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once."-Lord Wellington has defeated him in Portugal; General Graham has routed him at Barrosa; and Mr. Kemble, not to be behindhand with his illustrious countrymen, is making a most spirited campaign against him at Covent Garden; borrowing the cavalry of Astley, and bringing to bear on him the whole park of artillery of the Playhouse, he has attacked him in his own palace, and battered his St. Cloud over his ears. Mr. Kemble deserves as much praise for his poetry as for his pageantry; for though some persons have expressed an ill-natured doubt whether Mr. Kemble be really in earnest, and whether, in the production of this piece, he did not rather look to his own interest than the interest of the nation, we, for our own parts, are perfectly persuaded, as well from the gravity of this piece, as from its spirit of poetry and magnificence, that Mr. Kemble fully intended it as a national boon; and in his attack on Bonaparte, he is as much in earnest as General Graham himself We have only to express our hopes, that this spirit of patriotism and ingenious allegorical representation will extend beyond the walls of Covent Garden house. The season of the country fairs is now coming round; we hope, therefore, Punch will

There is absolutely no occasion for the help of nonsense, in order to give a propriety to the introduction of songs.-This Opera, however, has some very pretty music, and one or two of the songs are infinitely beyond what we have been accustomed to hear; and one of them in allusion to late events (the brother of Bonaparte seeking refuge amongst us) was very much and very deservedly applauded. The title of this song The Home of the Stranger, is very good, and the words appeal very forcibly to the feelings of the audience. Every attempt of this kind to encourage public feeling, and to cherish the enthusiasm which at prescat animate the country, ought to be encouraged. Upon the whole, The Americans, as an Opera, is a very pleasing piece, and Braham and Mrs. Mountain have some very charming songs.

"THE BOOK."-The convulsions and changes that have happened in the G-rnm-t since the suppression of "The Book," afford much choice of conjecture to the contemplative mind as to what "The Book" contains, and what were the motives which originally prompted its compiler to print it for the pub

do his duty, and that Richardson and Sanders, and afterwards to bury it beyond the reach

will rival Kemble and the Cortes in holding up the great usurper, the Timour of Europe, to universal execration. There is one thing in Timour the Tartar, the ingenuity of which we particularly admire, and that is, the representation of the Empress of France in the person of Mrs. H. Johnston, as Princess of Mongrellia; if a man is to be soundly rated, there is both life and nature by putting it in the mouth of his wife-the Empress accordingly does not spare Bonaparte.

LYCEUM.-A new play has appeared at this Theatre called The Americans.-This piece is an Opera, therefore respecting the plot we shall say nothing. It is now become a general law in all these pieces, that their music exempts them from all obligations to sense. The plot and even the dialogue are introduced merely to cover a peg upon which to hang the songs; and if the plot has sufficient coherence to lead to some termination in a marriage with the parties concerned, the author considers himself as having entirely done his duty. For our own parts, however, we are so much wedded to the old school of Opera, that we do not deem this a sufficient excuse.

The plot and action of Operas are founded upou those passions and humours which are by no means contrary to mirth, and in mirth it is by no means unnatural to sing

of the public sight. A printed book to be suppressed, and held in subjection by a Public Officer, is a new feature in the annals of litera ture; and yet it appears not to astonish by its novelty, nor to alarm by the danger with which it menaces the press. Abused and insulted as the public have been on this subject, it must be a matter of considerable gratification to learn, that a work, entitled The Spirit of The Rook,' or Memoirs of Caroline Princess of Hasburgh, formed upon the basis of the suppressed "Book," is now presented to the public, which exposes every fact and circumstance which Distress has been compelled to sell or resign to Power, and which Fower has been at such distress to conceal from the world. Until the perusal of this work, it is hoped no premature or harsh opinion will be entertained of it. The Author presumes to be found well deserving the patronage of the public, and the approbation of mankind. His work comprehends the Memoirs of many of the most distinguished and illustrious Personages, and will satisfy that credulous and extravagant curiosity which has hitherto attached such inestimabic value to the slanderous volume known by the name of The Delicate Investigation-This interesting and valuable work is this day published, in three duodecimo volumes, price 11. 5s.; and may be had of Messrs. Allen and Co. No. 15, Paternoster-row.

