Egyptian Head of Memnon at the British

The Head of Memnon, sent to England by Mr. Salt, of which so much has been said in the public prints, has been recently placed, most judiciously as to light, on a pedestal in the Egyptian Room in the British Museum, under the able direction of Mr. Combe. We congratu late the public on this valuable acquisition, which may perhaps be considered as the most perfect specim-u of Egyptian art in the world. On entering the room the immensity of the Head has its full effect on the spectator, when seen in the same view with the famous figure of the Discobulus, which is the size of life, and stands at a short distance from it. From the proportion of the features it may be concluded that the figure, when perfect, was about 20 feet in height. The Head has suffered a loss of part of the right side of its skull, yet the features are all entire. They are ruly beautiful, partaking more of the Grecian than of the Egyptian character; and are as sharp and perfect as when they were left by the chisel. Al though the Head represents a young person, yet it has a long beard.

Dr.

The back part of the Figure is charged with hieroglyphicks, from which Young is of opinion, that it represents a young Memnon. The mouth is closed: it therefore cannot be the celebrated Head of Memnon that was said to utter sound. The Figure has a singularly beautiful appearance, from the particular colour of the strata; the whole of the Head being of a reddish, and the lower part of the greyish granite.

We are happy to see that the Room in which this invaluable Head is placed, is rendered more pleasant to the view of the publick by an improved arrangement of the Egyptian Antiquities for which it is appropriated.

Near this Head is placed the enormous Fist, noticed by Mr. Flaxman in one of his Lectures at the Royal Academy, who has observed, that if there had been a figure of which this Fist had formed a part, it must have been at least 60 feet in height.

Mr. ADAM ANDERSON, rector of the Academy of Perth, has lately ascertained that the density of the atmospheric vapour diminishes as we ascend, in a much faster ratio than that of air itself; and that the disproportionate effects thus produced by the elasticity of the vapour, at the upper and lower stations, cause a deviation from the law by which the density of the air, at different elevations, has hitherto been supposed to be regulated.

The deviation of the density of the atmospherical strata from the condition produced by perfect elasticity, is, however, frequently counteracted by the dilatation of the whole column of air, by means of the vapour which it holds in solution; and sometimes these disturbing causes are so nicely balanced, that the density of the air, as we ascend, differs but little from what it would be if the air were perfectly elastic. At other times the difference is considerable, and leads to very great errors, in the ordinary formula for calculating heights by the barometer, particularly when the air is very damp.

Dr. THOMSON has discovered a new compound inflammable gas, and has called it, from the nature of its constitution, hydroguretted carbonic oxide. Its specific gravity is 913 that of common air being 1. It is not absorbed nor altered by water. It burns with a deep blue flame, and detonates when mixed with oxygen and fired. It is a compound of oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon; and Dr. Thomson considers it as being three volumes of carbonic oxide, and one volume of hydrogen, condensed by combination into three volumes.

Southwark Bridge.In the erection of this work, it appears as if an attempt had been made to prevent the natural effect of heat upon iron, that is, to prevent its expauding; for where the spandrils enter the masonry of the abutments and piers, they are wedged in tight with iron wedges, from the bottom to the top; the consequence is, that an expansion taking place, a very unequal strain and injurious effect is then produced; for the radius of the intrado of the arch being 312 feet, and of the extrado about 6600, and both being confined between abutments, yet connected together, locking them as. two separate and distinct arches, it becomes evident that the latter would require to rise in the centre, for every. degree of heat, considerably more than the former, but cannot without lifting, or parting from it by fracture. To avoid this, which it is somewhat extraordinary was not guarded against in the first instance, the masons are now employed, night and day, in the tedious operation of working away the stone work at the back of the wedges, in order to remove them.

The purification of coal gas, which is become of such general application and esteem for lighting streets and shops, may be effected in a more economical manner by passing through ignited iron tubes, than by the common application of quick lime.

SELECT

Mr. URBAN,

Taunton.

