We are disposed to accord the most unqualified praise to the last named gentlemen for the very judicious manner in which they have executed their task.

"The Class-Book of American Literature," as its name imports, is entirely composed of American productions. We confess we were not altogether pleased with the plan of a work for schools. which should exclude the finest passages of Addison and Pope, in order to give place to the less classical productions of our own writers; but this predisposition to dislike was far from being confirmed on perusal; and we are willing to admit, that the book has very considerable claims on the score of elegance and good taste. Moreover, the editor, we find, disclaims any intention of excluding from our schools the classical writers of Great Britain. But he says, and we think justly, that, in the education of every American youth, there may be a period devoted to the study of his native literature. A selection from American writers possesses beside the assurance it gives of a favorable moral and political tendency in the character of the pieces-many peculiar advantages for the purpose of school-reading. The glow of patriotic feeling is one of the first and strongest emotions caught in boyhood, and furnishes the best preparation for that native eloquence of the heart, of which the finest efforts of elocution are but an imitation, and which must form the basis of all successful culture in this department of education.

In recommending Mr. Frost's work, we do not mean to say that a happier selection might not have been made from sources so copious. But his book is designed for juvenile readers; and his circle of choice was necessarily restricted by the capacity, if not the taste, of those for whose use the volume was compiled.

In regard to some of the pieces, especially the poetical ones, we think it would have been more judicious to give them a longer term of probation before admitting them into a work designed as a permanent Reader. We fear that some of the flowers, on losing the gloss of novelty, will part with much of their attractiveness. We cannot, however, find it, in our hearts to reproach that laborious class of persons to which Mr. Frost belongs, in whose duties there is at best so much tiresome uniformity, we mean the instructers, for desiring to enliven their toils as far as practicable, by the use of new books. On the whole, we think that the general reader will be gratified to find, that a book containing so great a variety of useful, elegant, and entertaining matter, should have been constructed of purely American materials.

INTELLIGENCE.

Fossil Bones. After the various geological systems which have been framed to account for the different fossil remains dispersed over the continents of Europe and Asia, we are scarcely surprised at any new hypothesis, unless it carry with it an appearance of truth. A gentleman of the name of Ranking, in a recent publication of the highest merit, has stated as his opinion, that the remains of different animals which have been found in countries very remote from those to which they belong, have not been transported to their present localities by the action of a deluge, but are some of them the result of the Roman sports in the amphitheatre, and of the great hunting matches of the Mongols, while the rest have accompanied the armies of these two nations, the mighty conquerors of the Eastern and Western world.

Fossil Animals. The researches of modern geology have brought to light, at different times, specimens of the organized remains of a former order of things on our globe, of which by no means the least remarkable characteristic is their enormous size. Professor Buckland, some years ago, discovered what at first seemed a fossil tree, but, upon examination, proved to be a thigh bone, with all the characters belonging to the genus Saurus (lizard, crocodile, &c.) Soon after a fragment of a jaw, presenting similar indications, was found. From the known proportions of the existing species, he calculated that the length of this reptile must have been upwards of sixty feet, and its bulk equal to that of an elephant seven feet high. It has been appropriately termed the megalosaurus. A discovery of a yet more formidable monster has very recently been made. Teeth have been found by some French naturalists, having the character of the shark species. From accurate measurement and comparison with existing sharks' teeth, it has been computed that they must have belonged to animals (upon the very lowest estimate) in one instance thirty, and in another forty-three feet in length.

Snails. It is stated by M. De Martens, that the annual exports of snails (kelik pomatia) from Ulm by the Danube, to be used as food in Lent, at the convents of Austria, formerly amounted to ten millions of these animals, which were fattened in the gardens in the neighbourhood. Before the revolution in France, large quantities of the H. aspersa were exported from the coasts of Aunis and Saintonge, in barrels, for the Antilles, and some are still sent to those islands, and to Senegal, for food. The consumption of snails is still very considerable in the departments of Lower Charente and the Gironde. In the isle of Rhé alone, it is estimated at the value of twenty-five thousand francs. At Marseilles the commerce in these animals is also considerable; the species eaten, are the H. rhodostama, H. aspersa, and the H. vermiculata. In Spain, Italy, Turkey, and the Levant, the use of snails as food is common.