WORKS IN THE PRESS.

Jewish churches still acknowledge the autho

The Rev. Samuel Clapham will shortly pub.rity of the patriarch of Autioch; and from the lish, in an octavo volume, Sermons, selected from Minor Authors, adapted to the Saints' Days, Festivals, &c.

Dr. W. B. Collyer, has in the press, Lectures on Scripture Miracles, in an octavo volume, similar with the two former volumes on Scripture Facts and Prophecies.

Mr. B. Travers, demonstrator of anatomy at Guy Hospital, has in the press, an inquiry concerning Injuries to the Intestinal Canal, illustrating the treatment of wounds penetrating into that canal, and of strangulated hernia.

Dr. Edwards has nearly finished a work, in two volumes, with which he has been long engaged, in ascertaining the real and relative foundations of the different civil, political, commercial, and individual interests of society and nations.

P. Pindar, Esq. is preparing for the press the Rival Minstrel, or the Challenge to Walter Scott, minstrel of the North, from Paul Pendragon, minstrel of the West.

Lucien Bonaparte, now resident in this country, has been several years engaged on an epic poem, entituled Charlemagne, or Rome Delivered, in twenty four cantos, which is expected to appear at the close of the present year.

A volume of Letters, by the late Rev. James Harvey, dated from 1736 to 1752, will speedily be published.

Dr. C Hutton is printing a complete collection of what may be considered his discoveries, improvements, and inventions, under the title of Tracts, mathematical and philosophical, in three octavo volumes, of which the first is nearly ready for publication, containing, among other improvements, an enlarged edition of his Treatise on Bridges.

Mr. P. Nicholson has in the press, a Dictionary of Architecture, in two quarto volumes, with many plates; and the first part of it is expected to appear in a few days.

Messrs. Smith and Son, of Glasgow, have in the press a Catalogue of Books, which is said to include many articles highly interesting for their extreme rarity and fine condition.

The Bishop of St. David has in the press, an edition of Chrysostoma de Sacerdotio, lib. iii. in Greek and Latin, with an introduction on the importance and dignity of the pastoral office, and the danger of undertaking it rashly.

Dr. C. Buchanan, amid his researches in the East, has made an extraordinary discovery in Biblical Literature. In Travancore, seventy

Jews of these churches he has obtained a version of the Hebrew Scriptures, written long prior to the Captivity.

PROJECTED TRAVELS IN AFRICA-A German of the name of Routgen, a scholar of the celebrated Blumenbach, in Gottingen, bas announced his intention to endeavour to penetrate into the interior of Africa, nearly in the track pursued by Mr. Hornemann, who, as he has not been heard of for ten years, is thought to have perished in the enterprise. This young man is about twenty years of age, and seems to have obtained all the kind of knowledge which is particularly necessary for his purpose. He understands the Arabic language, is remarkably abstemious, and has accustomed himself to make raw flesh and insects his food. At Gottingen he submitted to circumcision, that he might appear to be a true believer in the Koran, and in the character of a physician travelled through those countries where the name of a Christian would infallibly lead to slavery or death. In his peregrinations on foot through Germany and Switzerlaud, he always chose the worst lodgings and accommodations to inure himself to hardships. In Germany and Paris he has collected a number of questions proposed by the literati, relative to the unknown regions which he intends to visit. He means to endeavour to accompany a mercantile caravan from Mogador to Tumbuctoo.

METHOD OF DETECTING ARSENIC WHEN IN WATER. A watery solution of cuprum vitriolatum, or sulphate of copper, commonly called blue vitriol, forms a beautiful blue liquid-now if to this a small quantity of arsenic dissolved in water be added, it will form a green precipitate; the experiment may be made thus: take of water two ounces; of blue vitriol two scruples-dissolve it completely. Take of finely powdered white arsenic four grains, of salt of tartar twelve grains, distilled water boiling one ounce. A few drops of the solution of arsenic being put into the solution of blue vitriol, will produce a fine grass-green precipitate.

