diffusion of knowledge throughout Italy.

SWITZERLAND.

A Catholic curate in the diocese of Bruntruth (ci-devant bishopric of Bâsle) a few days previous to last Easter, had collected all the New Testaments in his parish. He had them carried to the Feast of the Ascension, where, according to custom, the Easter fire was to be burnt, and taking off the bindings he gave the covers to the proprietors of the books, telling them that there was something useful about them, alluding to the metal clasps, and he then proceeded to throw the books themselves into the flames. It is said that the government of Berne has deprived him of his curacy for this transaction.

The Deaf and Dumb Institution at Geneva, founded in 1822, by the Municipal Council, is directed by M. Chornel, himself both deaf and dumb, a pupil of the Abbé Sicard. The school now contains five boys and five girls, who receive four hours instructions each day, and already some of the pupils are able to write a short sentence, dictated by their master by signs.

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Since last winter the condition of the monks of the Hospital of St. Bernard has been considerably improved. These men pass the winter in cells where the thermometer (of Reaumer) sometimes falls to 15° below zero. subscription has afforded means of diffusing warmth through these cells, by pipes, and has further enabled both Switzerland and Italy to discharge a part of the debt, contracted by them for the service of these individuals.

A considerable degree of sensation has heen excited throughout several of the Swiss Cantons by an anonymous pamphlet, entitled Hört was Madame sagt, or "Listen to what the ladies say," and dedicated to the friends of liberty. The government of Lucerne have offered a reward of 400 francs for the discovery of the author or editor.

In many cantons of Switzerland the laws are undergoing a revision. The project of a civil code will be presented this year to the great council of the canton de Vaud; a penal code has been already printed. The same thing has taken place at Berne and Zurich. They are employed in a revision of the civil code in the canton of Fribourg.

The steam-boat which Mr.Church, the American Consul at Bourdeaux, has launched on the lake of Geneva, for a month since has occupied the attention

of the people; more than 100 perons embark at a time, and it can only contain 200. In five hours, against the wind, it crosses from Geneva to Ouchy. Mr: Church has it also in contemplation to establish steam-vessels on the lakes and rivers of Switzerland. At Geneva and in the Pays de Vaud every one is highly content with this expeditious mode of navigation.

FRANCE.

There has just been found at Mimet, to the north of Marseilles, not far, from the site of the second battle of Marius with the Teutones, a fossil tooth of an elephant. This tooth is in good preservation, and was found in a very hard grey calx over coal. Other large fossils have also been discovered at Martignes in the same depart

ment..

M. Toulouzan has discovered, near the village of Aurial, in the ruins of a villa, a marble horary table, of the same sort as that described by Palladius, and which gives a new strength to the learned memoir of Mon. Letronne, published in the thirty-ninth number of the Nouvelles Annales des Voyages. On the pedestal of this table is described, L. VERATIVUS FECIT FIRMUS. M. Toulouzan, who is active in his researches in the Department of the Mouth of the Rhone, has made many important discoveries, of which several are already included in the statistical account of that province, to which he has contributed under the auspices of the Prefect, Mon. de Villeneuve.

Means of preserving Eggs.-In 1820, a tradesman of Paris asked permission of the prefect of police to sell, in the market, eggs that had been preserved a year in a composition, of which he kept the secret. More than 30,000 of these eggs were sold in the open market without any complaint being made, or any notice taken of them, when the Board of Health thought proper to examine them. They were found to be perfectly fresh, and could only be distinguished from others by a pulverous stratum of carbonate of lime, remarked by M. Cadet to be on the eggshell. This induced him to make a series of experiments, which ended in his discovering that they were pre served in highly saturated lime-water, M. Cadet suggests adding a little saturated muriate of lime, but gives no reason. They may also be preserved by immersing them twenty seconds in boiling water, and then keeping them well dried in fine sifted ashes; but this

will give them a greyish green colour. The method of preserving them in lime-water has been long the practice of Italy; they may be kept thus for

two years. This useful mode is well known in many parts of England, and cannot be too much recommended.

A curious book has recently been discovered, containing original drawings by Anthonio Van Wyngaerde, in which are Views of London and its principal Buildings and Palaces, Greenwich, Richmond, Hampton Court, and Oatlands, taken between the years 1557 and 1562, They are drawn with great spirit, and, so far as we are enabled to judge from such as remain, with uncommon fidelity.

Among other curious works, shortly about to be sold at Fonthill, is A Demonology by King James I. in Manuscript.

A public library for apprentices and mechanics has been recently established at Liverpool, to which many gentlemen of the town and neighbourhood have presented useful and instructive books.

The whole quantity of forest land now belonging to the Crown, either in fee or subject to the rights of common, is computed at 122,622 acres, viz.

