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were all delightful, The principal male singer (Signor Galli) has the most profound and sonorous bass voice I ever heard, and is a perfect Hercules in figure, a tremendous looking fellow, with a neck like a bull, and features of animated bronze. Six Naldis in conjunction would not equal the solemn thundering roll of his deep-spreading voice; it filled the whole theatre, which is larger than the London Opera House. The stage is immense, contains six hundred people and forty horses with ease. The rest of the performers were cosi cosi. This theatre is very like the Opera-house in London, in the inside, but I do not think it is well constructed for the propagation of sound-a feeble voice is not heard in the middle of the pit. What do you think was the price of admit. tance? 30 sous, or 15 pence Sterling! to the pit I mean, If you take a box for the night, and get six or seven people to join with you, it will cost you no more. It is not well lighted-only one candelabra, and the foot-lights of the stage. This gives it a gloomy appearance. People there (if they choose) light their own boxes, but there were only a few straggling candles in them, glimmering here and there amidst the dusky twilight of this large theatre. The ballet was very good and very splendid. Here they introduce a ballet between the acts of the opera, and I think injudiciously;-it spoils the connection of the piece. The scenery, dresses, and decorations, were much finer than at Paris. The orchestra is a very excellent one.

16th Oct.—I visited also at Milan Il C. R. Palazzo delle Scienze e belle Arti di Brera, a celebrated establishment, and one of the finest edifices in that city. As our time was limited I could not visit any other parts of this palace but those which contain the paintings and statues, and casts in plaster,-the collection of paintings is admirable, some of the works of the greatest masters are deposited here in a number of apartments dedicated to different styles and stages of the pictorial art; and there are some very ancient paintings in fresco. There were several artists at work in the rooms making copies of some of the paintings. The casts are very fine, and there are a few heads and figures in marble by

modern artists of celebrity. This academy of painting and sculpture has produced some excellent artists.

Among other sights in Milan, I went to Girolamo's theatre of puppets, (le Marionette,) and laughed more than at any exhibition I ever beheld. You may perhaps think this was childish enough entertainment; so it was. But you don't know it, nor have you ever seen any thing like it, nor any thing so superlatively ludicrous. The puppets were about five feet (or perhaps less) in height; and Girola mo (the master and owner of the theatre) was the animating soul and voice of these grotesque images. He had to speak and modulate his voice in the characters of nine or ten dif ferent dramatis persona, male and female. He was, of course, invisible. After an overture from a most miserable orchestra, in which there was neither time nor tune, nor any thing like tolerable music, the curtain (on which was a very clever painting) drew up, and a little deformed black, in a suit of brown, with scarlet stockings, and an immense cocked hat, moved forward upon the stage, and began a soliloquy, which was interrupted by the entrance of another strange figure, (a female,) who enter ed into a smart dialogue with the little black, whose gestures, grimaces, and contortions of limb, were amazingly absurd, although perfectly in unison, in point of time and Italian manner, with the recitation which seemed to proceed from his inflexible lips. Had it not been for a certain awkward rigidity in their sidelong motions, when moving from one part of the stage to another, and for the visibility of the wires attached to their heads, and descending from the roof above the stage, one might have been deceived for a little into a belief of the animal existence of these strange personages. They walked about very clumsily, to be sure; but then they bowed, and curtsied, and flourished with their arms, and twisted themselves about, with as much energy and propriety of effect as most of those worthy living puppets who infest the stages of the little theatres in London. There were two skeletons, who played their parts admirably. They glided about, and accompanied their hollow-voiced speeches with excellent gesticulations, while their fleshless

jaws moved quite naturally. Then, to crown all, there was a ballet of about a dozen of these puppets; and they danced with all the agility of a Vestris, and cut much higher than ever he did in his life. They actually did cut extremely well while in the air. You know the technical meaning of that word in the dancing-master's vocabulary. All the airs and graces of the French opera-dancers, their pirouettes, spinning round with a horizontal leg, &c. were admirably quizzed. One of these dancers (dressed like a Dutchman) stopped short, after a few capers, and, drawing a snuff-box from his pocket, took a pinch; then replaced the box, and set off again with a most exalted example of the entrechat. His partner helped herself (from a pocket-pistol) to a dram, and then recommenced her furious exertions!

