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"They have lately discovered here a circular basso-relievo in a private house, covered with grease and dirt. It has been cleaned and carried to the Gallery, and I think bears strong, almost indisputable, marks of M. Angelo's vigorous fist. It is a companion, in size and execution, (for it is unfinished,) to the one Vicar had, and which Sir G. Beaumont bought in Rome. I don't know what to call it; but the group consists of a woman and two children, one of whom appears to be learning to read, and a very wry face the urchin is making."

MISSION TO THE INTERIOR OF AFRICA, TO DISCOVER THE NIGER'S Course.

WE have the greatest satisfaction in announcing that our three enterprising countrymen, Dr. Oudenoy, Major Denham and Lieutenant Clapperton, who left London on the above interesting and hazardous expedition, under the authority of government, in 1821, arrived in Bornou in February last, and were exceedingly well received by the sultan of that kingdom. It may be recollected that the Doctor, an eminent professor from one of the Scotch universities, was to remain at Bornou as British vice-consul, and that the others would thence pursue their inquiries as to the course of this long-sought river; but it is obvious that the plans and instructions laid down at home for the prosecution of objects where our local knowledge is so extremely imperfect, must be liable to many alterations, and that much, very much, must be left to the discretion of the travellers themselves, and be governed by the circumstances in which they are placed.

These gentlemen have, however, given the most convincing proofs of their undiminished ardour in the service, as well as their fitness for the undertaking, in their having performed their journey over deserts fifteen or sixteen days in length, into the very centre of the continent of Africa, almost without complaining of a single hardship, though they have all at different times suffered severely from the rigours of the climate.

We think, therefore, the most sanguine expectations may be formed of

their complete success; and may we not hope that two of our greatest geographical desiderata in the northern and southern hemispheres will ere long, be supplied by means of the intelligence and enterprise of Englishmen.

ACTION OF FLOWERS ON AIR.

Some interesting experiments have been lately performed on this subject by Saussure. The flowers even of aquatic vegetables do not develope themselves in media deprived of oxygen gas; they require for their support a greater proportion of this than the other parts of the plant. Some flowers, as roses, preserve their corolla for a shorter time in air than in vacuo, or in azote; but when removed, their petals exhale an offensive odour, so that though apparently in full vigour, they have actually undergone decay. When a flower is placed under a receiver full of air confined by mercury, the volume of air is very little if at all altered. Oxygen is however absorbed, which is replaced by its own volume of carbonic acid. Saussure has not been able to detect any hydrogen in the air in which the plants were confined, nor does there seem to be any alteration in the volume of nitrogen. The following are a few of the results of his experiments with respect to the difference in the quantity of oxygen consumed by the flowers and by the leaves. The experiments were performed in summer and in the shade, and only when the flowers were fully developed.

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enabled to study in Italy by the friendship of Mr. Roscoe and some gentlemen of taste at Liverpool, and of Mr. Watson Taylor-to them he owed his introduction to Canova, and he perfected his style under the eye of that great

master.

Mr. Gibson thus expresses himself in a recent letter to a friend in London :

"I continue to feel delighted in Rome, more so than I can express by words, and am on the best terms of friendship with sculptors from all parts of Europe, who are here, all contending for glory. What an advantage to see the productions of so many men of genius, and to have their remarks upon what I do myself!-for I al ways solicit their advice. Only poetical subjects are admired in Rome, and it is the fashion to purchase such. It is a taste for these that has raised the Art to its present high pitch at Rome, and to this may be attributed the dignity and beauty of Canova and Thorwalsen. I thank God for every morning that opens my eyes in Rome.

group

"I am giving the last finish to the of Mars and Cupid, for the Duke of Devonshire. My group of Psyche carried off by Zephyrs, for Sir Geo. Beaumont, is in a forward state. I am making a statue of Cupid in marble for Sir Watkin Williams Wynne, and a sleeping Shepherd for Lord George Cavendish. Lately I received an order from a German Nobleman, Count Schönbrunn, to execute a Nymph for him,

in marble.

"I consider myself particularly fortunate in having this opportunity to execute Poetical subjects in marble-they are what I delight and glory in. I would much rather leave behind me a few fine works than a splendid fortune."

