the account of his first travels, for a journey to Abyssinia, and will follow the route taken by Bruce to the sources of the Nile. Great exertions are making at.Vienna towards forming a Museum of Antiquities, nor have the Fine Arts been neglected in the proposed arrangement. The Emperor has given every encouragement to the plan. M. Steinbüchel, the celebrated Antiquary and Traveller, has been dispatched on a tour to Dalmatia, Salona, the ruins of the palace of Diocletian, &c. A proclamation has been issued prohibiting the exportation of antiques, statuary, and MSS. from the Austrian States. The Emperor has visited the Belvidere, and seen the splendid collection of works of art belonging to M. Fuger, director of the Imperial Gallery of Paintings, and has determined upon the purchase of the whole, POMPEII. In prosecuting the excavations at Pompeii, they have lately discovered several edifices in the fine street that leads to the Temples of Isis and Hercules, and to the Theatre. In a house supposed to have belonged to some man of science, some surgical instruments were fouud of excel lent workmanship; also some paintings representing fruit and animals, executed with great truth. The Royal Society of Sciences at Gottingen has proposed for the subject of a prize, to be awarded in November 1820, a critical Synopsis of the most ancient Monuments of every description hitherto discovered in America, to be placed in comparison with those of Asia, Egypt, &c. The memoirs to be written in Latin. Value of the prize fifty ducats. Some labourers, in the department of Lot, have lately penetrated into the caverns formerly dug by the English, in the vicinity of Breuge. In the lowest parts were certain crevices, which, when laid open, discovered a depository of bones, some of horses, others of the rhinoceros, of the same species of which fossil fragments have been found in Siberia, Germany, and England; and a third kind, belonging to a species of stag, now a nondescript, with horns, not much unlike those of a young rein-deer. These relics have been collected and presented to the Aca> demy of Sciences by M. Cuvier, and are now in the King's cabinet. ARTS AND SCIENCES. PORTABLE GAS LIGHTS. Mr. Gordon of Edinburgh, has taken out a patent for this contrivance, which consists in condensing from 20 to 30 atmospheres of the gas in a vessel of sufficient strength, and furnished with one or more apertures for combustion, with proper stop-cocks. A globe of one foot diameter, properly charged with gas, will yield a light equal to six cominon candles for twelve hours; and so in proportion for other sizes. The forms of course may be varied. The result of this contrivance will be, that families will by-and-by send their servants to the gas maker (as formerly to the candle-maker) to get their portable magazine charged and ready for lighting every day, or every second day, without subjecting themselves to the trouble of making the gas in their own houses. NEW HYGROMETER. This instrument, the invention of Mr. Adie, is composed of a small bag made of the internal membrane of the arundo phragmites, and fitted, like a bulb, to the lower end of a thermometer tube. It is then filled with mercury, which rises and falls in the tube, by the sensible and rapid changes that take place in the contraction or dilatation of the membrane, from the humidity or dryness of the atmosphere. In point of sensibility, Mr. Adie has found this membrane to exceed any thing he has ever met with. POLARIZED LIGHT. Dr. Brewster has ascertained that the light of the Rainbow is actually polarized light, in consequence of its having suffered reflection nearly at the polarizing angle from the posterior surface of the drops of water. Such a change upon the light could not possibly have been effected by passing through any prism whatever. This, indeed, is an experimentum crucis, which demonstrates Newton's theory to be correct. MENAI BRIDGE.-The first stone of this stupendous structure has been laid. When completed, it will connect the island of Anglesea with the county of Carnarvon, and by that means do away with the present Ferry, which has always been one of the greatest obstacles in the establishment of a perfect communication between England and Ireland through North Wales. The design is by Mr. Telford, and is on the suspension principle; the centre opening is to be 560 feet between the points of suspension, and 500 feet at the level of high-water line; the road-way to be 100 feet above the highest spring tide, and is to be divided into two carriage-ways of 12 feet each, and a footway between them of four feet. lu addition to the above, there are to be three stone arches of 50 feet each on the Carnarvonshire shore, and four of the same dimensions on the Anglesea side. It is estimated to cost 70,000l. aud will probably take three years to complete it. SELECT SELECT On reading Mr. TICKELL'S Lines on viewing the Portrait of CHARLES I. CAN this be he! Can this, the Muse's friend, [tent bend Whose hallowed Lyre should Vice impoTo Virtue's path, and tune its magic lays To Freedom's cause, stoop to a Tyrant's praise? Can he, who sung of spotless Harley's fame, [name? The patriot stateman, deck a Stewart's And couple meekness with tyrannic sway, Make greatness shine, like flattery for pay, And gild a tyrant with its brightest ray? It must not be !