region of fragrance; and its fea tures differ from those of any other lands in any other country. Not a tree is to be seen except upon its outer edge, and the blue horizon meets it every where, forming a long straight line, without the least appearance of irregularity or undulation. As you cast your eye over it, it is all one series of deceptions. Sometimes, owing to a particular state of the atmosphere, or the position of the sun, distances and objects are increased or diminished like the vagaries of the phantasmagoria; things that are near will appear as if at a great distance, and those at a distance, at other times as if you could almost touch them. Now a bird will seem as if touching the sky with its head, and anon the herds appear like an assemblage of insects. March of Vehicles.-There are now 76 omnibuses in New York; besides these there are 194 licensed hackney coaches at the different stands; 2,449 carts; and 157 porters with either barrows or handcarts. million, which is one of the best nurseries in the world for seamen, and on which Hull, Peterhead, Frazerburgh, and several other towns of the kingdom mainly depend, would have been lost to the country. For many years a great change has been taking place in the habits of those stupendous creatures, which draw the enterprise of the merchants and mariners of England and Scotland into the Arctic seas. When the fishery commenced, they were so tame that they were found floating in all the gulfs and bays of Spitzbergen, fearless of harm, and were taken by hundreds, and without any effort. In a few years, however, this dreadful destruction drove them to the more remote bays, from whence they were soon driven in the open sea, far away from land. But the trackless ocean afforded them no shelter from their enemies'; they were pursued, and that with so much resolution, that the Dutch are calculated to have destroyed upwards of 50,000 in no very long course of years. Retiring before their ruthless pursuers, they next took refuge along the line of perpetual ice, which was their habitation when Scoresby wrote his celebrated work. Here as many as 1,400 of them were killed in one year. At last, worn out by perpetual persecution, they have plunged into the regions of eternal ice, where the boldest whaler dares not pursue them. The consequence is, that the Greenland fishery, which was formerly carried on in the sea between Greenland and Spitzbergen, is nearly abandoned, and the whole trade would soon have been at an end if Ross had not penetrated, in his first voyage, through the mass of ice which renders the entrance to Baffin's Bay so hazardous, and opened to the whalers vast seas never before fished, and which the monsters of the deep are found to frequent in great numbers. The most northern parts of Baffin's Bay, together with Lancaster Sound, Regent's Inlet, &c., are now the great fishing stations, and all these regions have been discovered, or at least laid down with accuracy, by the recent navigators, who opened the route to the less adventurous traders showed them that the seas abounded with whales-broke the Icy barrier which had never been passed since the days of Baffin, and described the coasts and harbour so correctly as to deprive the voyage of the greater part of its perils. The mere pecuniary expense of the voyages of discovery has, therefore, already been repaid many times, independent of the extension of geographical knowledge and the improvement of science. Novel Mode of Diffusing Knowledge.-There is at present existing in the Island of Ceylon a peculiar and valuable application of the art of painting; the time of its introduction there being unknown. To encou rage good and repress evil, pictures are painted upon the walls of the temples dedicated to Budhoo, representing various incarnations of that divinity, when he is supposed to have mixed with mortals for be neficent purposes. Upon these pic tures the priests expatiate to the people, and inculcate, by the examples, exhibited, the value of a virtuous and religious life; or display the evils attendant upon a wicked one. Sir Alexander Johnstone, in his recent evidence before the Parliamentary Committee on Indian Affairs, strongly recommended that a similar plan should be pursued by Great Britain, for the purpose of making the Indian natives comprehendthe benefits of a free government. Congreve Rockets ingeniously applied. In the late voyage of discovery by Captain Owen, an inge,an nious application of the Congreve rockets was effected for scientific purposes. According to experiments previously tried by the Cap tain, with the assistance of Sir W. Congreve, it was found that the thirty-two pounders when shot off attained a perpendicular height of 6000 feet; the twenty-four pounders, 4500; and that there was an exact correspondence between the weight of the pounder and the distance to which it could be carried. The certainty, as an instrument of measurement, of these rockets thus shot off, suggested their use for ascertaining the difference of longitude between two places not very distant from each other, and a successful trial was actually made by the above officer in the islands of Cape Verd. Cheap Scientific Traveller.-The celebrated naturalist, Linnæus, set out on his mission for exploring Lapland on the 18th of May, 1732, carrying his whole wardrobe and baggage on his back. The description of his burden is given by himself as follows:-My clothes consisted of a light coat of West Gothland lindsey-woolsey cloth, without folds, lined with red shalloon, having small cuffs and collar of shagg; leather breeches, a round wig, a green leather cap, and a pair of half-boots. I carried a small leathern bag, half an ell in length, but somewhat less in breadth, furnished on one side with hooks and eyes, so that it could be opened and shut at pleasure. This bag contained one shirt, two pair of false sleeves, two half shirts, an inkstand, pen-case, microscope, and spyingglass; a gauze cap to protect me occasionally from the gnats, a comb, my journal, and a parcel of paper stitched together for drawing plants, both in folio; my manuscript Ornithology, Hora Uplandica, and Characteres Genericæ. I wore a hanger at my side, and carried a small fowling-piece, as well as an octangular stick, graduated for the purpose of measuring. Herschel's Scientific Expedition to the Cape of Good Hope.