The streets of Milan are wonderfully dark and quiet in the evening. The city seems deserted; and you would almost imagine yourself in the midst of that place (mentioned in the Arabian Nights) where the inhabitants were turned into stone. The contrast between the streets of Milan and those of Paris or London, of an evening, is quite striking; the latter full of moving life, and light, and bustle, and vivacity, and noise the former gloomy, silent, and lifeless.

At Bologna I saw nothing remarkable, excepting the bronze Neptune of the fountain, by John of Bologna. The arcades that run along the principal streets of this city are very well calculated to shelter foot-passengers from the rains and from the scorching sun of that climate. Ever since we began to ascend the Simplon the weather has been very cold. Here, at this moment, it is as cold as in Scotland at the same season. My fingers are quite benumbed. Yesterday morning, about nine o'clock, we arrived here, having been two days and a half in crossing the Appenines, in shocking weather,-misty, rainy, and very cold. By the bye, a few years ago, there was a tremendous troop of banditti on these mountains, near Pietra Mala, at which we rested for a few hours the day before yesterday. It is a wild, horrible-looking place. These miscreants had for their captain the curate of a village in the neighbourhood, and they endeavoured

to shun detection in this way. They murdered every passenger whom they stopped, and buried them along with the horses, which they killed. They burned the carriages and the baggage, reserving only the money, watches, rings, &c. The public were amazed by the disappearance of all the travellers going between Florence and Bologna, for no vestige of them or their carriages, &c. could be found. A celebrated English traveller mentions, that two of his friends, (Pisans,) passing that road, rested near Pietra Mala to sleep. They had a horrid supper; and the landlady told them she must send two miles for sheets. They observed, in the midst of the poverty and filth of the house, that she wore diamond rings; and this, with the terrible accounts of the place, determined them not to remain there, They slipped out of the house before midnight, and, fortunately, escaped with their lives. We slept two nights among those wild and dreary moun tains, the scenes of so many murders and robberies.

The view of Florence from the Appenines, at eight o'clock yesterday, was charming,-the morning clear and sunny, but chill. Such a scene of richness and beauty it is not easy to conceive. The country all round for many miles (and as far, and farther, than the eye can reach) is a perfect garden of the most charming description ;-vines, olive-trees, orangetrees, pear-trees, apple-trees, &c. &c. cover the plain, and the sides of the mountains, which inclose this beautiful place. The country about Bologna and Florence seems to me the finest that I have passed through ;about Bologna it is charming, and here still more enchanting. The river Arno, flowing through Florence, and winding along amidst the richest cultivation in the long extended plain, adds infinitely to the beauty of the landscape. I walked yesterday, at sunset, along the fine avenue of cypress and ever-green oaks, that leads to the Poggio Imperialé, the Grand Duke's residence. It is a fine palace, with some admirable antique statues in the court.

I have visited the Grand Duke's Palace, (il Palazzo Pitti,) one of the most superb residences you can imagine. The greater number of the apartments were shut up against intru

sion; but I saw all those that were most worthy of being seen, viz. those which contain the celebrated paintings, and the Venus of Canova, belonging to this palace. This statue has a room appropriated to itself, and appears to me a very beautiful specimen of sculpture. I saw there, among a vast number of other fine pictures, the famous Madonna of Raphael, besides other paintings by that great artist. Several Titians, Guidos, and Vandykes, and a most beautiful little head by Correggio. The group of the Fatal Sisters, painted by Michael Angelo, is a truly Shakespearian composition-it breathes poetical horror! There is there an admirable painting of Judith with the head of Holofernes in her hand, from which the head of Judith has been engraved in France. You have seen that engraving; but, alas! how miserable is it, compared with the original! In this, the face of Judith is beautiful indeed-in the engraving, it is harsh featured and masculine.

As to my visiting Rome or Naples at present, it is out of the question, since the roads to both these places are infested with the most desperate and atrocious banditti, especially between Rome and Naples. Of late, assassinations of plundered travellers have been very frequent; and five or six of these murderous scoundrels have been hanged every day. The sides of these roads are ornamented with a rich display of legs and arms, dangling in the air in terrorem. The Pope is very active in destroying these wretches; but there are so many of them, that he has hard work. Neapolitan and other troops are ordered to scour the country in all directions. Thinking it very inglorious to die by the hands of Italian freebooters, I remain quietly where I am, and hope for better times.

WERNER,

And the Wernerian Society. In the preceding Number we communicated to our readers a short biographical sketch of Werner, whose death excited so great a sensation on the Continent. We have now to add some interesting particulars to the account then given.