APOPLEXY-In all cases of severe apoplexy Auor volatile alkali has been discovered in France, by M. Sage, to be of great efficacy when taken internally. In a memoir to the National Institute, he vouches the experience of forty years for its being an immediate remedy, if employed on the first appearance of the disease.

ROYAL INSTITUTION.

MR. DAVY'S LECTURES ON GEOLOGY.-NO. 1. Mr. Davy, after some introductory observation, pointed out two distinct arrangements of rocks-one, characterised by a crystaline texture, by a stratification approaching to the perpendicular in its direction, and by a total want of organic remains; the other, known by the horizontal position of its strata, and by the intermixture of petrifactions and waterworn stones. The first arrangement constitutes the primary class of rocks, and the last the secondary. Both are traversed by veins, which were formerly empty fissures, but are now filled up, and become the repositories of metallic ores.

As the same rocks, in all parts

of the globe, are similarly associated, and contain similar metallic deposits, their relations and transitions form the most important part of geology. Mr. Davy shewed the excellence of the present order of things, and that the irregularities of the surface of the earth were wise contrivances. He pointed out the changes to which rocks are at present liable from the action of the air, sun, and the vicissitudes of the seasons, and noticed the operations counteracting this destructive process, such as the formation of islands at the mouths of rivers, vast productions of coral, aud islands, the result of sub-marine fires; and he shewed that the degradation of the solid rock itself had beneficial consequences; that it gave rise to new soils, to the fertilization of barren tracts, to the filling up of lakes, &c.

Mr. Davy deferred the examination of the different hypothesis advanced respecting the past alterations of the globe, to the concluding part of his course. The two principal hypo. thesis are the Plutonian and Neptunian. Hooke started the first, in which our continents are supposed to be in a continual state of decay and of renovation, the agencies of the elements being the destructive powers, and the action of a great central fire on the detrition of our land accumulated in the bed of the ocean, the renovating power. The central fire, its principal engine, has been the object of great objection. Mr. Davy remarked, that the source of this imaginary fire might be attributed to the existence of the earths in their metallic state in the interior, acted on by air and water, and thus supplying fuel, and that the re-production of these metals might be owing to internal electrical currents. In the Neptunian hypothesis, water is the general solvent, and supplies the place of fire in the Plutonian, and our continents are supposed to be derived from a fluid chaos, the primary rocks by crystalization and deposiNo. XIX, Vol. III.-N. S.

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tion, and the secondary, by a simple deposi tion at a latter period, after the sea was stocked with inhabitants. Beside these two, many others have been resorted to, Leibnitz and Whiston, for instance, imagined a comet to have been concerned in producing the present appearance of things, by elevating the ocean, inundating the continents, and by heating its waters, giving them new solvent powers. Mr. Davy pointed out two grand circumstances connected with this inquiry; first, alterations produced in secondary rocks by causes acting from above, such as the opening of valleys, the sweeping away of strata, &c. without the parallelism of the remaining strata being altered. Secondly, the derangement of the primary rocks by causes apparently acting from below. He asserted that more than one system of causes was necessary to account for all the phenomena, and that the practice of assigning them all to one was faulty; he advanced several illustrative instances in which unity of effect is the result of a variety of causes.

Mr. Davy recommended to those who wished to become acquainted with geology, the examination of geological collections, and the perusal of geological writings, particularly of those enlightened observers, de Saussure, Dolomien, Humbolt, and Jameson.

He stated that the science, independent of the healthy employment it gives to the mind, is of great importance in a practical point of view; that it very nearly concerns the miner, engineer, and drainer; and even the farmer and architect; and it discloses a variety of indications highly useful in their respective pursuits-to the miner, the rocks containing metalic veins and coals; to the engineer, the association of hard rocks with soft; to the drainer, the intersection of a country by bard dykes, or veins impermeable to water; to the farmer the best places for finding limestone, marl, and clay; and to the architect the most durable stones for buildings, and he mentioned several instances of the serious evils arising from a want of geological knowledge.

The person who is attached to geological inquiries, says Mr. Davy, can scarcely ever want objects of employment, and of interest. The ground on which he treads, the country which surrounds him, and even the rocks and stoires removed from their natural position by art, are all capable of affording some degree of amusement. And every new mine or quarry that is opened, every new surface of the earth that is laid bare, and every new country that is discovered, offers to him novel sources of information.