THE following sketch was suggested by Chateaubriand's description of the ruins of Sparta: should you deem it worthy of a place in your Poet's corner, it is at your service. EDWIN ATHERSTONE.

Scene-Sparta (The shade of LEONIDAS, brought by the ministers of PLUTO from the Infernal Regions at the com. mencement of the 19th century, that he may contemplate the ravages of Time on his beloved native place. From the hill of the Citadel he looks anxiously around, and in an angry and disappointed tone exclaims to the attending spirits-)

Why do ye mock me thus ?--Ye said I should behold my native place, Immortal Sparta :-mother of the race Invincible: the scourge of tyranny, The dread of mightiest monarchs, and the

home

On yon red distant mountains; there at Time hath not brought destruction.Know'st thou not

The hills of Menelaion? Winding still
'Tween yonder rising grounds, doth not
thy eye

Behold Eurotas?—and, in shapeless heaps,
Choking the stream o'er which it proudly
spann'd,
Babyx, the ancient bridge?

LEONIDAS, with agony.-1 cannot tellThis is some cheating vision, and mine eyes Do look on things that be not.-Ah! forbear

And torture me no more.

SPIRIT. LOOK once againView to the North yon towering hill:~ the vale

That meets its base hath not a ruin left ;No stone that tells of human labours there. Yet on that naked plain thou must recal The public place, with all the princely piles That rear'd their heads to Heaven. LEONIDAS, in despair-Oh! 'tis too true! Sparta is gone. Capricious Jove, thy

hand

Hath wrought this matchless misery: the world

Bringing its force united-from the boy Who strains his maiden bow-string, to the wretch

Whose aged arm can barely lift the sword, All in one league combin'd-had not suf

fic'd

For such unequall'd ruin.

(A band

Written on seeing a Model, in the possession of J. BRITTON, Esq. from the Monumental Bust of SHAKSPEARE, in Stratford Church. HIS IS was the master-spirit;-at his spells The heart gave up its secrets: like the mount

Of Horeb, smitten by the Prophet's rod, Its hidden springs gush'd forth. Time, that [bards grey rock On whose bleak sides the fame of meaner Is dash'd to ruin, was the pedestal

Ou which his Genius rose; and, rooted there, Stands like a mighty statue rear'd so high Above the clouds, and changes of the world, That Heaven's unshorn and unimpeded beams

Have round its awful brows a glory shed Immortal as their own. Like those fair birds

Of glittering plumage, whose heaven-pointing pinions [behind, Beam light on that dim world they leave Aud while they spurn, adorn it; so his spirit,

*In some parts of America, it is said, there are birds which, when on the wing, and at night, emit so surprising a brightness, that it is no mean substitute for the light of day. Among the whimsical speculations of Fontenelle, is one, that in the Planet Mars, the waut of a Moon may be compensated by a multiplicity of these luminous aëronauts.

Found inscribed on a Skull in a Church-gard.
EMPTY vault of former glory!

Whate'er thou wert in time of old,
Thy surface tells thy living story,
Tho' now so hollow, dead, and cold;
For in thy form is yet descried

The traces left of young desire;
The Painter's art, the Stateman's pride,
The Muse's song, the Poet's fire;
But these, forsooth, now seem to be
Mere lumps on thy periphery.
Dear Nature, constant in her laws,

Hath mark'd each mental operation, She ev'ry feeling's limit draws

On all the heads throughout the nation, That there might no deception be;

And he who kens her tokens well, Hears tongues which every where agree In language that no lies can tellCourage-Deceit-Destruction-TheftHave traces on the skull-cap left. But through all Nature's constancy

An awful change of form is seen, Two forms are not which quite agree, None is replac'd that once hath been; Endless variety in all,

From Fly to Man, Creation's pride, Each shows his proper form-to fall

Eftsoons in time's o'erwhelming tide,
And mutability goes on

With ceaseless combination.
'Tis thine to teach with magic power

Those who still bend life's fragile stem, To suck the sweets of every flower,

Before the sun shall set to them;

Calm

Calm the contending passions dire, Which on thy surface I descry, Like water struggling with the fire

In combat, which of them shall die; Thus is the soul in Fury's car, A type of Hell's intestine war, Old wall of man's most noble part, While now I trace with trembling hand Thy sentiments, how oft I start,

Dismayed at such a jarring band! Man, with discordant frenzy fraught, Seems either madman, fool, or knave; To try to live is all he's taught

To 'scape her foot who nought doth save In life's proud race;-(unknown our goal) To strive against a kindred soul..

