ing broke the regularly perpendicular line of the sides of the water-spout, and the sun shining upon it rendered it in some points of view, of a dazzling brightness. Standing with our backs to the sun, and looking into the mouth of the pipe, we enjoyed the sight of a most brilliant assemblage of all the colours of the rainbow, caused by the decomposition of the solar rays passing through the shower of drops that was falling between us and the crater. After the water had risen to the vast height above described, I ventured to stand in the midst of the thickest of the shower of spray; where I remained till my clothes were all wetted through, but still scarcely felt that the water was warmer than my own temperature. On the other side of the spout, the column was so undivided, that, though upon the very brink of the crater, within a few inches of the water, I was neither wetted, nor had I a fear of being scalded by any falling drops. Stones of the largest size that I could find, and great masses of the siliceous rock, which we threw into the crator, were instantly ejected by the force of the water; and though the latter were of so solid a nature as to require very hard blows from a large hammer, when I wanted to procure specimens, they were, nevertheless, by the violence of the explosion, shivered into small pieces, and carried up with amazing rapidity to the full height of, and frequently higher than, the summit of the spout. One piece of a light porous stone was cast at least twice as high as the water, and falling in the direction of the column, was met by it, and a second time forced up to a great height in the air. The spring, after having continued for an hour and a half spouting its waters in so lofty a column, and with such amazing force, experienced an evident diminution in its strength; and during the space of the succeeding half hour, the height of the spout varied, as we supposed, from twenty to fifty feet; the fountain gradually becoming more and more exhausted, and sometimes remaining still for a few minutes, after which, it again feebly raised its waters to the height of not more than from two to ten feet, till at the expiration of two hours and a half from the commencement of the eruption, it ceased to play, and the water sunk into the pipe to the depth of about twenty feet, and there continued to boil for some time. I had no hesitation in pronouncing this to be, what is called by Sir John Stanley, the New Geyser ;* although the shape and dimensions of the crater differ somewhat from the description given by that gentleman. But after a lapse of twenty years, it is not to be expect

*The term Geyser, it may be here remarked, is derived from an Icelandic word which implies a vomiting forth, or boiling out in a furious manner, and at intervals. "Nomen habet" (the learned rector of Skalholt, writes to Sir Joseph Banks) "a verbo Islandico ad giosa evomere, ebullire; aquas enim per intervalla in altum evomit."

ed that, with two such powerful agents as fire and water, constantly operating, a spot like this should be suffered to remain without any alteration. The outlines of the aperture is an irregular oval, seventeen feet long and nine feet in width; on only one side of which there is a rim or elevated margin, about five or six feet in length, and one foot high; but the ends of this are ragged, as if it had formerly been continued the whole way round the crater, and it is therefore probably a portion of the same wall, which Sir John Stanley describes as nearly surrounding the basin at the time he was there, and as being two feet high. The well is formed by no means with the almost mathematical accuracy of that of the Geyser, but is extremely irregular in its figure, and descends in rather a sloping direction; its surface being composed of a siliceous crust, of a deep grayish-brown colour, worn smooth by the continued friction of the water. For several yards, in one direction, in the neighbourhood, where the waters flows off in a shallow stream, the bed of this is composed of a thin white covering, of a siliceous deposit. During the eruption of the New Geyser, I could not perceive that it in any way affected the neighbouring springs. I remarked no particular sinking of the water in any, nor did I observe that any boiled more violently than usual. The Geyser, which was filled almost to the rim of the basin, previous to the eruption of the New Geyser, from which it is distant about four hundred yards or more, remained, as nearly as possible, in the same state of fulness during and after the eruption. Sir John Stanley also observed the same circumstance, so that in all probability their subterraneous streams are quite independent of each other. We were informed by the people living in the neighbourhood, that in the spring of last year (1808), a violent shock of an earthquake was felt, which made an aperture for another hot spring, and caused the whole of them to cease flowing for fifteen days. The ground at that time, appeared to be lifted up some feet; a house was thrown down, and all the cattle which were at pasture, ran home to the

Horrebow, indeed, seems to lead to a contrary conclusion, from the following observations:-"In the parish of Huusevig, at a farm called Reykum, there are three springs which lie about thirty fathoms from each other. The water boils up in them in the following manner: when the spring or well at one end has thrown up its water, then the middle one begins, which subsiding, that at the other end rises, and after it the first begins again, and so on in the same order by a continued succession, each boiling up three times in about a quarter of an hour." Page 21.-Povelsen and Olafsen also mention a remarkable circumstance, which proves a communication between the two springs called Akraver, in the canton of Olves, situated at the distance of an hundred toises from each other. On throwing in the lead, for the purpose of sounding the depth of one of these wells, they found the water immediately diminished a foot and a half in depth, whilst at the same time it flowed over from the other well.

dwellings of their masters, and showed symptoms of the greatest terror. Earthquakes in this quarter of the country are not unfrequent. One happened but a short time previous to the visit of Sir John Stanley, who conjectures, that this probably enlarged the cavities communicating with the bottom of the pipe of the New Geyser; for it is to be remarked, that till then, (June 1789) that spring had not played for a considerable length of time with any degree of violence.*

[Our readers are presented in this number, with an engraved portrait of Bonaparte,-copied, by the polite permission of its proprietor, from a painting, more strongly resembling him, than any other which has been exhibited to the American public. We have taken the liberty of accompanying it with the following extracts from a vigorous and faithful Sketch of his Character, from the pen of an American, who had the benefit of a personal observation, and whose talents are an honour to his native land. Ed. Sel. Rev.]

BONAPARTE.

THE person of Bonaparte has been so often described, that I need not enter into particulars on this point. He was quite corpulent at this period, and is now, as I am informed, still more robust. He wore on this occasion, a plain uniform coat with the imperial insignia, and the cross of the legion of honour. His hair was without powder, and cropped short. I saw him in various situations afterwards, and received uniformly the same impressions from his countenance. It is full of meaning, but does not altogether indicate the true character of his soul. His eye is solemn and gloomy, and exceedingly penetrating; but it has less of savage fierceness, and of fire, than one would expect. The whole physical head, however, is not unsuitable to the station or nature of the individual.

"His warlike mind, his soul devoid of fear,

"His high-designing thoughts are figured there."

His limbs are well-proportioned, and remarkably strong and muscular. His personal activity is indefatigable, and his personal courage has never been questioned. I have seen him several times on horseback, almost always in full gallop. He displays no grace in this position, but is universally admitted, to be one of the most adventurous, as well as skilful riders in his dominions.

There is no man, as I am well informed, more patient of fatigue, or more willing to encounter it in every situation. His habits as to diet are not at all abstemious, and yet by no means

* See Edinburgh Transactions, v. iii. p. 150.