In travelling, he is interested in a pursuiț
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which must constantly preserve the mind awake to the scenes presented to it; and the beauty, the majesty, and the sublimity of the great forms of nature, must necessarily be enhanced by the contemplation of their order, their mutual dependence, and their connection as a whole.

the rivers, towns, fortifications, letters or words, &c. &c. has been by black upon white, my new method is by producing a contrary effect, by leaving the tints, lines, or figures alluded to, white instead of black; so that where in the common way the paper is covered with black or coloured ink, my new method is to leave it uncovered; and where in the common way it is uncovered, by my method it is left covered. Farther, in order that I may

The imagery of a mountainous country, which is the very theatre of the science, is in almost all cases highly impressive and delightful, but a new and a nobler species of enjoy-be so understood as that any person converment arises in the mind, when the arrangement in it, its uses, and its subserviency to life are considered.

To the geological inquirer every mountain chain offers decided proofs of the great alterations that the globe has undergone. The most sublime speculations are awakened; the mind is carried into pust ages; new forms of existence are presented to it, and a boundless inquiry-the destruction of a former order of things, and a system arranged with harmony, filled with beauty and life, formed from its elements, and established on its ruins.

NEW METHOD OF COMBINING THE ARTS
OF THE ENGRAVER AND LETTER PRESS
PRINTER.

After the introductory forms of a Patent that has been granted to the inventor, Mr. Stuart, late of Fleet street, he proceeds:

"My new method or invention is for the purpose of combining, in many instances hereafter specified, the arts of Engraving and Letter-press Printing, so as to produce at once the dispatch and economy of the latter with the effect and general utility of the former.

sant in the arts of Printing and Engraving may perfectly comprehend my meaning, my new method, instead of producing dark figures on a light ground, is by producing light figures on a dark ground or surface, or on a ground darker at least than the figures themselves.

"Or my new method, in the second place, is by the usual way of representing all figures, that is, by the black tints or lines, or black figures, as now commonly represented on a white ground or surface, or by the adoption of any other coloured ground or surface-taking care always to produce the advantageous combinations of the two arts of Engraving aud Letter-press Printing, that is to say, the dispatch and economy of the latter with the effect and general utility of the former, a combination hitherto wished for in vain, and from which, it may be obvious, very essential results will arise both to the artists and to traders in the arts, and, in fact, to the public, that will no doubt be actuated by interest to encourage a new invention which may afford an extraordinary gratification by a speedier mode of intelligence through a cheaper medium.

of metals, wood, or any other substance on which engravings can be made; and (in some instances), for the better adapting the ground or surface of the plate, or for the better ren

"Having thus expressed myself fully on "My new method of Printing maps, charts, this part of the subject, I shall now proceed to geographical, astronomical, diagrams or ma- describe or explain my mode of executing or thematical figures, music, drawing books to producing the effects already specified :-The teach outlines, architectural ground plans, engravings of the figures may be cut or stampor surveys of estates, trees or tables of pedi-ed, or otherwise indented, on plates of brass, gree, anatomical figures, figures or represen- || copper, tin, pewter, type-metal, or any mixture tations of the human body; or, in short, any figure or figures performed in my manuer about to be described or specified, for Books, Magazines, Newspapers, or any other periodical publication, or for any printed paper what-dering the ground or surface fit in all its parts ever, consists, in the first place, in reversing the ordinary or common way of printing or representing such figure or figures; that is to say, where the usual mode of printing or engraving the figures now described has hitherto been by a black upon a white ground or surface, my new method is by producing the contrary effect, viz. by a white upon a black ground or surface. Again, in order that I may be fully understood, as the usual way of printing or representing in maps, for instance,

for the proper reception and adhesion of that kind of ink used by Letter-press Printers, so as to produce a clear and an equal impression on all its parts at once (an invention on metalic plates hitherto, I verily believe, unattempted, or at least unattained), I cause dots or lines to be cut, marked, or stamped, or drawn across the ground or surface of the metalic plates, or other substance; or I corrode it with aquafortis, vitriol, or other acid, so as to produce a sufficient degree of roughness for the adhe

or any of the other figures already mentioned, performed in my manner, the separate arts of the Copper-plate Eugiaver and the Letterpress Printer, by engraving as Engravers usually do, and by printing as Printers usually do-thereby rendering, by the application of these united arts in the printing of Books, Magazines, Newspapers, periodical publications (which require dispatch), a very great saving or abridgment of time, labour and expence, in the exercise of both arts, and consequently a very great convenience and advantage to the public at large.

