for determining the heights of places above the sea. Mr Wollaston's instrument is as sensible as the common mountain barometer. Every degree of Fahrenheit on it occupies the length of an inch. The thermometer, with the lamp and vessel for boiling water, when packed into a case, weighs about 114 lb. It is sufficiently sensible to point out the difference in height between the floor and the top of a common table. The difference, on two trials with it, compared with the same heights, measured by General Roy by the barometer, did not exceed two feet.
Dr Leach, of the British Museum, has recently printed a very complete Catalogue of Birds and Quadrupeds, which are natives of Great Britain. It is perhaps the most correct Catalogue which, in our present imperfect knowledge of British Ornithology, has been as yet compiled.
Dr Leach has submitted to the Linnæan Society a description of a species of deer called the Wapiti, found on the banks of the Missouri. Four of these animals, which are extremely gentle, docile, and elegant, brought from America by Mr Taylor, are now exhibiting in the King's Mews. It is said to be domesticated by the natives of America; and Mr Taylor is of opinion that it might be used with advantage in this country, in many cases, as a substitute for horses.
Mr Beech, a chemist of Manchester, on the important subject of gas-lights, states, that the oil of bitumen, or coal tar, which is considered as waste by those who make and burn gas, if mixed with dry saw-dust, exhausted logwood, or fustic, to the consistence of paste, and allowed to remain until the water has drained off,—2 cwt. of the mass, being put into the retort instead of coals, will produce more gas, and be less offensive, than the same quantity of cannel coal; and the process may be repeated until the whole of the tar is consumed. This, he says, will not only be a saving of about one half the expense of coals, but will add to cleanliness and neatness, as the residuum is well known to have a very offensive smell.
It has been generally believed, that Bonaparte was occupied in writing a history of his eventful life. Santini, his hussier du cabinet, lately returned from St Helena, states, that the work is already considerably advanced, having reached the termination of the Egyptian expedition, but that its future progress was in some measure arrested by difficulties in procuring certain printed documents, a set of the author's military bulletins, and the Moniteur from France. So far as written, every year is said to form a large volume in manuscript; and it is computed that the whole, when completed, might extend to eight or ten printed volumes in quarto. Bonaparte, who has at all times been particularly careful of his own personal safety, not choosing to run the risk of being fired upon by some one of the numerous sentries placed around his dwelling, keeps himself within doors, and passes his time in dictating his memoirs to MM. Las Casas, De Montholon, and Bertrand. Our government, however, it appears, are not more disposed to grant facilities to the execution of the work of the imperial historian, than they were to the execution of his Berlin and Milan decrees. To a late application of a London publisher, for permission to communicate with Bonaparte on the subject of publishing his work, a direct refusal was given by Earl Bathurst.
Two lizards were lately discovered in a chalk-bed in Suffolk, sixty feet below the surface; and the publication of this fact has produced the following affidavit:—We William Mills and John Fisher, both of the parish of Tipton, in the county of Stafford, do hereby certify and declare, that a few years ago, in working in a certain coal-pit belonging to the Right Hon. Viscount Dudley and Ward, at what is called the Pieces, in the parish of Tipton aforesaid, and on cleaving or breaking the stratum of coal, which is about four feet thick, and in that situation lies about fifty yards from the surface of the earth, we discovered a living reptile of the snake or adder kind, lying coiled up, imbedded in a small hollow cell within the solid coal, which might be about twenty tons in weight. The reptile, when discovered, visibly moved, and soon afterwards crept out of the hole; but did not live longer than ten minutes on being exposed to the air. The hollow in which it lay was split in two by means of an iron wedge, and was rather moist at the bottom, but had no visible water. It was nearly the size of a common tea-saucer; and the reptile was about nine inches long, of a darkish ashy colour, and a little speckled.
FRANCE.
The Musée Impérial-Royal has again been opened for public inspection; and notwithstanding the pretty large drafts upon it by Messrs Blucher, Canova, and Co. it is still perhaps entitled to rank as the richest collection in the world. It contained, before the restitutions, 1,233 pictures. The catalogue now published comprehends 1,101 pieces: of these the French school furnishes 233, some artists, not deemed formerly worthy a place, being now admitted. The German and Flemish schools seem nearly as numerous as before, though some of the best works are wanting.
The petition of the booksellers of Paris, for the repeal or reduction of the heavy duties on the importation of foreign books into France, has received attention from the government. By the new tarif, books printed in foreign countries, in the dead or foreign languages, are only subjected to a duty of 10 francs per 50 kilogrammes métriques, about 2 cwt.
Madame de Stael is said to have sold her Memoirs of M. Neckar (her father) to an