THE GREEK CAUSE.

The Greek Committee in London having sent Mr. Blaquiere to examine and report on the state of that country, he lately returned, and a report has been published which does honour to his head, his heart, and his principles. The modern Greeks appear to be worthy of their renowned ancestors, and, although maintaining an unequal contest, have nearly, if not entirely, delivered their country. If the unprinci. pled Jews of London should not negociate a loan to the Pote, its resources in men and money seem exhausted; and, if Russia does not interfere, the firm establishment of a Greek Republic seems inevitable.

IMPROVED DIVING-BELL.

A new diving-bell, or improved instrument, is now in use in making a new pier at Port Patrick. It is a square cast metal frame, about eight feet high, twenty-two feet in circumference, and weighing up

wards of four tons. This frame is open below, and at the top are twelve small cirsuch as is sometimes seen used on-board of cular windows made of very thick glass, ships. These windows are so cemented or puttied in, that not a bubble of water can penetrate; and when the sea is clear, and particularly when the sun is shining, the workmen are enabled to carry on their operations without the aid of candles. In the inside of the bell are seats for the workmen with pegs to hang their tools on, and which is a great improvement on the oldattached to it is a strong double air-pump, fashioned plan of sinking barrels filled with air. From this pump issues a thick leathern tube, which is closely fitted into the bell, and the length of which can easily be proportioned to the depth of water. The bell shaft of which is sunk to the very keel of is suspended from a very long crane, the a vessel fitted up for the purpose, and which is, in fact, a necessary part of the sel is placed an air-pump, worked by four diving apparatus. On the deck of this vesmen, with an additional hand to watch the tions, the sloop is moved to the outside of signals. When about to commence operathe breakwater, the air-pump put in motion, and the crane worked. From its weight and shape, the machine must dip perpendicularly; while the volume of air within enables the workmen to breathe, and Two or three men keeps out the water. and sometimes 30, feet below water. work with perfect ease and safety 20, 25, With picks, hammers, jumpers, gunpowder, the not only a bed prepared for the huge massmost rugged surface is made even; and es of stone which are afterwards let down, but the blocks themselves strongly bound together with iron and cement.

SAVAGE MANNERS.

The following pathetic instance of female devotion to a beloved object is found in the just-published Voyage to New Zealand, by Capt. CRUISE-A soldier, in a drunken quarrel, mortally wounded a seaman named Aldridge. A native girl, the daughter of a chief, had lived for some months with the former, and it appearing prudent to remove her from the ship, she complied with the order with much reluctance. From the time the unfortunate man had been put in confinement till the present moment, she had scarcely left his side,or ceased to weep; and having been told that he must inevitably be hanged, she purchased some flax from the natives alongside, and, making a rope of it, declared that if such should be his fate, she would put a similar termination to her existence. Though turned away from the ship, she remained alongside in a canoe from sunrise to sunset, and no remonstrances or presents could induce her to go away. When the vessel went to the Bay of Islands, she followed overland, and again took up her station near that part of the vessel where her protector was imprisoned, and

remained there during the most desperate weather, resuming her daily lamentation for his anticipated fate until we finally sailed.

CASE OF INSANITY OCCASIONED BY
INTEMPERANCE.

The circumstance of life presents nothing more miserable in prospect or painful in reality, than the surviving of the body after the departure of the intellect.

In this particular it is especially providential that blindness to the future is given to man; for how could an individual live and enjoy life under the dreadful anticipa tion that he should ere long crawl upon the surface of the earth-the semblance rather than the substance of a living being, a burthen, if not to himself, at least to those near to and about him.

Some degree of apprehension in reference to this result may, however, occasion ally prove salutary in causing us to shun those courses which naturally, if not neces sarily, lead to it.