These various organs show the place

Where Friendship lov'd, where Passion
glow'd,

Where Veneration grew in grace, [proud-
Where Justice swayed, where inan was
Whence Wit its slippery sallies threw
On Vanity, thereby defeated;
Where Hope's imaginary view

Of things to come (fond fool) is seated;
Where Circumspection made us fear,
Mid gleams of joy, some danger near.
Here fair Benevolence doth grow

In forehead high-here Imitation
Adorns the stage, where on the Brow
Are Sound, and Colour's legislation.
Here doth Appropriation try,
By help of Secrecy, to gain
A store of wealth, against we die,
For heirs to dissipate again,
Cause and Comparison here show,
The use of every thing we know.
But here that fiend of fiends doth dwell,
Wild Ideality, unshaken

By facts or theory, whose spell

Maddens the soul and fires our beacon. Whom memory tortures, love deludes,

Whom circumspection fills with dread, On every organ he obtrudes,

Until Destruction o'er his head
Impends; then mad with luckless strife,
He volunteers the loss of life *.
And canst thou teach to future man
The way his evils to repair-
Say, O memento,-of the span

Of mortal life? For if the care
Of truth to science be not given
(From whom no treachery it can sever,)
There's no dependence under heaven
That error may not reign for ever.

*The frequency of suicide in persons who have much of this organ is probably here alluded to. People with this organ kill themselves for very trifling reasons. A gentleman is recorded to have hung himself in consequence of a quarrel with his tailor, who refused to make him seven pair of smart breeches at once; the organ of Ideality having worked him up into a belief that his tailor intended to mortify his vanity.

Me tibi, et hos unà mecum, et quos semper amavi, Commendo.

KNOW'ST thou the Vale where the silver-stream'd fountain [flows, Reflects the sweet image of Peace as it Where the pine-tree and birch at the foot of the mountain [rose? Conceal in its bosom the myrtle and Where the wood-thrush and blackbird in wild notes are wooing

The care that engrosses each mate's anxious breast:

And the ringdove and turtle so tenderly coping,

[blest! Are grateful to Nature for beings so Know'st thou the Cottage where innocent pleasure [shrine, Enlivens the circle round Virtue's fair Where the bright star of Hope sheds its ray without measure, [entwine? And Health and Contentment together 'Tis there I'd retire from the world's vain commotion, [lease: And calmly enjoy the sweet hope of reAs the fisher's frail bark on the stormtroubled ocean [will cease. Views gladly the port where her dangers 'Tis there, the fond dreams of my Infancy courting, [bright, I'd trace the gay visions of Mem'ry so And dwell on the scenes where so wantonly sporting, [delight.

Have fled the swift minutes of boyish Manchester, Oct. 1818. W. R. WHATTON.

CONFIDENCE IN GOD.

WHEN foaming seem the billowy waves
To mingle with the sky,

When swift, as still the tempest raves,
The vivid lightnings fly;

Oh in that moment of despair,

That hour of agony,

To thee, my God, I raise my prayer,
Of thee I think, of thee.

