earthy she has but performed her duty in these efforts. The United States of America, true to its hereditary instinct, imitates her example and sends her enterprising sons to the frozen regions of the North and South+there to carry cultivation, and arts, and knowledge, in order to diminish as much as possible the reign of barbarism over the race of man. Such being the spirit common to the national mind in both countries; how is it that for the objects so much desired by both, no tendency to concert and co-opération has yet been manifested between them? Whilst in England the enterprises undertaken to make discoveries in remote seas are the direct subjects of government patronage, in America it would appear that a great deal in this respect is left to the enthusiasm of volunteer adventurers. Enough however has been done by our transatlantic brethren, to show that they are most worthy of being associated with us, for the same common purpose of extending discovery, and carrying civilization, and its train of blessings, to every portion of the benighted world. There has been no report of expeditions of this description from America, hitherto known to us, which appears more fully to justify our opinion of the character and capabilities just attributed to them, than the one now before us. The brave, bold, rough and hardy sailor of England, for a thousand years, presents himself in this American, now before us, in all the bold relief which we might expect to find in an original. Daring and incapable of fear as he is by nature, he is possessed of a warm and generous heart; his education has just been sufficient to enable him to be correct in his language, at the same time that it has not checked in his mind that rude vigour, that energy and simplicity, with which nature originally endowed it. The reader will therefore infer, that the narrative is replete with all the marks of those original and striking peculiarities, which might be expected in a man so imaginative, so exposed to scenes of excitement, and so undisciplined in the suppression of his feelings..

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Captain Morrell, a native of the State of New York, on Long Island Sound, gave an early proof of his restless and enterprising disposition, by abandoning his family at seventeen and going to sea, for which he shewed a determined passion from his earliest years. Proceeding to New York, he quickly found a berth in a vessel, which was just about to sail to Lisbon with a cargo of flour. This was in March, 1812; and on the return of the vessel, when she approached the American continent, it was her chance to be taken by the English, in consequence of the hostilities which had broken out in the meantime. His next adventure was in a privateer, destined for France: the ship, whilst cruising on the coast of that kingdom, was taken by an English frigate, the crew of which boarded the American vessel. The whole of the party on board were ordered into the British ship, and brought to England, where they were placed in imprisonment at Dartmoor. The author speaks well of the treatment which he received during his incarceration che

found in this dreary abode above eight thousand Frenchmen, and -about half that number of Americans, all prisoners of war. Here they received every indulgence that could be expected under such -circumstances; and though they had no more than the customary -"prisoner's allowance" of food, what they had was good and wholesome. They enjoyed the privilege of an excellent market, at the regular prices of the country, where every thing offered for sale was obliged to be of the best kind. No imposition was allowed to be practised -on the prisoners by the English farmers. They had their own cooks and nurses in the hospital; and the doctor was one of the best and most humane of men. His name was M'Graw, and he was justly beloved and respected by every American in Dartmoor prison. They had the liberty of a large yard from daylight until dark; and a certain number of the prisoners were each day permitted to go outside the walls to work, for which they were regularly paid by the captain of the prison. Within the walls they amused themselves with schools, dramatic performances, and a variety of games and plays. "In fact," says the Captain, "I cannot conscientiously abcuse the British of any inhumanity towards the American prisoners during all my detention of thirty-one months in St. John's and at Dartmoor, excepting the atrocious massacre at the latter place in April, 1815, after the peace." The history of this affair is familiar to every reader. The American prisoners were fired upon, by order of the infamous Capt. Shortland, when eight were killed, and thirtyseven wounded! +} of

