opening at the bottom of the chafin, and fprinkled us all over, notwithstanding the height at which we ftood; but being already completely wet from the rain, though I was a little ftartled at this unexpected shower, I could not help laughing in the midst of my aftonishment. The opening which produces this phenomenon, the moft furprising that I have ever feen on any coaft, is called the Devil's bellows. Mr. Rogers afterwards led me to a place where fome idea might be formed of the caufe of this aftonishing effect. I there faw a fpace, where the fea being very deep, encompaffes the obelifk on the N. W. up to a ledge of rocks dipping vertically into the water, and thus terminating a kind of cove. This ledge, which unites the foot of the obelisk to the coaft, and was then in part uncovered, inclines towards the oppofite fide, and has occafioned the accumulation of gravel and fand, whereby the obelisk is rendered acceffible at low water. We advanced to the edge of this ledge, whence we faw that the waves, then very high, after having gone round the obelifk, dashed against these rocks. The above afm, or deep-cut in the obelisk, extends a confiderable way below the level of the fea; fo that, feveral times following, when a wave arrived, we faw only a ftream of water gufh out from the fame opening at the bottom of the chafm, whence the spout is occafionally produced, and ceafe to flow as the wave funk; but after fome repetitions of this fimple effect, the rambling noife was again heard within, and was followed by the action of the Devil's bellows.

As the tide was now rifing, the opening on which we had long fixed our attention, was at laft covered by the water: when Mr. Rogers perceived this, he told me to obferve what was about to happen at a confiderable height above, where I faw an oval ori;fice, about a foot in its wideft diameter. After a certain time, the fame noife was again heard within; a fpout of water iffued from this hole with ftill greater impetuofity than before from the lower opening; and all the space above the cove was filled with a thick mift, formed by the fcattered fpray; fo that the smoke which accompanies a difcharge of artillery, feeming now to be added to the noife, I was almoft furprised that I did not also per. ceive the fmell of gunpowder, at the moment when I was involved in this apparent fmoke, which was, however, foon diffipated. This, in a word, taken altogether, was one of the most aftonishing fights that I remember ever to have feen; but it was entirely at an end as foon as the tide had rifen to a certain height.

"On combining all the circumftances, the following appear to be the caufes of thefe phenomena; from the rainousfexternal afpect of the obelisk, the ftrata of which has undergone great angular inoveIments, it may be fuppofed that a fucceffion of caverns, fimilar to thofe of the Mendip hills, and of fo many other mountains, have been formed within it: the waves probably rufh in through fome opening at the foot of the obelisk, and the air, difengaged from them by their dafhing against the rocks within, ftrongly compreffes

preffes that which is contained in the caverns themselves. The quantity of air thus feparated from water is fo great, that in the Alps and the Pyrennees, very powerful bellows are made for forges, by the fall of a column of water, through a wooden pipe, into a clofed cafk, in which it dashes on a stone at the bottom; and the air difengaged from it is carried by another pipe, placed in the cover of the cafk, into the foundery, where it has as great effects in the high finelting furnaces, as I have feen produced in other places by the largest bellows of the common kind.

"This then, in a general point of view, is probably the caufe of the Devil's bellows. The waves from the open fea undoubtedly introduce themfelves into thefe caverns by fome fub-marine paf. fage; and, being broken against their pillars, the air thus difengaged compreffes, as I have faid, that which was already confined here: but this operation, though it prepares the phenomenon, is not fufficient to produce it; for the compreffed air may escape. through fome other paffage; and it is when this happens, that the waves, which enter the caverns from the fide next the cove, flow freely forth by the opening of the bellows; but if waves enter at the fame moment, through fiffures on both fides of the foot of the obelisk, and act, in fome point, like a piston, against the enclos ed and the difengaged air, that air is then forced to pafs, with a great noife, from cavern to cavern, and these violent explosions of air and water are produced at the openings above-mentioned. It is to be regretted, that the very agitation of the fea, which is neceffary for the production of this phenomenon, renders it impoffible to go round the obelisk in a boat, during the continuance of the operation; fo that what paffes there cannot be observed." Vol. iii. p. 309.

We would willingly make further extracts from these very curious volumes, if our limits admitted of it, or it were confiflent with the object we have chiefly at heart; which is in fact, to do more juftice to the worthy author, by procuring his works to be ftudied and read for themfelves, than to attempt to fatisfy the reader by any mutilated accounts of them. Mr. De Luc is now at fo very advanced a period of life, that it is scarcely poflible to fuppofe that he will be able to undertake fuch Travels again; but if his bodily labours. fhould be fufpended, we have the fatisfaction of knowing, that his mind is as active as ever; and though his publica tions have been numerous, we conceive that he has ftill much to communicate; for in the advertisement to the first volume of the prefent work, we are informed, that he has not yet been able to prepare for publication his earlier Travels, in Swit zerland and in Germany, from the year 1782 to 1799. That thefe will be of equal importance to the prefent publication, whenever they make their appearance, we may conclude from

the

(

the following section, or paragraph, at the close of the third volume.

"Such," fays Mr. De Luc, by way of conclufion, "is the ftate of things which I have witneffed ever fince I have myfelf been occupied with geological opinions; and I have alfo feen the effect produced in the world by thefe opinions; but, in studying the phenomena by which they ought to be determined, and which I have followed, in all their various branches, from the highest mountains, down to countries of hills and plains; from the courfes of large rivers, to those of brooks and rivulets, from the new lands added to the continents near the mouths of rivers, to thofe which have filled up bays, gulphs, and even the fmalleft creeks; lafty, from the higheft cliffs, to the coafts which flope down infenfibly to the fea, I have clearly found the Hiftory of the Earth to be traced in the fame manner, only with characters differing in magnitude, in all parts of the surface, and of the coafts of the continents; and thus to be really within the reach of every perfon who will attentively purfue the ftudy of its monuments.'