-Perhaps his heart too kind, [clin'd, To kingly power and pomp too much in- Her ruin'd Lord, like traitor vile expire; With men who fear'd not e'en to rule their From ills like these his gentler soul might shrink, And pity woes on which he fear'd to think. But woe to him who lacks the empyreal fire, [pire. Depriv'd of which, life lags, and states exThat hallows Kings; bids splendid empires rise, [it dies; Strengthens the Crown, and without which That gives the balance into Justice's hands, Casts Tyrants down, and crushes rebel bands; mission'd, caught; Which came from Jove, and bards com[taught And, wrapt in sacred song, stern Victors To prize its flame, and fly the ruthless [car, The sharpen'd spear, and quick-revolving For healthful ease, which blest Industry [Kings; war, brings, The wealth of Nations, and the prop of The mutual bond which well-join'd States unite, [people's right; Whence springs the Monarch's power and The child of Liberty, from whose rich womb [come. Rough Industry and polish'd Arts must Then what is he whom dire Ambition swells, [tells? To what the faithful Muse with weeping Whose broken vows, and arrogant disdain Of laws he'd sworn with justice to maintain, Drew on fair Britain such a fatal train Of countless woes, the last intestine strife Which claim'd the proud oppressor's forfeit-life? storm, Unwilling still to smite the favor'd shore; Awhile Jove paus'd like calm before a [right arm; Then launch'd the lightnings from his red Down sunk th' Usurper, death insulting laugh'd, [shaft ; As from his side he tugg'd th' unerring With horrid joy the grisly King look'd round, [ground. As the full harvest weigh'd the solid But Peace, more dreadful than his wasting breath, Laden with wrongs more difficult than death, Soon stay'd awhile his desolating course, play the fool; He scoff'd at Virtue, Gratitude he spurn'd, And all the Kingdom to a brothel turn'd. Till roused at length some rash unguarded hand Smote the Avenger of the guilty land. Then bigot James, so mighty Jove decreed, Bestrode the race his wrath had doom'd to [own, The sun and stars, whose mystic will we With pity mov'd, the Throne of Mercy [prayers; rears, And gracious bends to chasten'd Albion's Bids the charg'd cloud on her oppressors fall, And ruin, shame, and death envelope all; Majestic as ere this our earth was form'd The Archangel rose, o'er powers impure, that storm'd The eternal Heavens. Illustrious Nassau came, [flame; Mis garments shining with as bright a The robe of Freedom on his limbs he wore, And Truth and Justice friendly trod before; Stern manly virtue on his features sate, And his commanding eye was full of Fate. Such Nassau was when England claim'd his care, [wear; His glories such as George scorn'd not to Such as to Britain long-lost Peace restor'd, And on our Isle her choicest blessings pour'd. Long may our land be bless'd with George's line, [shine, And each, succeeding each, still brighter Till the sharp scythe of Time himself shall slay, And Laurels, Crowns, and Sceptres fade away. JUNIUS. LORENZO DE MEDICIS. Tradition exists, that when Lorenzo the Magnificent was yet in his cradle, a wandering Astrologer stood over him, and predicted his future renown. INFANT noble infant, sleep, While this midnight Heaven I sweep. O'er thee burn a trine of stars, Jove the Sov'reign, fire-ey'd Mars, Venus with the diamond beam; Babe, thou 'lt wear the diadem. Wield the victor sword, and win Woman, more than half divine. On this pure and pencill'd brow Latent bursts of lightning glow. Haughty Venice shall be bow'd, When they rend their thunder-cloud. Eloquence is on thy lip, Now, like roses when they dip Their sweet buds in the summer dew; Sea! that hear'st the dreary gale LINES ON A YOUNG LADY. WHEN sever'd from her I adore, These plains can't afford me delight; What has pleas'd, fails to please any more, And happiness flies from my sight: In vain with the choicest of flowers, Sweet Flora my garden has spread; No longer I visit the bowers From whence my dear Phyllis has fled. How dull and insipid appear The duties my station commands; What pleas'd when my Phyllis was here, Now hangs like a load on my hands. My pipe I have thrown far away; My sheep disregardedly roam : I wander forlorn all the day, For the best and the fairest is gone. On her charms, and forget all my woe. One pleasure unmix'd with alloy. A source of delight so refin'd, So ardent, so lasting, and pure ; That to a contemplative mind, Enjoyment 'twill ever ensure. "Tis sweet on a calm summer's eve To sit on the brow of a hill; No sound that the ear can perceive, Save a distant and murmuring rill: 'Tis sweet then to muse on the past, On the maid whom I love, but can't Yet, while in gay transport I muse On the past, is the present as fair? What tortnres does absence infuse, To plunge me as low in despair! Already does Fancy display Her charms to another consign'd; Ah! can she then break in a day The vows we so mutually twin'd? Oh! can she so quickly forget The hours which in innocence flew, And break, without fear of regret, A heart to her image still true? That thought has restor'd me again, So faithless she cannot have prov'd; My Phyllis returns to the plain, And Corydon still is belov'd. Lichfield, Aug. 10. SONNET G. Y. N. Each mortal soul to universal love. For, if the power of music can controul List not to Fancy's visionary dream'; But I have spoke the feelings of my heart. reigns, ODE TO MEDITATION. NOW thro' the grove a solemn silence [tending plains. And o'er the hill and down, and far exSave where the tinkling rill mellifluous flows In busy murmurs thro' the bending vale, Save where the downy breast with rapture glows, Swelling the echoes of the sinking gale. The dazzling colours of the day are fled,. And softly glimmers Cynthia's pallid ray, Night, sable Goddess! rears her downy head; [moon-beams play. While round her shades the quiv'ring Hail, Meditation! hail thy fav'rite hour To drive Despair and Anguish from the soul, [low❜r, Dispel the gloom when stormy tumults To bid the tide of Passion cease to roll. What time the heart oppressive heaves the sigh, [flow, And burning tears in gushing torrents Deign, Pow'r sublime! to quit thy seat on high, To dash the cup of sorrow here below. 