The Walrus. The ability of the Walrus to climb steep surfaces of ice, and smooth high rocks, which has often astonished Polar navigators,

has been found by Sir Everard Home to be owing to their hind feet, or flippers, being furnished with a cupping-like apparatus, similar, but on a gigantic scale, to those in the feet of flies, which enable the latter to walk on upright glass, or even on a smooth ceiling, supported by the atmosphere pressing against the vacuum they are enabled to form in the cavities of their feet. It is the same also with the geoo, a rat-like animal, which, in India, runs up and down the faces of the smoothest walls in chase of flies and insects. The bones of the walrus flipper, in a surprising manner represent a gigantic human hand, capable of spanning twenty-eight inches or more; although these animals sometimes weigh a ton and a half, there seems little reason to doubt their capability of supporting this great weight by pedalian suction against a mass of ice.

Newspapers in the United States. There were but seven papers published in the United States in 1750; in 1810 there were three hundred and fifty-nine (including twenty-five published daily), which circulated twenty-two million two hundred thousand copies in the year. In 1823 they had increased to the number of five hundred and ninety-eight. The number of copies circulated in the year by these journals, it is calculated, exceeds thirty millions. The whole of continental Europe, containing one hundred and sixty millions of inhabitants, does not support half the number of journals that exist in the United States.

Newspapers in India. The number of newspapers published in the languages of India, and designed solely for native readers, has increased, in the course of seven years, from one to six. Four of these are in Bengalee, and two in Persian.

Printing on Zinc. At the bookstore of Leak, at Darmstadt, has appeared the first great work whose prints are taken from plates of zinc; it is a collection of architectural monuments, which will consist of twenty numbers. The drawings are made upon zinc as upon stone, and the expense of engraving is thus avoided. The editor is, in consequence, able to sell each number, containing twelve folio plates, at five francs, upon common paper. In an economical point of view, this process deserves to be recommended.

Russian Universities. In the seven Russian Universities, there are at present three thousand students, two hundred and twenty professors, lecturers, &c. The students are organized in almost a military manner, wear a uniform, and are under a very strict superintendence.

Calcutta Medical Society. At a late meeting of the Calcutta Medical Society, a paper was read by Dr. Kennedy on the barbarous Indian penance, called Gulwutzy Chumk. "It is very surprising," says Dr. Kennedy, "how the self-devoted victims, who have for some time been suspended by iron hooks inserted into their flesh, can run about, upon their descent from their elevation, as if nothing had happened, and how speedily the wounds heal without inflammation or suppuration." Dr. Kennedy makes various remarks upon the subject, in a medical point of view, with reference to the employment of setons; but his paper further shows, that this monstrous practice of Paganism is not, as has been conjectured by some persons, a mere Indian juggle.

Locusts. A letter in the Bombay Courier states, that a cloud of locusts had been hovering for nearly two months over different parts of the province of Guzerat, which must have covered ten square miles. So thickly clustered were they, as to cast an almost perfect and unbroken shadow on the ground. Before their approach, and after their departure, their appearance was that of immense and heavy clouds of dense smoke all along the horizon.

Khoordish Christians. Near the sources of the Tigris, Mr. Fraser says, dwelt the remains of the numerous Christian population, which inhabited all this part of the country in the times of the Greek emperors, and who were forced by their Mahomedan enemies to take refuge in these inaccessible regions. They now consist of four tribes; the Teearees, amounting to about ten thousand families; the Kojumees, to one thousand; the Jiloos, five hundred; and the Tookabees, to three hundred. They live under the rule of a sort of prelatical chief, whose dignity is hereditary in the family, although the chief himself, being set apart for the church, cannot marry. He acts both as priest and general, leading the people to church or to war; and they all pay him implicit obedience. They are of the Nestorian creed, and hate Roman Catholics even more than Mahomedans; putting to death, without mercy, all that fall into their hands. Indeed they behave little less cruelly to any others who unfortunately come in their way. They can bring into the field fourteen thousand capital matchlock-men. They live exclusively among themselves, admitting no one into their country, which is so strong and impenetrable that none can enter it without their leave. The missionaries despatched about three years ago into Persia, by the society of Basle, were expressly instructed to direct their attention to these degenerated Khoordish Christians.