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Captain Morrell had not been long returned to his native country, when his enterprising spirit impelled him to seek gratification on his favourite element. He heard many stories of romance recorded insconnection with the South Shetland Islands, and the seal voyages in the South Seas, and was soon placed in a ship destined for the seal trade, as first mate. In this voyage he had a specimen of the perils to which the navigation was exposed, and was led by his bold spirit into situations (which none but a desperate person would venture to seek. The ship, however, returned in April, 1822, in perfect safety, to New York. Upon the very day of his arrival there, the Captain was applied to, to know if he would accept the command of a schooner, which was going out in the course of a month, on a voyage to the South Sea, to catch seals, to trade, and make discoveries. He jumped at the proposal, and in June of the same year set sail, in company with another schooner. The two vessels were provisioned for a couple of years, and their destiny was a cruize during that period, in the South Seas, the Atlantic Seas, and Pacific Ocean. This voyage, and three others which succeeded it, supply the whole of the contents of the present volume,whogona In the very commencement of his account, the Captain does not hesitate to assure us, that in his opinion, and from his experience, the day is not distant when a visit to the South Pole" will not be thought more of a miracle than to cause an egg to stand on its

point. He states that this has been long his opinion, and that the results of the voyage, the steps of which we are now about to retrace, satisfy him of the certainty of his predictions.The great object of that voyage was to acquire a more accurate knowledge than any one before possessed of the Antarctic Seas, and to ascertain the practicability, under favourable circumstances, of penetrating to the South Pole. The progress of the vessels in the Southern direction is accurately noted by the Captain; and having occasion to remain for a short time in the harbour of Rio Janeiro, he gives a copious description of the beauties of that city. The Captain visited also and explored the coast of Patagonia, and saw sufficient of the inhabitants to make him disbelieve the common notion of their being giants. Having taken an ample survey of this coast, the party pursued its way to the Falkland Islands, situated in the South Atlantic Ocean, about eighty leagues east from Cape Virgin, in the Straits of Magellan. The author speaks very favourably of the productions of this Island; and describes the species of birds which frequent it. Here his men found for the crew the materials of many very agreeable repasts, in the nests of the various tribes of these birds, which come in vast numbers to lay their eggs in those islands. The places thus chosen by the feathered tribes in the South Seas are called by sailors rookeries, as it is a temporary encampment of animals, where they assemble at the breeding season. A very curious account of the process performed by the birds on such occasions is given by the Captain :

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• When a sufficient number of penguins, albatross, &c. care cassembled on the shore, after a deliberate consultation on the subject, they proceed to the execution of the grand purpose for which they left their favourite element. In the first place, they carefully select a level piece of ground, of suitable extent, often comprising four or five acres, and as near water as practicable, always preferring that which is the least encumbered with stones and other hard substances, with which it would be dangerous to have their eggs come in contact. As soon as they are satisfied on this point, they proceed to lay out the plan of their projected encampment; which task they commence by tracing a well defined parallelogram, of sufficient magnitude to accommodate the whole fraternity, say from one to five acres. One side of this runs parallel with the water's edge, and is always left open for egress and regress; the other three sides are differ

ently arranged ar

These industrious feathered labourers next proceed to clear all the ground within the square from obstructions of every kind; picking up the stones in their bills, and carefully depositing them outside of the lines before mentioned, until they sometimes by this means create a little wall on three sides of the rookery. Within this range of stones and rubbish they form a pathway, six or eight feet in width, and as smooth as any of the paved or gravelled walks in the New York Park, or on the Battery. This path is for a general promenade by day, and for the sentinels to patrol at night, but doing i

CMRERO 918 191tel Having thus finished their little works of defence on the three land

sides, they next lay out the whole area in little squares of equal sizes, formed by narrow paths which cross each other at right angles, and which tare also made very smootho At each intersection of these paths [an albatross constructs her nest, while in the centre of each little square is a penguin's nest so that each albatross is surrounded by four penguins and each penguin has an albatross for its neighbour, in four directions. In this regular manner is the whole area occupied by these feathered sojourners, of different species; leaving, at convenient distances, accommodations for some other kinds of oceanic birds, such as the shag, or green cormorant, and another which the seamen call Nelly.