-Sir John Herschel has proceeded in the same ship with Sir Benjamin D'Urban, the new Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, on an expedition of science, which shews the most generous and praiseworthy devotedness to the great cause of human improvement. There is at a small distance from Cape Town an observatory built by the liberality of the East India Company. The situation in which an astronomer is placed in this latitude, enables him to command a new expanse of horizon, which will expose to him objects hitherto known to him only through descriptions; such as the great constellation of the Ship, the Cross of the South, the clouds of Magellan, &c. CORRESPONDENCE. THE following letter, sent to us from Hanover, we readily insert; and, in respect of the mis-statements which are charged upon the article in question, we can only say, that they rest on the authority of an experienced military officer, who was in Ireland at the period mentioned, and with whom, we lament to say, it is now utterly impossible for us to communicate. We shall regret if we have been in the least degree a party to any misrepresentation tending to the dishonour of a profession, for which we have always maintained the highest admiration and respect. To the Editor of the London Monthly Review. SIR,-In a review of Major Beamish's History of the King's German Legion, contained in the third volume, fourth number, of your periodical for 1832, which has just fallen into my hands, I was surprised to find the following commentary upon that part of the work which describes the British expedition to the Elbe in 1806, and the sudden recal of the legion after the treaty of Presburgh: "The disappointment which resulted from this announcement produced the worst effects, for the officers and men deserted to a considerable amount. The legion, however, returned to England, having been compensated, as to its numbers, by recruits from Hanover. Several of the corps were sent to Ireland; but in that country their stay was not protracted. Notwithstanding all that the author has said to the contrary, the conduct of the German Legion in Ireland was any thing but creditable to them as men and soldiers. They behaved with insolence in numerous instances, and acted as if the country owed them a compliment for the favour of their protection. The consequence was, that the people were eternally in array against them, and the popular exasperation was at last carried to such a height as to lead to an explosion, in which the loss of lives were involved."-pp. 555, 556. As this passage contains both a serious reflection on the veracity of the historian of the King's German Legion, and a sweeping charge against the whole corps, I feel myself called upon, as the individual through whose humble means the greater part of the materials for compiling the History have been collected, and who may, consequently, presume to speak with some degree of confidence of the general proceedings of the corps, not only directly and distinctly to deny the truth of the assertion respecting the desertion of officers on the occasion alluded to, and the conduct of the corps in Ireland, but further, to maintain, that the general feeling of the inhabitants of Ireland towards the King's German Legion was diametrically contrary to that which you describe. Sir, it is a very simple matter to make an assertion, but not quite so easy to prove the truth of it; your attack upon the legion is unsupported by a single fact (for the " explosion" to which you allude was purely a military affray, totally unconnected with popular feeling, in which the Irish militia were the aggressors, and allowed, on all hands, to have been the culpable parties); my justification of them can be substantiated by living witnesses, on whose manuscripts and oral evidence the history of the corps is founded. But additional evidence is at hand; and I trust, that as you have given publicity to an attack upon the King's German Legion, you will do them the justice to give the same publicity to the refutation of the charge, which will be found in the following authenticated statements :— (No. 1.) "I certify that no officers of the King's German Legion deserted from the corps. (Signed) "Lewis Benne, Brigade Major, Late King's German Legion, formerly attached to the Legion Office, and in charge of the official lists, returns, and papers of the above corps." (No. 2.) Copy of a Correspondence between Colonel Von Alten, commanding First Light Infantry, King's German Legion, and Michael Green, Esq., Sovereign of Middleton, County of Cork, Ireland. 66 Middleton, 24th Dec. 1806. SIR,-At a meeting of the principal inhabitants of Middleton held this day, it was unanimously resolved, That the exemplary conduct of the First Light Battalion, King's German Legion, during a residence of near three months, has acquired, in an eminent degree, the approbation and esteem of all descriptions of people in this neighbourhood; and they hope that a public testimony of their sincere regret at your departure, while it expresses their own feelings, may not be deemed unacceptable to those of the distinguished corps under your command.' "Allow me, therefore, Sir, to request, in the name of the inhabitants of 2 Middleton, that you will be pleased to accept for yourself, and make known to the whole corps, this tribute of our respect and esteem." di "I have the honour to be, Sir, "Your most obedient and very humble servant, (Signed) "To Colonel Baron Alten, "MICHAEL GREEN, Sovereign. Commandant First Light Battalion, King's German Legion, &c. &c. &c." "Middleton, 24th Dec. 1806. "SIR,—It is not easy for me to find terms to express the sensations which I feel for the respectable testimonial with which you have honoured Your approbation of the conduct of my battalion while quartered in this town, and the harmony which has subsisted between us, could not be more pleasing to you than it is gratifying to myself. me. C "Allow me, Sir, to present to you and the inhabitants of Middleton my sincere thanks, and those of my battalion, for the honour of your communication; and rest assured, that we leave this place with sincere regret, and gratefully impressed with the marked attention which was universally shown to us during our short residence with you. "I remain, with the greatest respect, Sir, (Signed) "To Michael Green, Esq., Sovereign of Middleton, &c. &c. &c." (No. 3.) In the year 1809, the active, benevolent, and efficient services of Dr.. Grosskopf, surgeon to the First Dragoons of the King's German Legion, who, voluntarily, took upon himself the duties of physician to the King's County Infirmary, during the severe and protracted illness of the regular medical attendant of that establishment, was acknowledged by as flatter-. ing a testimonial as was, perhaps, ever presented to a foreigner in another country. Dr. Grosskopf received from the Governors and Governesses of this institution a valuable chased Cup, bearing the following inscription : : |