We had intended here to close our remarks, but the following paffage is too important to be omitted.

"The remarks difperfed throughout thefe Travels have had one general object, the importance of which I have endeavoured to render manifeft. Most of the errors contained in geological fyftems are derived from one common fource; namely, that in the defcriptions there given of natural phenomera, the effects operated on our continents previously to their birth, by causes which fince have ceafed to act, are confounded with thofe that known caufes have produced, and are continuing to produce on them. This is the object with which is connected the geological queftion of the greatest importance to the whole human race; namely, from what period have our prefent continents exifted? When certain operations antecedent to the existence of thefe continents are afcribed to the various caufes which are now in action on them, it appears no lefs impoffible to fet any bounds to their antiquity, than to that affumed by the fabulous dynafties of the Egyptians, and of fome of the Afiatic nations. But throughout the whole courfe of these Travels, I have demonftrated that this is an error, diffipated by the progrefs of geological refearches; and that, when the real ef fects produced by the only agents which, fince the birth of our continents, have acted, and can act on them, are carefully ftudied, it is in fact impoffible to carry back their origin to a period more remote than that which the Mofaic chronology has affigned to the deluge."

Here we must close our review of these important volumes. It would appear probable, from certain events that

have lately occurred *; that geology will foon become a popular science, and much e-gage the attention of the public. We have there'o e endeavoù ed, in the above remarks, to point out the lealing priciples of Mr. De Luc's yftem. His obfervations are fcattered through a varie y of very im portant works, published in many different places, on the Continent and the British Ifles, in French and in English; we have never feen a complete lift, and we are not fu e that the worthy author himfelt could fupply one. English and foreign journals must be afacked to come at them all, but we venture to prognofticate, that the time will come, when their importance will be more generally acknowledged than at prefent; few perfons, comparatively, being now competent to enter into the meris of fuch difcuffions. We with, however, fince we regard geology as a fcience of grow. ing celebrity and eminence, to guard the reader against talfe teories; theories not regularly deduced from actual facts. It happens, undoul tedly, that Mr. De Luc's fyllem tends to corroborate the Holy Scriptures, which circumftance in itfelf inclines us to give it our fupport; but we feel fo convinced of its truth, as founded on pofitive facts, that we willingly leave the cafe to be decided impartially; and recommend thefe volumes, therefore, to the reader, with the firmeit affurance, that after dae confideration, and an attentive perufal, his opinion will coincide with our own; efpecially in regard to the Huttonian, and other lefs celebrated theories. At the end of the third volume we have a valuable table" of the geological facts defcribed in the three volumes of the fe Travels, arranged under the heads of the Introduction, which they refpe&tively tend to illuftrate; [fee our review of the first volume, vol. xxxvii. p. 13.] with references to the volumes and fections." This muft needs be of fingular ufe to the curious enquirer, and will very much facilitate his refearches. For thefe are not books to be once read, and laid alide as done with, but fhould be upon the fhelves of naturalift, for the purpofe of continual reference. Having faid but little on the firft volume, which was published by itself in 1810, we have been more diffule upon those now before us, for which, indeed, we waited, as likely to afford the best opportunity for giving a general view of the fyftem of this celebrated philofopher.

every

Particularly from the establishment of a moft refpectable Geological Society, who have just published their first volume of "Tranfactions.”

ART. VI. An Effay on the Learning of Contingent Remainders and Executory Devifes. By Charles Fearne, Efq. Barrister at Law. The fixth Edition, with Notes, and an Analytical Index. By Charles Butler, Efq. of Lincoln's Inn, Barrifier at Law. Butterworth and Reed; and J. Cook and P. Phelan, Dublin. 1811.

ΤΗ

HE effay on Contingent Remainders and Executory Devifes, of which a new edition is here offered to the profeflion, may not improperly be confidered as the mathematics of the law. The learning of which it treats is of a nature so abftrufe and intricate, abounding with so many legal niceties, and affording fo many inftances in which it is difficult to apply any general principles, that it required an effort of fuperior genius to analyze it, and to deduce any thing like fyftem from a series of decifions, of which it may be faid that almost every one went to introduce fome new, or to refine upon fome old diftinction. Mr. Butler in his preface obferves, that

"No work, perhaps, on any branch of science, affords a more beautiful inftance of analyfis, but it is not immediately perceiv able by any perfon, to whom both the subject and the work are not familiar. This is principally owing to the want of fub-divifions. of the text. From the want of thefe it frequently happens that perfons, to whom the subject, or even the work, is not familiar, and particularly ftudents, to whom both are new, pafs inadvertently from one pofition to another, without obferving the point of their feparation. An attention to it, however, is abfolutely neceffary to an understanding of the work."

The editor has therefore divided the first chapter into fections, and numbered the diftinct pofitions contained in each fection with Roman numerals. He has alfo numbered, in like manner, the pofitions in the fucceeding chapters, but has not divided them into fections. He has alfo hit upon another expedient for rendering the analytic arrangement of the work more immediately perceivable, but which does not flrike us as being very ingenious or fuccefsful. It is that of giving a reference, after each numeral, to a note at the bottom of the page, in which an outline of the principle immediately under difcuffion in the text is expreffed briefly, and as near to Mr. Fearne's language as poffible. The fact is, that these notes are, in moft inftances, mere repetitions of those purtions of the text, which form the introductory paragraphs to the different pofitions; and we are abfolutely at a lofs to conceive how the ftudent's ideas of analysis can be improved

by