A scene has but a few hours since passed before the observation of the present writer calculated to give thought to the thought less, and to prove of more preventive eflicacy than precept upon precept from the moralist, or denunciation after denunciation from the preacher-a scene to do justice to which would defy the picturesque force of even Irving's phraseology and mauner-a scene which it were desirable should be witnessed by all the disciples of that delusive creed, a short life and a merry one," for those suicidal attempts at abridging existence which the sensualist avowedly makes often fail of their full effect, and in stead of conducting their victim at once to the silence and repose of the grave, either open upon him a sad and fearless purgatory of powerless regret, or entomb his soul in the dust of his body a long, long time before the latter goes to its native dust of the earth. Oh! if any thing could stay the hand of mad intemperance, it would be the passing of hours or days with the semi-vital half-conscious thing which intemperance has made.

BOOK-BINDING MACHINE.

A Mr. Backhouse, of Wells, has lately invented a machine for beating books, by which as many may be beaten in one day as would take two men a week in the ordinary way. This method is performed with the greatest ease.

DAVID RICARDO, THE JEW. Died. at Gatcombe Park, Gloucestershire, David Ricardo, esq. M.P. for Portarlington, a gentleman who, at the Stock Exchange, in the House of Commons, and as a public writer on political economy, had acquired considerable celebrity and influence. He was born of Jewish parents, but had become a proselyte to the Christian religion. His accumulation of wealth and his distinction in life, arose from his connection with the loans of the late wars against France, of

which his acute and calculating mind ena bled him to take the best advantage. His success and his knowledge of the funding system gave currency to his first publications, and when he subsequently entered the legislature, his opinions on these subjects were listened to by all parties, and particularly by those whose thinking powers lead them to attach great mystery to questions of political economy. Mr Ricardo was, doubtless, a sensible, plausible, honest, and experienced man; but unfortunately he was a mere calculator, and one of those economists whose reasonings would be admirable if applied to timber and stones, but which are mischievous when applied to sensitive beings, and to a state of society altogether artiôcial. His favourite maxim was to suffer every thing to find its own level, in a country where monopoly of every kiad are upheld by law, and where he himself was protected in the enjoyment of a million sterling, while hundreds of industrious men were destitute of a week's capital, within a mile of his palace. Such being his primary axiom, and such his narrow application of it, his theories were mischievous; yet, as they tended to support the strong against the weak, they were highly popular among the aristocracy of both Houses. He was in consequence listened to with attention, and his voice and manner, being inobtru sive, while he treated of abstractions beyond the comprehension of the bulk of his auditory, so his conclusions often had more weight than they deserved. Nevertheless, he was a man of liberal principies, and generally voted on the side of liberty and reform; zealously aided Mr. Hume in regard to many of those economical questions which that gentleman has agitated. In a word, he was a patriotic and useful man, without being a philanthropist; and we confess, that we regard benevolence in a statesman to be as cardinal a virtue, as charity in a Christan; insomuch that, without a predominance of this quality, all others are equivocal and dangerous. He has left a large family, and some of his brothers enjoy much credit in the moneymarket.-Mon. Mag. Oct.

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SPIRIT

OF THE

ENGLISH MAGAZINES.

BOSTON, FEBRUARY 1, 1824.

COTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY.-BERNARD BARTON, THE QUAKER POET.

L'

(Time's Telescope, for 1821.)

IKE the parish beadle, only in a more pleasant form, though it does remind us that our years are passing rapidly away, and that the life of man is a span, Time's Telescope calls upon us regularly about Christmas; and is really so meritorious that we cannot refuse it the meed of a willing gift, unfeigned praise. From among the original productions we select, as a specimen, a brief but interesting biographical sketch of a Bard, to whom the periodical press of the Season is largely and deeply indebted for some of its most comely ornaments; and who has raised a still more lasting reputation by his separate works, all of which unite the best feelings of our nature with sentiments of the purest morality and virtue. The 31st of January is noted by the Telescope, looking back upon the year 1784, as the birth-day of Bernard Barton; and, allowing for a few reductions and alterations, made agree ably to our own taste, the following is the substance of its account of that popular writer:

"We have great pleasure in presenting to our readers some account' of the QUAKER POET, whose elegant and interesting productions have afforded so • much gratification to every reader of pure taste and right feelings. It is a source of gratification to us to be able to reckon Mr. Barton among our cor

