few marks of injury, and those slight; excepting upon the left side of the work that lay uppermost. The fracture of the nose of the Sphinx, as well as a blow upon the man's forehead, were, with some other less material bruises, the unavoidable effects of the labour upon discovery. The adjustment of the hair of the Sphinx, is the same as that of the younger empress Faustina; yet it resembles almost as closely the dress that we have frequent occasion to notice upon Roman monuments of an earlier time. Of the Roman origin of this monument, there is irresistible proof in the great mass, found in and around the very spot where the Sphinx was discovered, of antique remains: such as bricks, tiles, pottery, fragments of bronze, and other relics, that are decidedly of Roman fabric; and which, as well as the Sphinx, lay concealed in a soil that apparently had net for centuries been disturbed beyond the depth of the ploughshare. A sepulchral inscription to the memory of one or more legionary Roman soldiers, was dug up a few days sooner than the Sphinx, and at the distance of no more than about twenty-five paces from it. A bronze Sphinx, has also been found perfect, excepting the loss of the wings, which from the appearance of the back. had evidently been torn off- This was dug up last summer within a few yards of the spot where the stone sphinx was discovered. The little image exhibits in its present state, no further compound than of the lion and the virgin; and from the arrangement of the hair resembling that of Julia Masa, or of her daughter Julia Somias, (mother of the Emperor Heliogabalus,) as well as from its inferiority of style and execution, it is doubtless of a later time than the large Sphinx. This stone Sphinx, Mr. Hay apprehends to have been a principal decoration of the temple erected at Camulodunum, in the time of the first Claudius, and is recorded by Tacitus to have been destroyed by the natives, irritated by the tyrannous sway of the Romans at that station. The historian says expressly that this temple, which had been erected in honour of the deified Claudius, was looked upon by the inhabitants as a fortress, built for the purpose of their eternal bondage.

The Rev. H. COTES, vicar of Bedlington, is about to publish the Resurrection of Lazarus, in a course of sermons on the eleventh chapter of St.

John's Gospel, from the French of Beausobre.

Early in January, will be published, a complete Course of Arithmetic, in three parts, with a key: containing the theory and practice of numbers clearly illustrated upon pure mathematical principles, so as to lay a correct foundation for the study of the mathema❤ tics, while it forms a pleasing and use ful introduction to mercantile transactions; arranged for the use of schools and private students, by W. H. WHITE, head-master of the Commercial and Mathematical School on the founda tion of Sir William Harpur, Bedford. The author's Young Ladies' and Gentlemen's Arithmetic is just published, and may be had as above, and at Mr. Turner's, Optician, Camberwell, price 1s. 3d.

The proprietor of the Portraits of the British Poets, informs the subscribers to that work, that in consequence of the much-lamented death of Mr. THURS TON, the publication of Part XI. has been unavoidably postponed from the 1st of Nov. to the 1st of January, when two parts will be published together.

A new edition is in the press of John son's Dictionary in Miniature; improved and enlarged by GEORGE FULTON, author of a Pronouncing Dictionary, Spelling Book, &c.

The Letters of Junius, with preliminary dissertations, and copious notes, by ATTICUS SECUNDUS, is printing in one neat pocket volume, with seven portraits and a vignette title.

The Carnival of Death, a satirical Poem, by Mr. BAILEY, author of What is Life? and other Poems, will soon appear.

IRELAND.

At Letterkenny, Aug. 31, about eleven A.M. there was a weak breeze from the south-west, the barometer at

changeable,' with an appearance of heavy rain, which began to fall about forty minutes after eleven, and continued until twelve, at which time there was a dead calm, and the rain ceased. The sun had not shone during the morning, but a few minutes after twelve the darkness increased in a most ex- . traordinary manner. At one there was not sufficient light to transact business the domestic fowls went to roost; and mechanics and labourers quitted their work. Neither barometer nor thermometer changed a line from what they had been at ten o'clock. There was a dead calm, and the chimney smoke rose

in perpendicular columns, till lost in masses of dark clouds, with which the concave surface of the heavens was covered. The appearance of those clouds were something like those dark blue volumes of smoke which arise from an explosion of gunpowder, and they seemed piled on each other, tier above tier, from the horizon to the zenith, where they concentrated so as to form the apparent vertex of a Gothic arch. Through small interstices, where those gigantic masses appeared to lap over each other, appeared to issue a faint gleam of sulphurous light.

At one o'clock, the meadows of a light green, appeared dark green-objects of a dark green seemed quite a dark bottle-green, and the dark gravel of some roads appeared of a blackish blood colour. Men's faces and dresses were changed in the same manner, so that people looked at each other with astonishment and awe. The colours were all of the finest tint and shade, very rich and mellow. The clouds which, though they seemed to the naked eye perfectly still, when viewed through a telescope, appeared to oscillate after the manner of the aurora borealis, without changing their relative positions. This darkness continued till two o'clock, and to such a degree as that scarcely any person could read or write within doors without approaching close to the windows. A little after two there was observed a gentle motion of the clouds from the south-west; they moved almost imperceptibly to the north and east, and about three the darkness was dispelled, and cocks began to crow, and the swallows to fly about, as though it had been early in the morning.

