were those who played with him! for he whose hand he seized, lost his hand, and he whose head he sinote, lost his head!

The inhabitants of Novogorod soon became weary of the sports of the young prince; and the Posadniks, or municipal magistrates, assembled at the TownHouse, to deliberate concerning him. After the consultation was over, they re paired to Basil's mother, and addressed her as follows:

"Thou art a good lady, Amelpha Timophěiewna; watch therefore more strictly over the conduct of thy dear child, the boy Basil, son of Boguslas; and take care in particular, that he no longer spend whole days in the street, amusing himself in the rough manner he hath been accustomed to do; for our great city already begins to be depopulated by his diver sions."

At this discourse, the good lady was sensibly afflicted; she promised the Posadnicks to regulate her son better, and then making a low curtesey, dismissed them with her usual politeness. After this, calling Basil, she spoke to him as follows:

"In the name of God, my dear child, do not go any more into the street to divert yourself with grown men, and the young lads of Novogorod. You possess the strength of a warrior, but you have not discretion enough to use it with propriety; for he whose hand you seize, loses his hand, and he whose head you but strike, loses his head. The people already murmur and the Posadniks have come to me to complain. Were they to revolt, what could we do against them? You have no longer a father; and as for me, I am but a poor widow; and what 1 ever your strength may be, is it possible that you yourself, could resist against thousands of enemies? Are not the inhabitants of Novogorod innumerable! Listen to my counsel therefore, and obey thy mother !"

Basil, son of Boguslas, listened most respectfully to the remonstrance of his mother, and when she had concluded her discourse, he inclined his head to the ground, and spoke as follows:

"My good mother, I care not for the Posadniks, or the men of Novogorod, but I pay a high respect to thy maternal remonstrances and good advice! I promise therefore, that I shall never again divert myself in the streets; but how am I to be amused? How am I to rove the strength of my arm? You have

not brought me into the world that I night shiver all day long over a stove; and it is not for nothing that I have received the vigour of a warrior. O! when the proper tiine arrives, I will know how to humble the Posadniks; and when that periods comes, all the country of the Russians shall bend before me! But as at present, I am under your guardianship, I hope you will permit me to select a few companions, with whom I can divert myself without anger, by shewing the strength of my arm. Give ine bypoeras and beer, therefore, that I may invite the brave and courageous, and thus find guests worthy of me!"

This request was immediately granted. Amelpha Timopheiewna ordered whole hoghsheads of hypoeras and beer to be placed before the gates of the palace, to which were suspended rich cups of massive gold. Heralds at the same time, walked along the streets of Novogord, proclaiming as follows:

"If any one wishes to live in pleasure and abundance, and if any one desires to wear fine clothes, let him present himself at the castle of Basil, son of Boguslas. But let him first consult his strength, and try the solidity of his bones; for Basil, the son of Boguslas, loves only those who are at once strong and courageous."

It was thus that the heralds cried aloud from morning till night; but yet no one presented himself. Meanwhile, Basil, son of Boguslas, was stationed at a window in his apartments, guarded with massive iron bars, to see if any companions should arrive; but the casks still remained full, for no one dared to touch them; not a single guest presented himself! At length, as it began to get dark, Formuschka the Big appeared at the gate. He approached the bogsheads, which were made of oak, and seizing a large gold cup filled it with hypoeras, and swallowed the whole at a single draught. When Basil beheld this, he inmediately descended from his chamber in great haste into a large court, where Formusihka the Big was standing, and struck a severe blow with his heavy mace, behind his right ear. Formuschka never once stag gered, and the short black curls of his hair scarcely seemed to be in the least affected! On this the heart of the young prince leaped with joy; and taking the bold Formuschka by the hand, he made him ascend the stair-case and enter his gilded chamber. He then embraced lum, and both of them swore on the honour

of knights, to be always brothers and companions in arms, to live and to die for one another, to drink out of the same cup, and eat out of the same plate! Next morning as Basil was looking through the iron bars of his window, to see if no other person would drink out of his casks, he beheld Bogdanuschka the Little, who approaching the hogs head of strong beer, threw the gold cup on the ground, and raising the cask in his arms, emptied it without drawing breath. On this, the young prince called Formuschka, and they descended together in great haste, until they had arrived at the gate of the castle, and with their heavy lances struck rudely at the head of the gentle Bogdanuschka. But lo! the lances were all broken in pieces, and yet the head of Bogdanuschka was not in the least affected! On perceiving this, they instantly took him by the hand, and conducted him through the large court to the great stair-case, on ascending which, they entered the gilded apartment of the prince. There all the three embraced each other, and swore fraternity and fidelity, until death.

