In 1817, Sir Humphry was elected an associate of the Royal Academy; and, in 1818, went to Italy, where he passed that and the following year, employing his leisure in a series of interesting observations on Roman antiquities, and in examining the condition of the Herculaneum MSS., for the unrolling of which he invented a process, which, in some instances, was employed with success. During his absence on the Continent he was advanced to the barontage; and, on his return to England, the death of Sir Joseph Banks leaving the presidentship of the Royal Society vacant, he was placed in that honorable situation, on the 30th of November, 1820.

Till 1827, Sir Humphry continued to discharge the duties of this high scientific office, when increasing ill-health obliged him to resign it, and again seek relief from the mild air of the Continent. His general residence was at Rome; but, having suffered from an alarming paralysis, he was induced to return to Geneva, which place he reached by slow stages, in company with Lady Davy. Almost immediately, however, after his arrival, he was seized by a sudden and fatal attack; and, on the 29th of May, 1829, died at Couronne, in an inn overlooking the Lake of Geneva. His funeral took place on the 1st of June, and different public bodies, both civil and literary, were present. His remains were deposited in the burying-ground of the city, without the walls, and the spot is marked by a simple monument. So died a man who has done more than any other in Europe for science, and cultivated it with a more serious and firmer individual regard to all the interests of mankind, moral as well as physical.

Sir Humphry's published works are: "Salmonia;" "Consolations in Travel; or, Last Days of a Philosopher;" "Chemical and Philosophical Researches;" "Electro-Chemical Researches; "Elements of Chemical Philosophy:""Elements of Agricultural Chemistry;" and numerous pamphlets and papers in the different philosophical journals.

THIS singular hostel is situated in the parish of Sennen, about threequarters of a mile from the Land's End, in Cornwall. As the traveller advances thither from inland, he may read upon one face of the signboard, "The Last Inn in England;" and, upon the opposite face of the sign-board, as he approaches the house from the Land's End, "The First Inn in England." It is, altogether, a traveller's "wonderment;" and, although the house is small, the landlady assured our correspondent he could be provided with a dinner of "fish, flesh, and flowl," in the course of an hour. Sennen lies about nine miles south of Penzance, over rather a wild country; and at three miles distance from Sennen is the famed Logan or Logging Stone, probably formed by the decomposi

tion of granite, but long regarded as a relic or memorial of Druidical superstition.

In "Dolman's Magazine," is an interesting anecdote of this locality, which may be quoted here:

"The Land's End, in Cornwall, consists of a promontory covered with green sward, of which the granite cliffs present to the ever stormy sea that dashes against that coast, a grand and most precipitous rampart. The descent from the high road, distant about a quarter of a mile from the sea, to the very brink of the cliffs, is by an extremely steep smooth lawn. Some years back a gentleman on horseback was run away with on this spot. Horse and rider were seen rushing down the green declivity with ungovernable speed, and the immediate destruction of both seemed inevitable, but, upon the very ledge of the precipice, the horseman had the luck or dexterity to let himself drop on the turf, thus saving his lfe. The horse leapt into the sea, and the impress left on the sod by his hinder feet, about a yard from the brink of the precipice, has been preserved to this day in commemoration of the event.

WILLIAM PITT.

WILLIAM PITT, Earl of Chatham, an illustrious statesman, was born 15th November, 1708. His father was Robert Pitt of Boconnock, in Cornwall. The young statesman was educated at Eton, and in 1726, he entered at Trinity College, Oxford, which he left for the military profession, and the rank of cornet. A different field of action, however, was destined for the exhibition of his powers, and, in 1735, he was elected into Parliament for Old Sarum, and soon began to distinguish himself as an eloquent and well-informed speaker.