The funeral of Werner was public, and conducted with extraordinary

pomp and magnificence. Miners from every part of Saxony, from the Captain-General to the common workman, assembled on this melancholy occasion. They were joined by all the talent and rank of Saxony. The whole of this immense assemblage accompanied the remains of Werner to the grand cathedral of Freyberg. They moved by torch-light, accompanied with bands of exquisite instrumental music, choirs of singers, and all the clergy of the province. This magnificent and striking procession reached the cathedral at twelve at midnight; they entered, and filled the whole of that immense and gorgeous edifice. An awful and impressive silence succeeded to the soft breathings of the most affecting music; every countenance bore marks of deep regret; and many, very many, who knew the virtues of this admirable man were melted in tears, or absorbed in deep contemplation. This silence was interrupted by Böttiger, who delivered an oration over the body of the illustrious deceased before it was consigned to the vault. The orator remarked, that the merits of Werner were known in the most remote regions of the earth; from the mines of Siberia to those of Peru,

from the wild and secluded countries near the North Cape, to the smiling fields of Italy, and the luxu riant shores of the Black Sea. His pupils were in every country of Europe, and even in the most distant regions of the other quarters of the globe, spreading his views and discoveries, and by their practical skill developing the structure and composition of the crust of the earth, improving mine-works, and discovering such minerals as are useful to man. His name was enrolled in all the principal philosophical associations in Europe, and in Britain, a society had been established under his name, which had eminently distinguished itself by the activity and talents of its members, and by the correct and extensive views of mineralogy, it circulated throughout that great country. The information Werner received a short time before his death of the general study of mineralogy in Great Britain, and of the flourishing state of the Wernerian Society, afforded him, Böttiger remarked, the greatest and most heartfelt satisfaction, and

16

even contributed to sooth the pains
of his disease, and to smooth his pas-
sage from a world of suffering to one
of
peace and happiness.

NATURAL HISTORY.

1. Ornithologia Zetlandica. DR EDMONSTONE of Lerwick, author of the History of the Shetland Islands, proposes to publish an Ornithologia Zetlandica, or Natural History of the birds of the Shetland Is

lands.

ocean.

Such a work, well executed, in the style, for example, of the Fauna Granlandica of Fabricius, would prove a valuable addition to the Zoology of the British Islands. Dr Edmonstone, we know, has devoted many years to the study of the habits and manners of the feathered tribes of his native country; and he has observed, with care and attention, the various changes in their plumage, which are often so striking and characteristic, and particularly in the water fowl of the His opportunities for investigating the natural history of these interesting beings of this lower world are great, they are such, indeed, as fall to the lot of but few, and therefore we rejoice to find that he makes ample use of them. This work, we expect, will present us with clearly defined specific characters; complete and well arranged descriptions of the adult male and female bird; accurate enumerations of the various changes in the colours of the feathers, from the young bird to the fixed state of the plumage; and interesting details of their various habits, manners, uses, &c. all stated in a regular and systematic order, and not in the usual vague and rambling manner followed by many ornithologists. We trust the zoologist of the Shetland Isles will not allow this opportunity to pass without tracing out and explaining to his readers the grand features of the feathered world in this region of the earth, and of shewing how these are connected with the climate and situation of the country, with the vegetables that cover its surface, and the ocean with which it is surrounded.