Acres..122,622

4,402 3,847 900

38,015 A New Steam Engine.-The power steam is now rendered subservient o the breaking of stones, for the construction of roads. A machine has been invented, consisting of two fluted rollers placed side by side, about an inch apart, and turning different ways. The stones are put in a kind of hopper above, and pushed down with a rake, which afford a regular supply to the rollers. This machine is worked by a rotatory engine of one-horse power, and will break a ton of hard pebbles completely, in from six to eight minutes. A machine has been also in

vented for the dressing of woollen cloth, which does as much work in fifty minutes as two men could do in two days.

A penny of William the Conqueror has been dug up in the Friars at Oxford. On the obverse is a full-faced bust extending to the edge of the coin, and crowned with an arched crown; the right hand holding a sceptre is placed upon the left breast. Round the head is the legend PILLELM REX (P was the Saxon w). The reverse has a single cross extending nearly to the inner circle, with an amulet in every quarter, each amulet containing one of these letters, P. A. X. S. The whole is surrounded with the inscription IECLPINE ON PINT. Near the same spot was found a London penny of Edward I. On the obverse the head extends only to the inner circle-is full-faced, and crowned with an open crown of three fleurs-de-lis. The epigraph is The re

EDW. R. ANGL. DNS. HYB.

verse is a single broad cross, extended to the outer edge, with three pellets in each quarter, and circumscribed with the words CIVITAS LONDON.

An issue of double sovereigns is about to take place from the Mint, bearing the head of his Majesty, copied from the admirable bust by Chantry.

It is a fact, but not generally known, that the common strawberry is a natural dentifrice; and that its juice, without any previous preparation whatever, dissolves the tartarious incrustations on the teeth, and makes the breath sweet and agreeable.

Sale of Buonaparte's Books, &c.— Although these books had the additional recommendation of brief and marginal notes, in the hand-writing of Buonaparte himself, they did not rise to such high prices as might be expected. Buffon's Works, with 2,500 plates, in 127 vols., sold for 247. 13s. 6d.; Correspondence between Buonaparte and Foreign Courts, &c., 7 vols., for 97.; La Croix's Course of Mathematics, 9 vols., for 5l. 10s.-at the end of the volume which contains the Algebra, there are three pages of calculations by Napoleon; The French Theatre, 50 vols., for 87. 108. 6d.; Servan's History of the Wars of the Gauls

and French, 7 vols., for 107. 108.; Volney's Voyage in Syria and Egypt, 2 vols., 537. 118.; Bruce's Voyages, in 5 vols. with an Atlas-the tracings and notes on the map are by Napoleon. Strabo's Geography, translated from the Greek, 3 vols. royal quarto, 62. 10s.; Denon's Voyage in Egypt, 2 vols.some of the plates are torn out, and it contains corrections by Napoleon, and the plan of the battle of Aboukir traced by him. Another copy, 177. Description of Egypt, published by order of Napoleon, 341. 13s. Several letters, signed by Buonaparte, for various sums, none exceeding 17. 16s. His walking stick, formed of tortoise-shell, of an extraordinary length, and a musical head, for 381. 17s. As 2001. was once offered for this stick, it was probably bought in. If all these articles had been offered for sale at a former period, they would probably have reached to much higher prices.

Antiquities. More Roman relics (urns, coins, &c.) have been found on the Mount, near York; and a most extensive and beautiful tesselated pavement has been discovered in a stackyard occupied by Mr. T. Pybus, at Ald. burgh, near Boroughbridge. It was found about two feet and a half from the surface, whilst digging a drain; it is in extent eight yards by six, and is enriched in various parts with beautiful circles, ornamented by,wreaths of the most brilliant colours, chiefly red, white, and blue.

Pillar in honour of His Majesty.The Commissioners of King's-town Harbour have been most indefatigable in forwarding its completion, and adding to its grandeur, utility, and effect. The great granite pillar in commemo ration of our gracious Sovereign's departure from Dublin, which rises over the harbour, measures in one solid stone sixteen feet. The column, it is intended, should be forty feet high. It is placed on the remaining part of a ridge of rocks, which extended from the shore into the interior, which are now used in making the great pier. It has an admirable effect, as the spot ou which it stands is all that now remains of the great ridge. The base rests in the bosom of this old fragment, and immediately under the pillar are four great granite orbs. The appearance of the whole is very striking, and well worthy the memorable occasion of which it is an interesting testimonial.