42 ATHENEUM VOL. 14.

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respondents and well-wishers, and we consider it as no small honour to have had such an avant-courier for our annual volume in the preliminary Ode with which he has kindly favoured us for the last and present year. It does not always happen, unfortunately, that an intimate acquaintance with the author is calculated to increase our admiration of his writings; in the present case, however, we can safely assert that the pleasure we have derived from the perusal of Mr. Barton's poetry has been enhanced by what we have heard of his amiable private character, and of many circumstances of his life which are unknown to the mass of his readers. Anxious that our friends may participate, with us, in this pleasure, we shall lay before them some particulars of our Quaker poet, which cannot fail to gratify a rational curiosity, and must, we think, excite a strong interest in favour of the moral bard of Woodbridge. Of the authenticity of the materials our readers may be perfectly satisfied, as they are furnished by one who is well acquainted with Mr. Barton.

BERNARD BARTON was born in the vicinity of London; his father was in trade in the metropolis, whither he had come from his native place, Carlisle. The subject of this memoir had the misfortune to lose his mother one month after his birth. His father died before

Mr. Barton was seven years old; but his second marriage, which took place a few months before his death, provided an excellent parent for his children to her, and to his two sisters, several years older than himself, our author owed infinite obligations. His education at one of the Quaker seminaries was, of course, plain and circumscribed, being pretty much confined to useful, indeed necessary branches of knowledge. But his father had been a man of greater natural and more cultivated intellect than many; he had read much, and on the abolition of Slavery, in which he was one of Clarkson's early associates, he had, on several occasions, proved that he could write well, though, we believe, he was never avowedly an author. He had left no despicable collection of books, so that in his school vacations ample means were afforded to his son of indulging his taste for reading. - - .

"In the year 1806, Mr. Barton took up his residence in the pleasant town of Woodbridge, in Suffolk, and commenced business as a merchant: but an unlooked-for domestic affliction of the severest kind was about to visit him, and his worldly prospects were to receive an irrecoverable shock,-the loss of his amiable wife, before they had been married a twelvemonth, and soon after the birth of her child. This excellent woman, to whom our poet was for so short a time united, gave rise to some of his best pieces. --- This mournful event, combined with discouraging prospects of a mercantile nature, induced our author to retire from commercial pursuits on his own behalf; and in 1810 he obtained a situation as a clerk in the Woodbridge Bank, which he still holds.

"Soon after Mr. Barton had entered upon his present situation, he began to commit the sin of rhyme,' and a new provincial paper being established about this time, it became the vehicle of his effusions by degrees he became bold enough to send a short piece now and then to a London paper, and at last, in 1812, ventured on an anonymous volume entitled Metrical Effusions. In 1818, Mr. Barton printed,

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by subscription, a volume of Poems by an Amateur.' Encouraged by the very flattering manner in which these impressions of his poems were received by his friends, he at last ventured to publish, in a small volume, Poems by Bernard Barton, which was very favourably noticed by the Literary Journals, and being afterwards made still more known by an article in the Edinburgh Review, has now reached a third edition. Little more than a year ago he publishedNapoleon, and other Poems,' of which there have been numerous flattering notices in the critical journals.

"Such has been the literary career of Bernard Barton. If it have not left behind it the brilliant track of other poetical comets, it has been less erratic in its course; and his Parnassian vespers may be said to possess all the mild and soothing beauties of the Evening Star. If his Muse have not always reached the sun-ward path of the soaring eagle, it is no extravagant praise to say that she has often emulated the sublimity of his aërial flight. But the great charm thrown around the effusions of the Suffolk bard is that lucid veil' of morality and religion which covers but not conceals' that 'silver net-work' through which shine his poetic apples of gold.'

"We must conclude our notice of the bard of Woodbridge: it has occupied more space than we usually allot to articles of this nature, but the interest and novelty of the theme must plead our excuse. Should this brief account excite the curiosity of our readers to become better acquainted with the poet, we refer them to the whole-length portrait painted by himself, and contained in every page of his 'Poems."

To this tribute we cordially unite our concurrence. Mr. Barton, as an amiable person and a sweet writer, deserves all the encouragement he has received, and all the praises which have been bestowed upon him. And, if this be true as referring to disinterested sources, he certainly merited no less from a publication to which he has contributed the annexed introductory Poem, entitled Flowers.'

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