained a wide renown for his

exploits in the warfare of the Christians against the Turks, as well as

for the noble and attractive qualities of his private character. Dr.

Moore has made free use of one of the early chronicles, in the

construction of his narrative, and exhibits rare skill in clothing the

events in a modern costume, while he retains certain quaint and

expressive touches of the antique.

George P. Putnam has issued the second volume of _The Leather Stocking

Tales_, by J. FENIMORE COOPER, in the author's revised edition,

containing _The Last of the Mohicans_, to which characteristic and

powerful work Mr. Cooper is so largely indebted for his world-wide

reputation. He will lose nothing by the reprint of these masterly Tales,

as they will introduce him to a new circle of younger readers, while the

enthusiasm of his old admirers can not fail to be increased with every

fresh perusal of the experiences of the inimitable Leather Stocking.

C.M. Saxton has published a neat edition of Professor JOHNSTON'S

_Lectures on the Relations of Science and Agriculture_, which produced a

very favorable impression when delivered before the New York State

Agricultural Society, and the Members of the Legislature, in the month

of January last. Among the subjects discussed in this volume, are the

relations of physical geography, of geology, and mineralogy, of botany,

vegetable physiology, and zoology to practical agriculture; the

connection of chemistry with the practical improvement of the soil, and

with the principles of vegetable and animal growth; and the influence of

scientific knowledge on the general elevation of the agricultural

classes. These lectures present a lucid exposition of the latest

discoveries in agricultural chemistry, and it is stated by competent

judges, that their practical adaptation to the business of the farmer

will gain the confidence of every cultivator of the soil by whom they

are perused.

An elaborate work from the pen of a native Jew, entitled _A Descriptive

Geography of Palestine_, by RABBI JOSEPH SCHWARTZ, has been translated

from the Hebrew by ISAAC LEESER, and published by A. Hart, Philadelphia.

The author, who resided for sixteen years in the Holy Land, claims to

have possessed peculiar advantages for the preparation of a work on this

subject, in his knowledge of the languages necessary for successful

discovery, and in the results of personal observations continued for

several years with uncommon zeal and assiduity. The volume is handsomely

embellished with maps and pictorial illustrations, the latter from the

hand of a Jewish artist, and appears, in all respects, to be well

adapted to the race, for whose use it is especially intended.

_The Life of Commodore Talbot_, by HENRY T. TUCKERMAN (New York, J.C.

Riker), was originally intended for the series of American Biography,

edited by President Sparks, but on the suspension of that work, was

prepared for publication in a separate volume. Commodore Talbot was born

in Bristol county, Massachusetts, and at an early age commenced a

seafaring life in the coasting trade, between Rhode Island and the

Southern States. Soon after the breaking out of the Revolution--having

been present at the siege of Boston as a volunteer--he offered his

services to General Washington, and was at once employed in the

discharge of arduous and responsible duties. At a subsequent period,

after having distinguished himself by various exploits of almost

reckless valor, he received a commission as Captain in the Navy of the

United States. His death took place in 1813, in the city of New York,

and his remains were interred under Trinity Church. Mr. Tuckerman has

gathered up, with commendable industry, the facts in his career, which

had almost faded from the memory, and rescued from oblivion the name of

a brave commander and devoted patriot. The biography abounds with

interesting incidents, which, as presented in the flowing and graceful

narrative of the author, richly reward perusal, as well as present the

character of the subject in a very attractive light. Several pleasing

episodes are introduced in the course of the volume, which relieve it

from all tendency to dryness and monotony.

_The Quarterlies for October._--The first on our table is _The American

Biblical Repository_, edited by J.M. SHERWOOD (New York), commencing

with an article on "The Hebrew Theocracy," by Rev. E.C. Wines, which

presents, in a condensed form, the views which have been brought before

the public by that gentleman in his popular lectures on Jewish Polity.