2. Study of the Marine Animals of Shetland recommended.

WE would recommend to Dr Edmon

stone the particular study of the ma-
rine inhabitants of the coasts and seas
of the Shetland Islands. No part of
the British empire in Europe offers
greater variety of fishes, and of mol-
Iuscous and radiated animals and zoo-
phytes, than the native country of Dr
Edmonstone. This fact, indeed, is prov-
ed by the Doctor's former work, and by
the contributions to the British Fauna
in the Wernerian Memoirs. The study
of the internal structure and functions
of these animals, with their various
wonderful forms, motions, colours,
and lustres, does not fail to excite our
highest curiosity and admiration; and
when we trace their physical distribu-
tion on the coasts of the ocean-over
sand banks-or in the deep gulfs
and valleys of the submarine land,
and connect these with the depth and
temperature of the water, the set of
currents, and the progress of tides, we
are rewarded by the discovery of nu-
merous interesting circumstances in
their natural history. Even inde-
pendent of all other considerations,
the mere collecting of these animated
beings in their natural haunts, is of
itself most interesting. Sometimes,
in pursuit of them, we row along the
magnificent rocks and coasts of the
islands, or sail to the fishing grounds,
where we may witness the labours of
the fishermen' in the great deep, or
occasionally experience those awful
and impressive feelings that arise when
On other oc-
overtaken by a storm.
casions, our researches lead us amongst
rocky precipices and promontories, or
into caves and caverns of striking and
often of fearful magnitude.
the atmosphere is stormy, and the bil-
lows of the ocean advance in awful
majesty, and break on these iron-
bound coasts with the tumult of the
tempest and the roar of thunder, all
earthly feelings are forgotten, and the
mind is absorbed in contemplation of
the mighty power of the eternal Go-
vernor of the world. But when the
heaven is calm, and the wind has
ceased, when the sea is still, or its
faint murmur only disturbs the si-
lence of nature, then the cliffs and
rocky promontories and caves,-the
immeasurable ocean in apparent con-
tact with the skies, form a harmonious
and sublime picture, the aspect of
which lulls the soul into a heavenly
state of calm and repose.

When

3. Hot Spring rising through the Sea in which he put a fish about three or the Mediterranean.

HOT springs make their appearance at the surface of the earth at various heights; sometimes high up on mountains; or at the level of the sea, or rising through the rocks and sands left by the ebbtide; but it rarely happens that they are observed to rise from the bottom of the sea at a distance from the shore. In Olaffsen and Povelson's account of Iceland, we read accounts of hot springs that rise through the waters of the sea; and the following fact communicated to us by a naturalist who visited the Greek Islands many years ago, shows that phenomena of the same kind occur in the Mediterra

nean.

four inches long, and covered it up. In six minutes I uncovered it, and found it perfectly well boiled, and prepared for eating.

"In the interior of this island I found large beds of native sulphur, perfectly pure, and of a fine pale yellow colour; and upon some parts of its coasts I found a black sand, which, upon examination, proved to be crystallized iron."

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THE temperature of the air at which this singular appearance takes place varies with the period of the winter. Its presence seems to depend chiefly on the relative temperature of the air and water, though it may be affected by other circumstances. Early in the winter, when the temperature of the water is higher, it would appear, from the following table, that a less degree it than afterwards, when the water is of cold in the atmosphere will produce

"The Island of Milo, in the Archipelago, abounds with Hot Springs, and some of those are even seen to rise upon its coasts, in the sea, at some distance from the shore. One day, sitting upon a rock by the side of the harbour, where I was preparing to bathe, I perceived, about 40 or 50 yards from me, a very uncommon looking circular agitation in the sea, which had the appearance of water when it first gets into a boiling state. In swimming I directed my course towards the agitated point; on my approach to it I felt the temperature of the water very much altered, and when I came in contact with the part Feb. 9, in agitation, I felt it most disagreeably hot.

I afterwards visited this place in a boat, and found the sea water to be here 18 feet deep, and the column of hot water which rose through it to be about a foot and a half in diameter. This column rose with unequal force; sometimes it was only seen to disturb in a small degree the surface of the water, and at other times it rose considerably above it, so as to permit one to judge of its size. Upon a sandy beach in the same harbour I found a great number of small hot springs bubbling up through the sand. These in some places had communicated so great a degree of heat to the sand, that I was obliged to withdraw my hand from it immediately upon immersion. Here a Greek brought me some small fish, which, he told me, I might very soon boil in that place. He dug a hole about a foot deep, in

VOL. II.

colder.

Dec. 22,
Jan. 10,

Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1814.

Thermometer

In Air. In Sea Wat.

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15, 9 A. M. 9
15, 8 A. M. 6

28

28

A copious vapour.
Slight vapour.

No vapour.

Slight app. of vap.
Va. pretty copious.

In very cold days, this vapour rose many feet above the surface of the wa ter, perhaps twenty or twenty-five feet, and resembled a thick fog. As the temperature rose in the forenoon, it generally disappeared, but in very cold weather it continued the whole day. I

think it was greatest during a good breeze of wind,-probably from the agitation of the water exposing a greater surface.

The range of the temperature of the water in January and February was very little.

In January from 34° to 29°.

In February from 33° to 2710. This last was the lowest to which the water fell. It was on February 1st when the thermometer in the air stood at 2°. On the following day the air was 41°, water 324.

This vapour is observed only in

C

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