Diving-bell at Port Patrick.-The diving-bell, or rather the improved instrument now in use at Port Patrick, Eur. Mag. Aug. 1823.

is a square cast-metal frame, about eight feet high, twenty-two feet in circumference, and weighing upwards of four tons. This frame is of course open below, and at the top are twelve small circular windows made of very thick glass, such as are sometimes seen used on board of ships. These windows are so cemented or puttied in that not a bubble of water can penetrate; and when the sea is clear, and parti cularly when the sun is shining, the workmen are enabled to carry on their sub-marine operations without the aid of candles, which would consume nearly as much air as an equal number of human bellows. In the inside of the bell are seats for the workmen with nobs to hang their tools on, and attached to it is a strong double air-pump, which is a mighty improvement on the old-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 the water. As may be supposed, the bell is suspended from a very long crane, the shaft of which is sunk to the very keel of a vessel, purchased and fitted up for the purpose, and which is, in fact, a necessary part of the diving apparatus. On the deck of this vessel is placed the air-pump, worked by four men, with an additional hand to watch the signals. When about, therefore, to commence operations, the sloop is moved to the outside of the breakwater, the air-pump put in motion, the crane worked, and then go down the aquatic quarrymen. From its weight and shape, the machine must dip perpendicularly; while the volume of air within enables the workmen to breathe, and keeps out the water. On arriving at the bottom the divers are chiefly annoyed with large beds of sea-weed, although from the inequalities of the channel at Port Patrick, and the partially uneven manner in which the ledges of the bell occasionally rest on the rocks, it is impossible to expel the water altogether; and this, it is presumed, is the reason why it is dangerous to descend in rough or squally weather, when the heaving and agitated deep would be apt to dash in the smallest cranny. To guard against the effects of several hours' partial immersion in water, the men are provided with large jack-boots, caps of wool, and coarse woollen jackets. They also observe the precaution of stuffing their ears with cotton, as the constant stream of air which descends from above,

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occasions at first an uneasy sensasion, and is even apt to produce deafness. In carrying out the new pier it is necessary to make a bed for the foundation stones, which would otherwise be left at the mercy of the waves-and this is the duty of the divers. With picks, hammers, jumpers, and gunpowder, the most rugged surface is made even, and not only a bed prepared for the huge masses of stone which are afterwards let down, but the blocks themselves strongly bound together with iron and cement. The divers, Jike other quarrymen, when they wish "to blast," take good care to be put out of harm's way. By means of a tin tube, the powder is kept quite dry, and a branch from the larger cavity, hollow and filled with an oaten straw, is lengthened to the very surface of the water before the fuse is lighted.

The Lansdown Manuscripts. — A catalogue of the "Lansdown Manuscripts" has been printed by authority of the Royal Commission on Public Records. The preface contains many interesting particulars. This collection of Manuscripts was purchased in 1807, by a vote of Parliament, of the representatives of the then late Marquis of Lansdown, for the sum of 4,9257. The catalogue is divided into two parts; the first consisting of the Burighle Papers only; the second comprehending the remainder of the Manuscripts in general, including the Cæsar and Kennett Papers. Of the Buirghle Papers one volume contains copies of Charters, &c. of an early period: but the remainder, amounting to one hundred and twenty-one volumes, in folio, consist of State Papers, interspersed with Miscellaneous Correspod. ence during the reign of Queen Elizabeth; and among these is the "Private Memorandum-Book of Lord Burighle." Exclusively of the larger series, this collection of manuscripts comprehends many valuable works on different subjects. In British History, Topography, and Jurisprudence, the collection is particularly rich. It contains a beautiful illuminated manuscript of "Hardyng's Chronicle," as it was presented by its author to Henry VI. It deserves especial notice; it was formerly Sir Robert Cotton's, and it differs from the printed copies of the Chronicle (which came down to Edward IV.'s time) so much as not even to admit of collation. Also, a fair transcript of the "Chronicle of Andrew of Wyntown;" and three volumes of original correspond

ence, the first containing Letters written by royal, noble, and eminent persons of Great Britain, from the time of Henry VI. to the reign of his present Majesty. The most important document in the other two volumes is, the memorable Letter of Lady Jane Gray, as Queen of England, to the Marquis of Northampton, requiring the allegiance against what she calls "the fayned and untrue clayme of the Lady Mary, bastard daughter to our great uncle Henry VIII. of famous memorye." There is likewise a valuable "Treatise on the Court of Star Chamber," written in the time of King James 1. and King Charles I., by William Hudson, Esq. of Gray's-inn. In biblical learning, the collection contains two volumes of particular interest. One is a fine manuscript of part of the Old Testament, in English, as translated by Wicliffe; the other is a volume elegantly written on vellum, and illuminated, containing part of a French Bible, translated by Raoul de Presle, or Praelles, at the command of Charles V. of France; a version of extreme rarity even in that country. There are also some fine classical manuscripts; amongst them a fac-simile of the celebrated Virgil in the Vatican Library, made by Bartoli, in 1642. In poetry, besides two beautiful manuscripts of the fifteenth century, on vellum, one containing the "Sonnets of Petrarch," the other the "Comedie of Dante," there is a very fair and perfect copy, also on vellum, of the "Canterbury Tales," of Chancer, written about the reign of Henry V.; in the initial letter of which is a full-length portrait of the author. Likewise a volume, partly on vellum and partly on paper, being "A Collection of the Poems of John Lydgate, Monk of Bury," many of which have never been printed; and an unpublished Poem, by Skelton, entitled "The Image of Ypocresye," believed to be the author's autograph. And there is a vo lume containing twenty very interesting "Treatises on Music," of the fifteenth century, origiually belonging to John Wylde, precentor of Waltham Abbey, and afterwards to Thomas Pal. lys, organist to Henry VIII.; a manuscript volume that has been particularly noticed and commented upon by Sir John Hawkins and Dr. Burney, in their respective Histories of Music.