He enlisted early in the ranks of opposition against Walpole, and in his speeches against the Spanish convention, and against the bill for registering seamen, displayed such acuteness, vehemence, and depth of argumentation as astonished the House, and marked him as worthy of the highest offices of the state. The Duchess of Marlborough, also, the inveterate enemy of Walpole, applauded the patriotism of the young orator, and in her will left him an honorable legacy of £10,000, for defending, as she said, the laws of his country, and preventing its ruin. In 1746, his abilities were solicited to support the administration which had succeeded to Walpole, and he became joint vice-treasurer of Ireland, and soun after treasurer, and pay-master of the army, and privy counsellor. In 1755, he resigned; but though the next year he received the seals of secretary of state for the Southern department, his continuance in office was of short duration, the public voice of applause, however, accompanied him in his retirement, and had such effect on the government, that in June, 1757, he was reinstated in his office of secretary

The restoration of this favorite of the people to power, was the beginning of a new era of splendid conquests, and of national glory. The arms of England proved every where successful in consequenco of the judicious plans of the new minister; Quebec was conquered, the French were defeated in Africa, and in the East, and the shores of Europe too witnessed the bravery and the victories of the British by sea and by land. The death of George II, in the midst of these brilliant achievements, and the acces sion of George III was soon followed by the resignation of the popular minister, who refused to cooperate with an administration, which by the influence of Lord Bute, as it is supposed, thwarted his vigorous measures. His retirement was accompanied not only by the regrets of the nation, but by the honorable grant of a peerage to his lady, and a pension of £3000. The peace of 1763, was censured by this sagacious patriot, who declared that England, from the extent of her victories, was entitled to more solid advantages; yet whilst he blamed the minister, he did not continue a petulant and capricious opposition, but remained silent till the question of general warrants, in 1764, called forth all his eloquence, and the keenness of his satire against the illegality and oppression of those unpopular engines of arbitrary power. In 1766, he was prevailed upon to accept the privy seal in the administration, and with it an

earldom; but he resigned the office, November, 1768, and ever after refused to be connected with the government. His health indeed declined, and a hereditary gout helped to undermine his constitution, without, however, diminishing the energetic powers of his mind.

When the subject of the American war engaged the attention of the public, Lord Chatham burst forth from his retirement, and, in his place in the House of Lords, vindicated the honors of his country, and deprecated severe measures against the discontented. On one of these occasions, after the Duke of Richmond had replied to his powerful and convincing arguments in favor of conciliation, the venerable peer rose up to answer the speech of his opponent, but his debilitated constitution sunk under the attempt, and he fell in a fit into the arms of those who were near him. This extraordinary event, which exhibited a favorite statesman breathing his last, while he uttered the most animated sentiments for the honor, the glory, and the independence of his country, happened 8th April, 1778, and he died on the ensuing 11th May. All ranks and all parties now united to pay due respect to the memory of the departed patriot; the unpopularity which for a while had obscured his career, because he had accepted a pension and a peerage, had now disappeared in his unshaken character of the statesman, and the sagacious defender of the liberties of his country. A public funeral and a monument in Westminster Abbey, at the expense of the nation, were immediately voted by Parliament, as a testimony, as the inscription records, to the virtues and abilities of a man, during whose administration divine providence had exalted Great Britain to a height of prosperity and glory unknown to any former age.

As a statesman, says one of his biographers, Lord Chatham was born with all the graces of the orator, and possessed every requisite to bespeak respect and even awe. A manly figure and penetrating look, fixed attention and commanded reverence, and the keen lightning of his eye spoke the high spirit of his soul, even before the lips had begun utterance. The most fluent and ready orators have shrunk back appalled from his all-powerful eloquence. He had not, indeed, the correctness of language so striking in the great Roman orator, but he had the verba ardentia, the bold glowing words, which darted with such irresistible efficacy, that Walpole, surrounded with power and the unshaken support of a decided majority, never heard his voice in the house of commons without being alarmed and thunderstruck.

In

WILLIAM PITT, Son of the preceding, was born at Hayes, May 28th 1759. From his earliest years he was instructed by his father, who foresaw the future greatness of his son, and taught him to argue with logical precision, and to speak with elegance and force. Being elected a Member of Parliament, he enlisted on the side of the opposition against Lord North and the American War, and in his first speech displayed that commanding eloquence which was so warmly applauded in his illustrious father. 1783, he was selected as first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer. During the stormy period of the French Revolution, as prime minister, he conducted the affairs of the nation with vigor and manly energy. In 1800, he planned the union with Ireland, which was after much opposition completed under his auspices. In 1802, when public affairs began to wear a threatening aspect, a hereditary gout produced an alarming debility in his nervous system. Excessive anxiety, application to business, and a constant privation of rest, with gloomy forebodings of the progress of the French, hastened his dissolution. He expired at Putney, Surrey, January 23d, 1806, and the last words which quivered on his dying lips, were, "Oh, my country!”