"The Position of the Christian Scholar" is discussed in a sound and

substantial essay, by Rev. Albert Barnes. Dyer's "Life of Calvin"

receives a summary condemnation at the hands of a sturdy advocate of the

Five Points. Professor Tayler Lewis contributes a learned dissertation

on the "Names for Soul" among the Hebrews, as an argument for the

immortality of the soul. Other articles are on Lucian's "de Morte

Peregrini," "The Relations of the Church to the Young," "The Harmony of

Science and Revelation," and "Secular and Christian Civilization." The

number closes with several "Literary and Critical Notices," written, for

the most part, with ability and fairness, though occasionally betraying

the influence of strong theological predilections.

_The North American Review_ sustains the character for learned

disquisition, superficial elegance, and freedom from progressive and

liberal ideas, which have formed its principal distinction under the

administration of its present editor. This venerable periodical, now in

its thirty-eighth year, has been, in some sense, identified with the

history of American literature, although it can by no means be regarded

as an exponent of its present aspect and tendencies. It belongs

essentially to a past age, and shows no sympathy with the earnest,

aspiring, and aggressive traits of the American character. Indeed its

spirit is more in accordance with the timid and selfish conservatism of

Europe, than with the free, bold, and hopeful temperament of our

Republic. The subjects to which the present number is mainly devoted, as

well as the manner in which they are treated, indicate the peculiar

tastes of the Review, and give a fair specimen of its recent average

character. The principal articles are on "Mahomet and his Successors,"

"The Navigation of the Ancients," "Slavic Language and Literature,"

"Cumming's Hunter's Life," "The Homeric Question," all of which are

chiefly made up from the works under review, presenting admirable models

of tasteful compilation and abridgment, but singularly destitute of

originality, freshness, and point. An article on "Everett's Orations"

pays an appreciative tribute to the literary and rhetorical merits of

that eminent scholar. "The Works of John Adams" receive an appropriate

notice. "Furness's History of Jesus" is reviewed in a feeble and shallow

style, unworthy the magnitude of the heresy attacked, and the number

closes with a clever summary of "Laing's Observations on Europe," and

one or two "Critical Notices."

The _Methodist Quarterly Review_ opens with a second paper on "Morell's

Philosophy of Religion," in which the positions of that writer are

submitted to a severe logical examination. The conclusions of the

reviewer may be learned from the passage which closes the article. "We

believe Mr. Morell to be a sincere and earnest man, one who reverences

Christianity, and really desires its advancement, but we also believe

that for this very reason his influence may be the more pernicious; for

in attempting to make a compromise with the enemies of truth, he has

compromised truth itself; and in abandoning what he deemed mere

antiquated outposts to the foe, he has surrendered the very citadel."

The next article is a profound and learned statement of the "Latest

Results of Ethnology," translated from the German of Dr. G.L. KRIEGK.

This is followed by a discussion of the character of John Calvin, as a

scholar, a theologian, and a reformer. The writer commends the manifest

impartiality of Dyer's "Life of Calvin," although he believes that it

will not be popular with the "blind admirers of the Genevan Reformer,

and that the Roman Catholics, as in duty bound, will prefer the

caricature of Monsieur Audin." "The Church and China," "Bishop

Warburton," and "California," are the subjects of able articles, and

the number closes with a variety of short reviews, miscellanies, and

intelligence. The last named department is not so rich in the present

number, as we usually find it, owing probably to the absence of Prof.

M'Clintock in Europe, whose cultivated taste, comprehensive learning,

and literary vigilance admirably qualify him to give a record of

intellectual progress in every civilized country, such as we look for in

vain in any contemporary periodical.