'Tis thou alone canst teach the just controul [mind; O'er ev'ry passion which degrades the 'Tis thou alone canst swell the youthful soul, [refin'd. With heav'nly transport-with a hope Hence then, ye glitt'ring pomps, which catch the crowd, [toys; Fair Virtue's bane, and Fashion's gilded Ye painted baubles that delight the proud! Ye empty scenes of transitory joys! Ah! say, deluded mortals! if opprest With fell despair; with dire corrosive grief; [breast, Should keen remorse afflict your aching Could all these fleeting pleasures yield relief? As the light torrent, sent to various plains, Ab, flutt'ring insects, Folly's gaudy train! Now hastens, foaming o'er the rugged rocks; [quiet reigns, Now spreads thro' meads and groves, where And, gently gliding, cools the heated flocks: GENT. MAG. October, 1819. t Should dark Affliction cause the tear to HISTORICAL CHRONICLE.. PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, July 6. The Royal Assent was given, by commission, to 22 public and private Bills. 2 On the third reading of the Bill for reversing the attainder of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, Lord Clare expressed his approbation of it, and said, that had his father's life been spared, be intended to have proposed such a measure. The Bill was then passed. On the motion of Lord Lauderdale, the second reading of the Scotch Poor Relief Bill, Publicans' Licensing Bill, and the Silkmanufacturing Regulation Bill, were postponed for three months; and a new standing order was made to the effect, that no Bill for regulating any trade or manufacture, altering apprenticeships, affixing marks on goods, extending patents, &c. shall be read a second time until a Select Committee of their Lordships shall insti tute an inquiry relative to the measure proposed, and report thereon. In the Commons, the same day, Mr. A. Lamb was brought to the bar, and received the following reprimand from Mr. Speaker: "Alexander Lamb, "This House yesterday came to a Resolution, That you, since your first examination before a Committee of the whole House, to whom it was referred to consider of the Extracts of Indictments against Sir Manasseh Masseh Lopes and others, for Bribery at the late Election of Burgesses to serve for the borough of Grampound, having destroyed a material document relative thereto, have been guilty of wilful suppression of evidence, and a high contempt of the authority of this House. This is an offence of the most serious and grave nature, both as affecting the dignity of this House and the ends of Justice; and had this offence been committed by you with the deliberate intention of impeding the Examination now in progress, it would have been the bounden duty of this House to have punished it with the utmost severity.But in proportion as this Act, if committed with such a view and such intentions, would have been disgraceful to yourself, and in contempt of every feeling of principle and honesty, in the same proportion this House is most anxious to attribute your conduct to other motives which may have actuated you, and which may explain and extenuate; and believ ing that the destruction of this instrument has been committed not with any intention to interfere with its proceedings, or to defeat the ends of justice, but that it originated solely from strong impressions upon your mind of the professional confidence reposed in you by your client; with this impression, and this alone, the House is prepared to extend to you its lenity, and to order that you be now reprimanded, and discharged. In obedience, then, to the commands of the House, I now reprimand you, and acquaint you, that you are discharged, upou payment of your fees." Sir J. Mackintosh brought up the Report of the Committee on the Criminal Laws. The first part of it, he said, consisted of returns of convictions and executions throughout the kingdom, much more accurate and important than ever yet laid before the House. The first document was a return of convictions and executions in London since 1689. They had also returns from the Home Circuit; and he trusted they would have fuller accounts from the counties; but they had no returns from Ireland. The Committee had also enquired into the crimes which had ceased or were greatly diminished. Crimes of violence had diminished in a proportion which no one would believe, except on the authority of documents laid before the Committee. In the Home Circuit murders had diminished in the proportion of three or four to one. From a comparison of the last 30 years, with the 30 immediately previous, it would be found that the murders in the city of London had greatly diminished. In the Western Circuit the number of murders had continued nearly the same for the last 50 years. Thus from distress, though the people had been driven to offences against property, yet they had lost none of their horror for bloodshedding, or their antient character for humanity. Their next inquiry had been, what capital punishments had been found to be useless, and these they con sidered such laws as had not been acted upon for more than a century. The Committee proposed, in the next Session, to submit two Bills to the House, one to repeal some laws altogether, and another to substitute transportation for death in certain cases. Mr. Colquhoun, Mr. Mainwaring, the Clerk of the Indictments at the Old Bailey, &c. &c. and the traders of the cities of London and Westminster, all concurred in giving it as their opinion that there was a very great reluctance to prosecute, notwithstanding the very great losses they sustain by depredations. The traders prayed to have the punishmeuts mitigated, in order that they might prosecute to conviction, without exposing themselves to the painful risk of prosecuting a fellow |