Not that, as peals the thunder loud,
I there thy presence find;

Not that I see thee in the cloud,

Or hear thee in the wind;-
Not that, as sheds th' avenging storm
I there behold thy angry form,
Its ruin far and fast,

Not that, as swift from heaven descending,
Thy spirit on the blast ;-
The forked lightnings fall,
see thine arm the concave rending,
Dealing the deadly ball;-
But that a confidence I feel,

I

A still small voice I hear, That says thy arm is o'er me still, That tells me thou art near.

mee

to

this day, Chief Baron Richards, as acting for the Lord Chancellor, who was confined by indisposition, took his seat on the Woolsack at half past two o'clock, and apprised the House of Peers that the Prince Regent was not able to attend in person, but had empowered certain Commissioners to open the Parliament. He then proposed to adjourn during pleasure.

After a short adjournment, the House was resumed, and the Duke of Wellington, and Lords Harrowby, Liverpool, Westmoreland, and Shaftesbury, having taken their seats as Commissioners, and the Commons being soon after in attendance, Lord Harrowby stated, that as soon as a sufficient number of the Members of both. Houses were sworn, the Prince Regent would let them know the cause for which he had summoued them together; and it being necessary that a Speaker of the House of Commous should be first chosen, it was the pleasure of his Royal Highness that the Gentlemen of the House of Commons should repair to their usual place of sitting, and proceed to the choice of a Speaker, and that they should present him this day at the Bar of the Upper House for the Prince Regent's approbation. The Lords then proceeded to take the oaths.

The Members of the Commons being returned to their own Chamber, Mr. Peel proposed to elect to the office of Speaker, the Right Hon. Charles Manners Sutton.

The motion was seconded by Lord Clive, supported by Mr. Barnett, the Member for Rochester, and unanimously adopted.

The Speaker Elect was then conducted to the Chair in the usual form, and returned thanks to the House for the high honour thus conferred upon him a second time.

Mr. Canning then moved an adjourn ment, and availed himself of the opportunity to pronounce another deserved panegyrick upon the Right Hon. Gentleman.

HOUSE OF LORDS, Jan. 15. The Commons, pursuant to usage, were summoned by the Usher of the Black Rod, by direction of the Commissioners, authorized by the Crown, to give their assent to, or dissent from, the choice made by the Commons of a Speaker of their House for the present Parliament. The Right Hon. Charles Manners Sutton appeared at the Bar of the House of Lords, attended by many of the Members of the Lower House, where he informed the GENT. MAG. January, 1819.

Lords Commissioners that the choice of the Commons had fallen on himself.

The Earl of Harrowby, as First Commissioner, gave the Royal Approval to the choice of the Commons.

The Speaker then proceeded to claim from the Crown the usual privileges enjoyed by the House of Commons, such as freedom of debate, exemption from arrest, and free access at all convenient occa. sions, &c. These the First Lord Commissioners declared they were empowered by the Crown to grant, in the fullest possible manner. The Commons then retired, and both Houses proceeded to the only business before them-swearing in Members.

HOUSE OF LORDS, Jan. 21.

This day the Commissioners sent the Usher of the Black Rod to summon the Commons, on whose appearance the Lord Chancellor read the following Speech:

"My Lords and Gentlemen,

"We are commanded by his Royal Highness the Prince Regent to express to you the deep regret which he feels in the continuance of his Majesty's lamented indisposition. In announcing to you the severe calamity with which it has pleased Divine Providence to visit the Prince Regent, the Royal Family, and the Nation, by the death of her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom, his Royal Highness has commanded us to direct your attention to the consideration of such measures as this melancholy event has rendered necessary and expedient, with respect to the care of his Majesty's sacred person. We are directed to inform you that the negociations which have taken place at Aix-la-Chapelle, have led to the evacuation of the French territory by the allied armies. The Prince Regent has given orders that the convention concluded for this purpose, as well as the other documents connected with this arrangement, shall be laid before you; and he is persuaded that you will view with peculiar satisfaction the intimate union which so happily subsists amongst the Powers who were parties to these transactions, and the unvaried disposition which has been manifested in all their proceedings for the preservation of the peace and tranquillity of Europe. The Prince Regent has commanded us further to acquaint you, that a treaty has been concluded between his Royal Highness and the Government of the United States of America, for the

renewal,