In a short time a rumour spread through the city, that Basil, the son of Boguslas, had chosen for his friends, two bold undaunted companions, with whom he lived in the most friendly manner. On this, the Posadniks, who began to be afraid, assembled at the Town-House to deliberate. After all of them had taken their seats, the sage old magistrate Tchoudin advanced to the middle of the hall and spoke as follows:

The son of Boguslas is still a minor; and therefore until he hath advanced in reason and in age, we are still masters of Novogorod, as well as the territory dependent on it. This young man, who is one day to reign over us, promises but little that is good. Scarcely has he passed his infancy, and yet his character be speaks him to be bad and turbulent; his very diversions are cruel. How many widows and orphans have his sports already occasioned ! And of late, in addition to this, he has assembled some of the bravest persons as his companions, with whom he lives in the most friendly terms. But on what account? Are his intentions good?

"Its our business to discover this, and for that purpose we ought to make a feast, to which we shall invite the young prince, for it is then we shall be able to learn his real sentiments in respect to our country.

Let us present him with a cup of wine; if he will not drink, his intentions are bad; but if he should, he will of course prattle, and we shall discover all his projects; for according to the ancient proverb, there is truth in wine.' Now, if we learn that his intentions are not honourable, let us strike off his head without any manner of ceremony for there are plenty of princes in Russia, of whom we can take our choice; and if there were not any, my brethern, we could do very well without them!"

On this all the Posadniks rising at once, inclined their bodies towards the sage Tchoudin, after which they exclaimed with one voice:

"Thy discourse is wisdom itself; let it be done as you have said."

Next morning by break of day, the usual preparations were made for a festival. Tables of oak wood were placed along the hall of the Town-House, and covered with white damask. Sweets and confectionary of all kinds were procured, and set in order, in an elegant manner. Beside the walls were ranged casks of wine and of beer, above which were suspended rich goblets of gold and silver, and of precious woods. When every thing had been prepared, a few of the chief Posadniks were deputed to the castle, to invite the princess and her son to the feast. After they had finished their compliments, the good lady Amelpha Timopheiewna replied in the following manner:

"I no longer take any delight in feasting or dancing-the season of joy has passed away in respect to me. My boy Basil, will however, perhaps, assist at your feast, in company with the youth who attend him, if you will invite him."

At these words the Posadniks hasten

ed towards the young prince, and be sought him in the most polite terms to honour their banquet with his presence; he readily accepted the invitation, provided he could but obtain his mother's permission for that purpose. cordingly repaired to her apartment, and asked her consent to be present at the feast of the inhabitants of Novogorod.

He ac

The princess immediately acceded to the proposition; and at the same time gave him much good advice relative to the manner in which he was to conduct himself, while surrounded by the hypocritical Posadniks, with whose designs she was well acquainted. "Drink, my son," said she, "but do not drink too much,

for

for the Posadniks are cunning men, they wish to put you to the trial."

The Posadniks received him at the bottom of the stair-case of the Town House, and accompanied him to the great hall. When arrived there, they wished to give him the place of honour; but Basil thanked them, and seated himself at the bottom. On this the magistrates, taking him under the arms, conducted him to the top of the table. At first the prince behaved with pru dence and modesty at length however the wily Posadniks having presented to him a goblet of wine, with these words, Let him empty this cup who loves the country of the Russians and great Novogorod!' he could not refuse drinking its contents." The liquor soon began to operate, and the intoxicated Basil irritated the Posadniks by claiming homage and tribute to as their sovereign lord. A quarrel ensues; Basil retires to the castle; the princess solicits forgiveness for the rashness of her son, but in vain she is insulted with the appellation of an old woman.' The magistrates assemble the citizens, and attack the castle; Basil, aroused from his drunken slumber, seizes a large piece of timber, with which he puts the assailants to the rout. The Posadniks, finding every other means ineffectual to stop the dreadful carnage, or appease the wrath of the young hero, agree to draw up an instrument in writing, by which they resign their authority and submit the city and territory of Novogorod to his will and plea sure. They then request the intercession of his two companions, who, holding up the deed of resignation, exclaimed, "Health to thee, Basil, son of Boguslas, Prince of Novogorod, and Sovereign of Russia! The Posadniks have thrown themselves at thy feet-themselves, their city, and the whole of the adjoining territory, appertain to thee: thou art the absolute sovereign of Novogorod, and all its dependencies-behold the act of submission, and cease from slaughter, for thou art massacreing thy own subjects!" On this the young prince arrests his dreadful vengeance, and gives rest to his vigorous arm. He receives the instrument from the Posadniks, and promises to them, and to all, pardon and indemnity. They then return to the city, singing and dancing, and Basil reigns over Novogorod. His reign was fortunate; commerce began to raise her droop ing head, and industry of all kinds

flourished. The repose and happiness of the people were never once disturbed either by civil dissensions, or by foreign wars; for all the world feared Basil, son of Boguslas, and his brothers in arms, Formuschika the Big, and Bogdanuschka the Little!,

66

Geographie Phisique de la Mer Noire," &c.-The Physical Geography of the Black Sea, the Interior of Africa, and the Mediterranean. By A. DUREAU de LAMALLE, jun.