BRISTOL, a city and seaport of England, between the counties of Glocester and Somerset, like ancient Rome, is seated on seven hills, or elevations, which diversify the surface of a low but beautiful vale, about eight miles from the mouth of the Avon, and its confluence with the Frome. Its situation renders it commercial. The old town, which now forms a part of the city, stands on a narrow hill, bounded by the Avon on the south, and the Frome on the north and west. The more ancient houses are of wood and plaster. The buildings in the modern part are elegant and spacious, extending towards Clifton, which, in fact, is the "west end of the town."

Bristol, until eclipsed by Liverpool, was the principal port on the western coast of England. Its leading branch of foreign commerce is with the West Indies. Glass may be considered as the staple manufacture, for which the city has been celebrated for centuries. It also has a name for refining sugar superior to any other place. Bristol may be said to have reached its commercial culminating point about the year 1828, when its gross receipts of customs were £1,204,000. Since that period the port may be said to have stood still. The present population is about 80,000, which is a decrease from former years.

Bristol was constituted a Bishop's See by Henry VIII, and part of a monastery founded by Stephen in 1140, has been converted into a cathedral. It has a square tower 130 feet high. The church of St. Mary Redcliffe is considered one of the most beautiful in England. It was in this church that the poet Chatterton pretend⚫ed to have found, in some old boxes, the "Poems of Rowley."

The church contains several statues, among which is that of Sir William Penn, the father of the founder of Pennsylvania. The Dissenters have several places of worship in the city.

About a mile west of Bristol, close to the river, stands the village of the Hot Wells, celebrated for a tepid spring, which has been found a powerful specific in various maladies. It rises near the bottom of the cliff, about twenty-six feet below high water mark, and ten feet above low water, forcibly gushing from an aperture in the solid rock, and so copious as to discharge sixty gallons in a minute. During the earthquake at Lisbon, on the first of November, 1755, the water of the medicinal spring suddenly became red and turbid; the tide of the Avon flowed back, and the water of a well in the village of Kingswood turned black as ink, and was rendered unfit for use for a fortnight. Bristol has a fine harbor. The inconvenience attending ships lying aground at the quays, at the influx of every tide, had long made it a desideratum to devise some practical plan by which it might be obviated, and, in the interval between 1763 and 1803, various engineers were consulted, and means proposed by which this might be accomplished. In the year 1809, the undertaking was commenced at an expense of nearly £600,000. By constructing extensive works, and opening a new channel for the Avon, the flux and reflux of the tide at the quays is now prevented, and the whole of the rivers Avon and Frome, from their entrance into the city, at its northern extremity, to Rownham Ferry, in extent upwards of three miles, is kept constantly filled with water, and being connected with two entrance basins, forms a space of nearly forty acres, in which merchant ships of all burdens may constantly lie afloat, while such as could be brought up or down the river, between King's Road and the quay, during the spring tides only, may now take advantage of every tide, wind and weather not preventing. Bristol was known at a very early period; and without resorting to the traditions which date its origin nearly four centuries antecedent to the Christian era, we find it mentioned by Gildas, about the year 430, among the fortified cities of Britain, and also by Nemmius, about 620. In the latter part of the eleventh century, a market is said to have been held there for slaves, and in the beginning of the succeeding one it was encompassed with a strong wall, by Robert, the illegitimate son of Henry I, who also rebuilt and improved the castle, then a spacious structure. This was long an object of contention, and at last ordered by Oliver Cromwell to be demolished. In the reign of Henry II, Bristol was a rich and flourishing place. A great quantity of coinage seems to have been prepared in it towards the close of the thirteenth century. An act passed for rendering the Avon navigable, and the first barge passed from Bristol to Bath in 1727. Many of its most useful and commodious edifices were erected during the preceding, and some in the present century. In 1831, this great commercial city was the theater of the most disgraceful outrages. The destruction of life and property was most lamentable. It appears that the disturbances originated with Sir Charles Wetherell, the Recorder of Bristol, who pertinaciously insisted on visiting the place in his judicial capacity, though he was perfectly aware that his conduct on the reform question had justly rendered him unpopular. Upwards of one hundred persons were killed and wounded.