FRANCE.

The following fact, recorded in the Annales Maritimes, &c. may be justly considered as an example of genuine true philanthropy. In the beginning of 1820, an epidemic disorder in the Isle of Bourbon, spread with such rapidity, that it was found necessary to establish a Lazaretto, for the purpose of insulating those seized with the contagion. M. Pommier, a young surgeon in the navy, of the Department of Brest, happening to be in the island, with a spirit of humanity and benevolence, which cannot be too highly applauded, made a tender of his services to the governor of the colony, and proposed shutting himself up in the Lazaretto. His able and liberal exertions were so

well adapted to the occasion, that he was completely successful, and when the epidemic ceased, the municipal council presented him with a sword and gold medal. The minister of marine reporting the circumstance, the king nominated him a Chevalier of the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour.

M. Gautier, captain in the French navy, employed to survey the coasts of the Mediterranean, Adriatic, Sea of Marmora and Black Sea, having terminated his labours, the Depôt or Board of Admiralty, are employed in publishing his charts, some of which have appeared; and by the end of the present year, navigators, it is expected, will possess the result of his important labours.

A French artist, M. Thomas, of Colmar, Honorary Director of the Phoenix Company, has obtained a brevet of invention (patent) for a machine of calculation to be called the Arithmometer. It has been presented to the Society for the Encouragement of National Industry, is of a moderate size, and by a person unacquainted with figures, may be made to perform, with wonderful promptitude, all the rules of arithmetic. The most complicated calculations are done as readily and exactly as the most simple; sums in multiplication and division, of seven or eight figures require no more time than those of two or three. It will be very useful in the higher departments of science, and has long been a desideratum.

The Geographical Society of Paris, held its first meeting on the 1st of October. The discussions were on the formation of statutes and rules, &c. to be agreed upon by the society. The objects and plan resemble that of the National Industry Encouragement Society, and include the publication of memoirs and exhibition of prizes; the study and extension of geographical science, and the undertaking of remote journeys and voyages at its expence.

In the Isle of Bourbon there is a botanical garden and a nursery for exotics, where a prodigious number of plants are cultivated, pertaining to S2 families and 391 different species. Many of them have been recently in-troduced from different parts of Africa, America and Europe. În general, they possess medicinal properties, or otherwise useful for the arts and commerce, or adapted to the sustenance of men and animals.

are

In 1820, a collection from this garden was deposited at Cayenne, in two assortments.

sortments. One was placed in the botanic garden there, and the other sent to the Jardin du Roi, at Paris. The latter arrived on the 1st of August last, and includes 158 species, divided into 534 individuals, from six to eight feet in height. None of them have hitherto appeared in Europe.

GERMANY.

Colonel Gustavson, the ex-king of Sweden, who has for some time past applied himself to philosophical studies, has just printed a work at Francfort, but not for sale; which he distributes gratis to amateurs of arts and sciences. It is written in the French language, *and is dedicated to the Royal Academy of Arts at Norway. It is entitled Reflection upon the Phænomenon the Aurora Borealis, and its relation with the Diurnal Motion. The journals of Hamburgh announce the arrival of several copies of the work at Stockholm; it is now translating into the Swedish language.

AFRICA.

Mr. O'Byrne, sent from Sierra Leone, to establish commercial intercourse with certain African chiefs of the interior, has entered the country of Limba, by Laiah, a city distant about seven leagues from the river which forms the boundary of the country of Timmani. His reception was very favourable with all the chiefs, one of whom, of Port Logo, accompanied him to Woulla, and sent his brother with him to Koukouna. From this last place, he advanced to the frontiers of Foulah, the chiefs of which agreed in a palaver, to open a commercial correspondence with Sierra Leone. It appears that Dacho, King of

Sego, was sending a party to the governor of Sierra Leone, to invite the whites to visit and trade in his kingdom, and had recommended to the King of Timbo to provide for the security of such strangers as should proceed to Bambarra through the country of Foulah Yallon. This rendered unnecessary the further advance of Mr. O'Byrne.

EGYPT.

The canal of Alexandria has received, in honour of the Sultan, the name of Mahmudie. It commences near the Nile, a little below Saene, is 41,706 toises in length, 15 in breadth and 3 in depth. A hundred thousand men were set to work on it in January, 1819; this number reached afterward to 290,000. Each workman received a piastre a day. European engineers conducted the labours, which were finished September 13.