_The Christian Review_ is a model of religious periodical literature,

not exclusively devoted to theological subjects, but discussing the

leading questions of the day, political, social, and literary, in

addition to those belonging to its peculiar sphere, from a Christian

point of view, and almost uniformly with great learning, vigor,

profoundness, and urbanity, and always with good taste and exemplary

candor. The present number has a large proportion of articles of

universal interest, among which we may refer to those on "Socialism in

the United States," and "The Territories on the Pacific," as presenting

a succinct view of the subjects treated of, and valuable no less for the

important information they present, than for the clearness and strength

with which the positions of the writers are sustained. The first of

these articles is from the pen of Rev. Samuel Osgood, minister of the

Church of the Messiah, in this city, and the other is by Prof. W.

Gammel, of Brown University. "The Confessions of Saint Augustine," "The

Apostolical Constitutions," "Philosophical Theology," and a critical

examination of the passage in Joshua describing the miracle of the sun

standing still, are more especially attractive to the theological

reader, while a brilliant and original essay on "Spirit and Form," by

Rev. Mr. Turnbull, can not fail to draw the attention of the lovers of

æsthetic disquisition. The brief sketches of President Taylor and of

Neander are written with judgment and ability, and the "Notices of New

Publications" give a well-digested survey of the current literature of

the last three months. The diligence and zeal exhibited in this

department, both by the Christian Review and the Methodist Quarterly

present a favorable contrast to the disgraceful poverty of the North

American in a branch which was admirably sustained under the editorship

of President Sparks and Dr. Palfrey.

_Brownson's Quarterly_ is characterized by the extravagance of

statement, the rash and sweeping criticisms, and the ecclesiastical

exclusiveness for which it has obtained an unenviable preeminence. Its

principal articles are on "Gioberti," "The Confessional," "Dana's Poems

and Prose Writings," and the "Cuban Expedition." Some inferences may be

drawn as to the Editor's taste in poetry from his remarks on Tennyson,

in whom he "can discover no other merit than harmonious verse and a

little namby-pamby sentiment." He strikes the discriminating reviewer as

"a man of feeble intellect," and "a poet for puny transcendentalists,

beardless boys, and miss in her teens."

Fashions for November.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.--PROMENADE AND CARRIAGE COSTUMES.]

As the cold weather approaches, different shades of brown, dust color,

green, and other grave hues, predominate, diversified with pink, blue,

lilac, and purple. The beautiful season of the Indian Summer, which

prevails with us in November, allows the use of out-of-door costume, of

a character similar to that of September, the temperature being too high

to require cloaks or pelises. Bonnets composed of Leghorn and fancy

straws, are appropriate for the season. They are trimmed with _noeuds_

of pink, straw color, and white silk, which are used to decorate

Florence straws. These are ornamented, in the interior, with _mancini_,

or bunches of harebells, heaths, and jacinths, intermixed with rose-buds

and light foliage. There are plain and simple _pailles de riz_, having

no other ornament than a kind of _noeud_ of white silk, placed at the

side, and the interior of the front lined with pink or white _tulle_,

and clusters of jacinths, tuberoses, and rose-buds, forming a most

charming _mélange_. Fancy straws, called _paille de Lausanne_, are very

fashionable abroad, resembling embroideries of straw, and trimmed with a

bouquet of the wild red poppies, half blown, while those which are

placed next the face are of a softer hue, with strings of straw colored

silk ribbon.

FIG. 1 represents a graceful afternoon promenade costume, and a carriage

costume. The figure on the left shows the promenade costume. The dress

is made quite plain, with low body and long sleeves, with cuffs of plain

fulled muslin; chemisette of lace, reaching to the throat, and finished

with a narrow row encircling the neck. _Pardessus_ of silk or satin,

trimmed in an elegant manner, with lace of the same color, three rows of

which encircle the lower part, and two rows the half long sleeves. These

rows are of broader lace than the rows placed on either side of the

front of the _pardessus_. Drawn white crape bonnet, decorated with small

straw colored flowers, both in the interior and on the exterior.