"P. STUART."

IMPORTANCE OF A MISPLACED COMMA.

Amazing as it may seem, it is certainly a fact, that the unfortunate King Edward II. lost his life by the means of a misplaced comma. For the cruel Queen, with whom he was at variance, sent to the keeper of the prison in which he was confined, the following lines:

"To shed King Edward's blood "Refuse to fear, I count it good." Had the comma been placed after the word refuse, thus,

sion of the particular ink now mentioned; leaving the figures or subject of the plate or plates, or engraving, untouched by such dots or lines. I wish also particularly to observe, that it is absolutely necessary the lines cut, stamped, or engraved, should be as deep as possible, or as deep as the ultimate operation of the press may require-a mode unnecessary in the common way of Copper-plate Engraving; and that the part of the surface which is not engraved upon, instead of being made as smooth as possible, as in Copper-plate Engravings, ought to be made (in some instances) as before specified, sufficiently rough, either by mechanical or chemical means so as to make the ink applied by the Letter-press Printer's balls adhere in a way nearly equal, or in such quantity or proportion as is wanted or intended. The last preparatory process of the plate for the Letter-press, previously to its being printed as described, is by fixing it on a wooden block; or by grooving it on a brass or other metallic standard; or by fixing it on a clay or earthen substance or cement, taking special care that the whole body thus formed shall not be higher or lower than the types commonly used at the Letter press; and also taking special care, that it be calculated in every degree to be embodied, as it were, with the Letter-press Printer's form or types, so as to produce, by the very same operation of the Letter-press, the impression of both the plate and the types at one and the same time, or by one and the same pull of the Letter-press Printer, and on the very same sheet or piece of paper. Or the plate or plates thus prepared, may, if on particular occasions deemed more expedient, be worked off alone at the Letter-indemnification to the keeper.-According to the press, so as to produce the intended effect of Engraving with the facility and dispatch of multiplying copies agreeably to the nature or principle of operation peculiar to the Letterpress. I wish also to be clearly understood, that the plate or plates for maps, charts, music, or other figures already mentioned, may be prepared by engraving, indenting, or stamp ing on a flat surface of wood, of metal, or other material or substance, so as to form a matrix or mould from which I cast or form the reverse, in the manner of a seal or die, that is to say, the hollows, or sunk lines, dots, letters or figures of the former, become the protuberances or raised lines, dots, &c. of the latter, by which I print by the common process of the Letter-press Printer.

"Thus by the means now described or specified, I combine, or unite, for maps, charts, music, anatomical figures, or any figures or vepresentations of the human body, or for all

"To shed King Edward's blood
"Refuse,"

the sense would have implied that the keeper
was commanded not to hurt the King, and the
remaining line,

"To fear I count it good,"

would have signified that it was counted good not to spill his blood; but the comma being wickedly placed after the word fear, the murder seemed commanded, together with a kind of

punctuation, the keeper took the lines in the worst sense, and the King lost his life.

The well known anecdote of the Bishop of Assello is another case in point. The good prelate, carrying with him the humility of the station from which he had been raised, and possessing a liberality becoming his elevation, ordered this inscription to be put over his gate: Porta, patens esto, nulli clauderis honesto. "Gate, be thou open, and not shut to any honest man."-But the painter unfortunately put the comma after the word nulli, instead of esto, the sense stood thus-" Gate be thou open to nobody, but be shut to an honest man.” Which caused the Bishop to lose his bishopric.

Thus we may perceive the necessity of being very particular with respect to points or stops; since the misplacing of a single comma occasioned the murder of a King, and the loss of a bishopric.

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