Letters from the River Gambia, report that Omar, Sheick of the Arabs of Tarassa, who occupy the desart between Portendic and Timbuctoo, had arrived at Bathurst, chief place of the English colony recently formed on the eastern coast of South Africa, and where a year or two ago, the whole country was inhabited by wild beasts. Omar's object is to commence traffic with the merchants on a secure footing. The route through the country of Tarassa is not so good as that which Mr. Jackson pointed out in his narrative annexed to the account of Shabeeny; but the opportunity appears favourable for the gum arabic trade at Portendic, and may lead to forming connections with Timbuctoo,

MR

FR. DANIELL, one of our most accurate observers, and an able philosopher, has published Meteorological Observations on the two last years in Mr. Brand's Journal. The year 1819-1820 was drier than the year 1820-1821, and a greater depth of rain fell in the latter than in the former. The first was also distinguished very much more by extremes than the second, all the instruments except the barometer denoting a very much wider range.

The autumns differed very essentially in their characters. The first half-quarter of the year 1819 was 14o drier, and 240 warmer than 1820. The depth of rain was, however, greater; for the barometer was not so high, and the vapour was more dense. As this is the season of the year when the most important fruits of the earth come to maturity, and

the securing of them in good order is the most anxious care of the human race in these latitudes, the state of the weather at this time acquires a proportionate interest. In 1819 it was remarkable for being dry, clear, and warm. The finest harvest that had been for years was housed in the most satisfactory manner. Not only in this country, but throughout Europe, it formed almost an epoch, and corn-fields, orchards, and vinėyards, shared in the general benefit. The mean results of this period may therefore be considered as the standard of a fine season. The turnip-fields, indeed, so important a part of English agriculture, suffered from great drought, and never recovered, but the grasses, and pasture in general, though burnt in the beginning of the autumn, revived with the rains in the last half-quarter.

In the year 1920 the harvest was much later. The crops of corn, though abundant, were not of so fine quality as the last, and were much mildewed; but upon the whole, this was also reckoned a productive harvest. The weather was still too dry for the turnip-crops.

The second half-quarters of the autumn were precisely similar in point of dryness, but in 1820 the temperature exceeded that in 1819, as much as it fell below it in the first six weeks, making the averages of the whole quarters precisely the same. This accession of heat probably prevented the precipitation of the usual quantity of water, for the amount of rain was less than half.

The winters differed still more widely than the autumns. The first was remarkable for its severity, and the second for its mildness: the respective mean temperatures being 33 and 38. In this quarter the latter regained the dryness which it was behind in the preceding; and the means of the two half-years were exactly similar. This state of the atmosphere is reckoned by no means unfavourable to the farmer, and neither in the cold season of 1819-1820, or in the dry season of 1820-1821, were any complaints made. The last winter half-quarter of 1821 was particularly remarkable for a very high average of the barometer.

In the first half-quarter of the spring the year 1820 was very backward; the wheats looked very indifferent, and vegetation altogether very unpromising. The blossoms of fruit-trees were very much injured by frosts and cold winds. In the corresponding period of 1821, the weather, on the contrary, was extraordinarily fine and open. The operations of husbandry were unusually forward; the wheat was vigorous and firmly rooted, and every appearance of vegetation as flattering as could be wished. The former period was distinguished from the latter by being 10 drier, and 240 colder, a much higher barometer, and half the quantity of rain.

In the second half-quarter, the advantage began to turn in favour of the first year. The temperature was higher, and the dryness continued. There was a sufficiency of rain, in the form of warm showers; the appearance of the wheat improved, and barley and oats promised very well. In the second year vegetation was checked by cold north winds: pasture was not forward, but still the whole prospect was good. At the commencement of the summer of 1820, the weather turned extraordinarily hot; the change was very sudden, and the produce of the fields made astonishing progress to maturity. The harvest commenced early, and, although the weather was rather unsettled, was well secured. The produce of all kinds was abundant, though not of the first quality.

The summer of 1821 was extremely backward, but favourable for growing wheats. The lowness of temperature was considered, at the time, rather favourable, as tending to check over-luxuriance of vegetation; barley, however, suffered materially from this cause. Near the usual harvest-time, the corn, though full eared, had hardly completed the flowering process. Oats were heavy, full-eared, and promising. Turnips, and all kinds of pasture, particularly fine and luxuriant. A succession of hot days, at the latter part of the summer-quarter, raised the average temperature above the corresponding period of the first year, and rapidly brought on the ripening of the grain. Nothing was now wanting but a favourable dry period to house the harvest. The reaping did not begin till the 25th or 26th of August, more than a fortnight later than the usual time.

This summer must be reckoned altogether wet and cold, and owing to this, it is feared, that the vintage on the Rhine, the Elbe, and in Switzerland, will entirely fail. The great characteristic features of the two years were, in the first, a cold winter and a hot summer; and in the second, a very mild winter, and a backward cold summer.