The figure on the right shows the carriage costume. It is a dress of

pale pink _poult de soié_; the corsage, high on the shoulders, opens a

little in the front. It has a small cape, falling deep at the back, and

narrowing toward the point, pinked at the edge; the waist and point

long; the sleeves reach but a very little below the elbow, and are

finished with broad lace ruffles. The skirt has three deep scalloped

flounces, a beautiful spray of leaves being embroidered in each scallop.

Manteau of India muslin, trimmed with a broad frill, the embroidering of

which corresponds with the flowers of the dress. The bonnet of _paille

de riz_; trimmed inside and out with bunches of roses; the form very

open. There are others of the same delicate description, lined with pink

_tulle_, and decorated with tips of small feathers, shaded pink and

white, or terminated with tips of pink _marabout_.

[Illustration: FIG. 2.--MORNING COSTUME.]

FIG. 2 represents a morning costume. Dress high, with a small ruffle

and silk cravat. The material is plain _mousseline de soié_, white, with

a small frill protruding from the slightly open front. The body is full,

and the skirt has a broad figured green stripe. Sleeves full and

demi-long, with broad lace ruffles. The skirt is very full, and has

three deep flounces.

[Illustration: FIG. 3.--OPERA COSTUME.]

FIG. 3 is a plain, and very neat costume for the opera. The body,

composed of blue or green silk, satin, or velvet, fits closely. The

sleeves are also tight to the elbows, when they enlarge and are turned

over, exhibiting a rich lining of pink or orange, with scalloped edges.

The corsage is open in front, and turned over, with a collar, made of

material like that of the sleeves, and also scalloped. Chemisette of

lace, finished at the throat with a fulled band and _petite_ ruffle.

Figures 2 and 3 show patterns of the extremely simple CAPS now in

fashion; simple, both in their form and the manner in which they are

trimmed. Those for young ladies partake mostly of the lappet form,

simply decorated with a pretty _noeud_ of ribbon, from which droop

graceful streamers of the same, or confined on each side the head with

half-wreaths of the wild rose, or some other very light flower. Those

intended for ladies of a more advanced age are of a _petit_ round form,

and composed of a perfect cloud of _gaze_, or _tulle_, intermixed with

flowers.

TRAVELING DRESSES are principally composed of _foulard coutit_, or of

flowered jaconets, with the _cassaquette_ of the same material. Plain

cachmires are also much used, because they are not liable to crease.

They are generally accompanied by _pardessus_ of the same material. When

the dress is of a sombre hue, the trimmings are of a different color, so

as to enliven and enrich them. The skirts are made quite plain, but very

long and of a moderate breadth; the bodies high and plain, and

embroidered up the fronts.

Transcriber's Notes:

Words surrounded by _ are italicized.

Obvious punctuation errors have been repaired, other punctuations have

been left as printed in the paper book.

Captions added to captionless illustrations.

Obvious printer's errors have been repaired, other inconsistent

spellings have been kept, including:

- use of hyphen (e.g. "birth-day" and "birthday");

- any other inconsistent spellings (e.g. "panel" and "pannel").

Following proper names have been corrected:

- Pg 728, "Fanueil" corrected to be "Faneuil" (Faneuil Hall).

- Pg 773, "Hazledeans" corrected to be "Hazeldeans" (The Hazeldeans in

chorus) and "Higgingbotham's" corrected to be "Higginbotham's" (Captain

Higginbotham's lead).

- Pg 800, "Agatha mother's" corrected to be "Agatha's mother" (found

Agatha's mother alone).

- Pg 846, "tartantula" corrected to be "tarantula" (bite of a

tarantula).

- Pg 860, "Lowz" corrected to be "Lonz" (Lonz Powers).

- Pg 860, "Minifee" corrected to be "Minifie" (Wm. Minifie and Co.).

Following corrections are by removal or addition of a word:

- Pg 723, word "by" removed (surrounded by [by] tall trees).

- Pg 781, word "in" added (and in spite of).

- Pg 801, word "I" added (that I was not sorry).

- Pg 855, word "are" removed (there are [are] thirty-two).