Old English Coins. One of the most curious articles in the twentieth volume of the proceedings of the Society established at Copenhagen for the cultivation of Scandinavian Literature, is a paper by Professor Ramus, in which he states, that in 1822, a peasant of the island of Zeland, in ploughing his field, turned up above thirteen hundred pieces of silver coins, Danish, English, and German, all of the tenth and eleventh centuries. Among them are ninety English pieces of the times of Ethelred the Second, Harold Harefoot, and Edward the Confessor. M. Ramus promises a detailed description of all these coins, which are at present in the King's cabinet.

Modern Greek Poetry. M. Kalvos, of Zante, has published an additional volume of Greek Odes, which have since been translated into French. They are full of generous and patriotic sentiments, clothed in very melodious versification. The names of Canaris, Botzaris, and Byron, are those, to the consecration of which he principally devotes the labors of his muse. The work has been translated into French prose.

Longevity. In a curious essay, contained in a French medical journal, is an article which shows that a mode of life unruffled by tumultuous passions, singularly contributes to longevity. According to the author's statement, the lives of one hundred and fifty-two hermits, taken in all ages, and under every climate, produce a sum total of eleven thousand five hundred and eighty-nine years, and, consequently,

an average of seventy-six years, and a little more than three months, for each. The lives of the same number of academicians, one half belonging to the Academy of Sciences, and the other half to that of Belles Lettres, amount to ten thousand five hundred and eleven years, or to sixty-nine years and a little more than two months for each life. It is therefore not improbable, that, in patriarchal ages of society, one hundred and fifty or two hundred years were much more commonly attained than in our times, as the ancients affirm of different tribes of India and Greece.

Latin Classics. Letters from Naples announce, that the Abbate Mai has discovered in a collection belonging to the famous Abbey of St. Columbus de Bobbio, several valuable works of the most celebrated Latin Classics. The Diario di Roma, which contains this intelligence, does not give any explanation either as to the names of the authors or the titles of the works. Gent. Mag.

New Reviews. Two foreign Reviews, one the "Revue Britannique," the other the "Revue Américaine," are commenced in Paris. They both profess to give a view of the ancient literature and progress of the sciences and arts of the two countries. New Month. Mag.

Parisian Charities, &c. The French government has advertised to contract for the supply of meat for the charitable establishments of Paris for the year 1827. The quantity wanted is one million one hundred and eighty-six thousand kilogrammes, or about two millions five hundred thousand pounds' weight English. The number of beds in the various hospices and hospitals is stated at about thirteen thousand; the hospice for old women making about five thousand of the whole, the Hôtel Dieu fifteen hundred, and the orphans and foundlings one thousand. Ibid.

New Invention. A canal-digging machine has recently been introduced at Paris, to be worked either by horse, manual, or other moving power. It is capable of digging ten feet deep, and a power equal to eight horses is required to work it. The machine will extract and carry out of the canal ninety-six cubic feet per minute. It advances gradually in working, and digs eight feet in breadth at one stroke. Ibid.

Death of Hercules. Charles Rousselle, the famous athletic, called the Hercules of the North, died the other day at Lille, his native place, at the early age of forty-five. His combination of muscular force with agility was very extraordinary. His visit to London made him familiar to many artists, who considered his form equal in developement to the Hercules Farnese, and frequently took him as a model. În this way he stood to Bosio for his "Alcides destroying the Hydra;" and the Royal Academy presented him with a superb gold medal. It is said, that overstraining himself in some of his prodigious efforts contributed to shorten his life. His family seems to be remarkable for strength; and a brother Henri, and a sister, are also mentioned as prodigies. Ibid.