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Although the penguin and the albatross are on such intimate terms, and appear to be so affectionately and sincerely attached to each other, they not only form their nests in a very different manner, but the penguin will en rob her friend's nest whenever she has an opportunity. The penguin's nest is merely a slight excavation in the earth, just deep enough to prevent her single egg rolling from its primitive position; while the albatross throws up a little mound of earth, grass, and shells, eight or ten inches high, and about the size of a water-bucket, on the summit of which she forms her nest, and thus looks down upon her nearest neighbours and best friends. onut mielasyon

of None of these nests in the rookeries are ever left unoccupied for a single moment, until the eggs are hatched and the young ones old enough to take care of themselves. The male goes to sea in search of food unt his hunger is appeased; he then promptly returns and affectionately takes the place of b his mate, while she e resorts to the same element for the like purpose. In the interchange of these kind offices, they so contrive it as not to leave the eggs uncovered at all; the present incumbent (say the [female) making room for the partner of her cares and pleasures on his return from the sea, while he nestles in by her side until the eggs are completely covered by his feathers. By this precaution they prevent their eggs being stolen by the other birds, which would be the case were they left exposed; for the females are so ambitious of producing a large family Batsonce, that they rob each other whenever they have an opportunity. Similar depredations are also committed by a bird called the rook, which is equally mischievous as the monkey. The royal penguin is generally foremost in felonies of this description, and never neglects an opportunity of robbing a neighbour. Indeed it often happens that when the period e of incubation is terminated, the young brood will consist of three or four a different kinds of birds in one nest. This is strong circumstantial evidence that the parent bird is not more honest than her neighbours. ol zzsal

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'To stand at a little distance and observe the movements of the birds in these rookeries, is not only amusing but edifying, and even affecting. The spectacle is truly worthy the contemplation of a philosophic mind. You will see them marching round the encampment in the outside path, or public promenade, in pairs, or in squads of four, six, or eight, forcibly reminding you of officers and subalterns on a parade day. At the same stime, the camp, or rookery, is in continual motion; some penguins passing through the different paths, or alleys, on their return from an aquatic exJacursion, eager to caress their mates after a temporary absence; while the latter are passing out, in their turn, in quest of refreshment and recrea-Ition. At the same time, the air is almost darkened by an immense num

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ber of the albatross hovering over the rookery like a dense cloud, some continually lighting, and meeting their companions, while others are constantly rising and shaping their course for the sea. pp. 51, 53. Loonse aidIn entering the Falkland Sound, Captain Morrell came in sight of three islands, one of which," called Eagle Island, he states, was the scene of an act of perfidy by the officers and crew of an English ship. He more distinctly states afterwards, that an American captain, named Barnard, had laid his brig up in Barnard's Harbour, and was in search of seal at Fox Bay, opposite Eagle Island, in a small shallop built for that purpose, when his attention was attracted by a rising smoke on the other side the strait. Suspecting the real cause of this unusual appearance, and prompted by his characteristic benevolence of heart, he immediately crossed Falkland Sound in his shallop for the purpose of relieving the sufferers, whoever they might prove to be. His errand of mercy was successful; and though they proved to be subjects of England, with whom our country was then at war, the benevolent purpose of Captain Barnard remained unchanged. But it appears that in return for his kind offices, they treacherously seized his vessel, and made their escape, leaving him and a part of his crew to endure all the privations and sufferings from which he had nobly preserved 'them! Captain Barnard's narrative of this horrible transaction is before the public, and ought to be in the hands of every reader. For nearly two years he was compelled to drag out a miserable existence on an uninhabited island, in as high a south latitude as Kamschatka is in the north. The British ship was the Isabella from Port Jackson to London, and she was wrecked on the island already mentioned,

In continuing the course of the ship, between the south and east, the captain crossed the spot which has been described as the site of the celebrated Aurora Islands. He declares that there are no such islands in existence, and that he knows of other navigators who, like himself, searched for them in vain. The account of these islands is contained in a publication of the Hydrographical Society of Madrid, and their latitude and longitude are very particularly described. But it is the captain's opinion, that the reputed discoverers must have mistaken for islands, a series of icebergs with earth attached to their sides, and covered with snow on their tops.

It is observed by the author, that, whilst in south latitude, up to 64, they met with many fields of ice, but that the further they descended southwards, the less did they encounter them. Steering still southward, they crossed the antarctic circle, and getting into latitude 69 deg. 11 min. and lon. 48 deg. 15 min. E. they found no field-ice whatever, and even of ice-islands very few were observed floating. They also discovered that the winds in this latitude blow three-fourths of the time from the south-east or the north-east, very light, and attended with more or less snow every day, and that the westerly winds were accompanied with severe hail-squalls. The captain, who has passed the antarctic circle several times, on dif