The labours of Lamalle have obtained the sanction and the praise of the French Institute; and he himself, treading in the same steps of Buffon, has aspired to the character not only of an original writer, but an able constructor of theories, calculated to explain the most abstruse phenomena of nature. This work is accompanied and illustrated by two maps, drawn by Buache, representing,

1. The changes that have taken place in the inland seas, viz. the Caspian, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azof.

2. A geographical exhibition of the internal parts of Africa, with which we are yet bat little acquainted; and,

3. The routes by which the Greek and Roman conquerors marched during the most memorable expeditions recorded in history.

To enable him to enter on such deep investigations, much previous study as well as research became necessary. He accordingly begins with Herodotus, and quotes other authorities in order to prove that at an early period of the world the Sea of Azof was far larger than at the present day; nay, that during the time of the Antonines, it was but one half of its original size. After this, comparing the maps of Ptolemy and Pallas, he finds the diminution to be at this moment wonderful.

But this is not peculiar to the lake or sea of Azof, for the Black Sea has experienced a similar change.

A reference to Herodotus proves that it has decreased amazingly in length, and it seems pretty fairly inade out that its breadth has been lessened in a still greater proportion. The loss of 100 miles since the time of Xerxes is a singular phenomenon in an inland sea. In respect to the Caspian, its former figure and conformation are entirely lost. The Jazartes, which formerly flowed ints it, now empties itself into Inke Aral; which has become a separate portion oỀ water, and, following the fate of the

larger

larger bodies of this element, has also considerably decreased.

After stating, or rather deducing these various facts from history, M. Lamalle begins to disclose his theory, and to ins sinuate that there was a time when the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, and the Aral, were united together, so as to form one immense body of water. To shew the probability of this speculation, he has now recourse to the concurrent testimony of modern travellers, who all join in asserting, that these sheets of water are all equally salt, all equally productive of fish of the same species; and exhibit the same characteristic traits to the eye, and even to the taste, of every observer. In addition to this, their three basins, as they are here called, are separated from each other-not by rocks or hills, but by plains covered with the relics of marine plants, so as to afford a very probable suspicion, that they have been covered

with salt water.

Recurring to the time of Deucalion's deluge for support to his hypothesis, M. Lamalle describes the effects of a great catastrophe, which rent asunder all the track of country between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. But a deluge is not deemed sufficient to have produced so many phenomena; it was necessary for the production of such grand effects, that two terrific elements should be called at the same time into action; and in addition to the weight of water, a volcanic eruption is therefore supposed to have assisted in breaking down the ancient barriers of the Euxine Sea, whose waters, after having been pent up for ages, are supposed to have rushed into the Propontis, entered the Mediterranean, flooded the coasts of Asia Minor, Thrace and Greece, and to have extended their devastations to Egypt and Libya.

The effects of such an inundation are supposed to have been most wonderful and disastrous. Some of the affrighted inhabitants might have taken refuge on the summits of the mountains, and either perished from famine, or experienced a short and miserable existence. A few tribes are supposed indeed to have escaped; but whole nations are thought to have been buried under an inundation that covered the plains of Boeotia, and other parts of Greece. At length, on the gradual subsiding of the waters, the Euxine became nearly empty; the Mediterranean, in process of time, recovered its former level; the rivers returned to

their beds; and the Egean Sea became studded with islands.}

The seven following positions are laid down as already demonstrated :

1. That reckoning from the time of Herodotus to the travels of M. Pallas, the sea of Azof has decreased five-sixths in circumference.

2. That the Caspian Sea has receded more than one degree and a half towards the north, while it has declined one third and upwards in breadth.

3. That the Black Sea has experienced an equal degree of change.

4. That for some centuries prior to the age of Herodotus, the Caspian Sea the Lake of Aral, the Sea of Azof, and the Black Sea, were all united, and together formed a volume of water nearly equal in extent to, but without any communication with, the Mediterranean.

5. That the irruption of the Black Sea into the Mediterranean took place 1529 years anterior to the Christian æra.

6. That in consequence of the overflowing of the Euxine, Rhodes and Delos

were submerged; and,

7. That at the same time, Ossa was seperated from Olympus by an earthquake.

"Le Livre des Prodiges, ou Histoires marquables de Spectres, Revenans, Eset Adventures marveilleuses et reprits, Fantomes, Demons, &c. dont les faits et les evenemins sont rapportés par des personnes dignes de foi, avec cette épigraphe.

"Mon But est d'amuser et pas d'effrayer."

The Book of Prodigies, or- Marvellous Histories and Adventures of Ghosts, Phantoms, Demons, &c. concerning which the facts and the events which have been related by persons worthy of credit, &c.-3d edition, with additions.

It is not a little singular, that at the beginning of the 19th century, Paris, the capital of France, should have produced a work of this description; and what is still more remarkable, that a third edition should be now printed. By way of justifying his motto, in which the editor affects to amuse, and not to affright, he presents his readers with an with chains, which significantly beckons engraving of a skeleton, hung round a young man to follow him!

He then tells us, that the success of the "Marvellous" and the "Terrible," in England has induced him to publish a work, "the events narrated in which are so wonderful and extraordinary, that many

would