In the press, Memoirs of the Court of Louis XIV. and of the Regency; extracted from the German correspondence of Mad. Elizabeth Charlotte, Du

chess of Orleans, mother of the Regent; preceded by a Biographical Notice of this Princess, and with Notes.

In the course of the ensuing month will appear, in one vol. 8vo. An easy Introduction to Lamarck's Arrangement of the Genera of Shells; with illustrative remarks, additional observations, and a synoptic table. By Charles Dubois, F.L.S.

In the press, Memoirs of Mrs. Eliz. Ann Ulyat, extracted from her Diary and Letters. To which is added, a Sermon, on occasion of her death. By Thomas Rogers.

Ivanhoe has been translated into Italian, and is published at Milan by Professor G. Barbien.

Home's Tragedy of Douglas has been translated into Italian by Professor Marré; and is published at Genoa.

Extracts from the Diary of the late Michael Underwood, M.D. consisting chiefly of Critical Remarks on various Passages of Scripture, Meditations, and occasional Hymns; are to be published by Subscription in one vol. 8vo. Price 78. for the Benefit of his Widowed Daughter.

The continuation of Mr. Booth's Analytical Dictionary of the English Language is now in the press, and the several Parts will be published, successively, at short intervals.

The

printing of the Second Part was necessarily delayed for the purpose of calculating, with some degree of probability, the number of copies that would be required.

A new Edition of the "Young Countess," is nearly ready, a Tale for Youth, much improved, and embellished with two fine engravings by Rhodes, from drawings by Craig.

The Second Livraison of the French Classics, edited by L. T. Ventouillac, comprising Numa Pompilius, by Florian, with Notes and Life of the Author, in two vols. will be published in a few days.

Mr. H. V. Smith is preparing for publication a History of the English Stage, from the Reformation to the present time; containing a particular Account of all the Theatres that have been erected at different periods in the Metropolis, and interspersed with various amusing Anecdotes, &c.

A new Edition of Blaine's Canine Pathology is nearly ready, with an addition of new matter, particularly a Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of the Dog, his individual varieties, and examination of the popular subject of breeding animals; also a very copious account of Rabies or Madness.

Mr. L. J. Mac. Henry has in the press, and nearly ready for publication, a new Edition of his improved Spanish Grammar, designed especially for self-instruction.

Preparing for publication, Outlines of Midwifery, developing its Principles and Practice; intended as a text book for students, and a book of reference, for junior practitioners. By J. T. Conquest, M.D. F.L.S. Member of the Royal College of Physicians, and of the Medico Chirurgical Society of London, The Third Edition, enlarged and illustrated by copper plate engravings, 12mo. 7s. 6d.

The Second Edition of Mr. Goodwin's New System of Shoeing Horses is in preparation, and will speedily be published in 8vo. containing many new, and important additions, with new plates illustrative of the recent invention, which is the subject of a patent, for shoeing horses with cast malleable iron, enabling the public to obtain. shoes correctly made of any form.

In the course of a few days will appear in two vols. 8vo. a new Edition, much improved, of Miss Benger's Memoirs of Mary, Queen of Scots, with Anecdotes of the Court of Henry II. during her residence in France.

Nearly ready for publication, Horæ Momenta Cravens, or the Craven Dialect, exemplified in two Dialogues between Farmer Giles and his Neighbour Bridget; to which is annexed a copious Glossary of the Dialect of Craven, in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

A Panoramic View of the City of Edinburgh and surrounding Country, comprehending the varied and picturesque scenery as seen from the top of Calton-hill, from an actual drawing on the spot, by Mr. Tytler, will appear in a few days, beautifully printed in chalk, by Simonean, and handsomely coloured on imperial drawing paper, size, ninety inches long, by twenty-oneinches wide.