ments having accordingly been made, the party embarked and set sail for Sierra Leone, on the 29th November, 1793. On the 17th of May, in the following year, Mr. Beaver arrived in England. Having given an account of his proceedings to the Bulama Association, he received, in return for his two years' perilous exertion, for the loss of his half-pay during that period, and the sacrifice of his hopes of present preferment, a vote of thanks, and the promise of a gold medal, which he never received!

Scarcely had he been two months in this country, when he was appointed first-lieutenant of the Stately, which shortly after sailed for the Cape of Good Hope, and subsequently for India, and the Isle of France. He returned home as first-lieutenant of the Monarch, then Lord Keith's flag-ship. It is hardly necessary, however, to follow the memoir any farther in its chronological arrangement, and we have only to state that Captain Beaver, was in 1800, appointed to a very important post in the Mediterranean, Lord Keith making him his assistant-captain-a situation, says the author, equal to that of a rear-admiral. As we have not yet given an account of any of his naval exploits, the following will serve our purpose:

A very brilliant exploit, performed by Captain Beaver, on the night of the 21st of May, is thus described by his commander-in-chief :-" By private intelligence from Genoa, I understood the French had resolved on boarding our flotilla in any future attempt to bombard the town; and yesterday, about twelve o'clock, a very large galley, a cutter, three armed settees, and several gun-boats, appeared in array off the Mole-head, and in the course of the afternoon exchanged distant shot with some of the ships as they passed them. At sun-set they took a position under the guns of the moles and the city bastions, which were covered with men manifesting a determined resistance. I nevertheless arranged every thing for a fourth bombardment, as formerly, under the direction of Captain Philip Beaver, of the Aurora, who left the Minotaur at nine P.M., attended by the gun and mortar vessels and the armed boats of the ships. About one o'clock, being arrived at a proper distance for commencing his fire, a brisk cannonade was opened upon the town, which was returned from various parts; and Captain Beaver having discovered, by the flashes of some guns, that they were directed from something nearly level with the water, judiciously concluded that they proceeded from some of the enemy's armed vessels. Calling a detachment of the ships' boats to his assistance, he made directly to the spot, and, in a most gallant and spirited manner, under a smart fire of cannon and musketry from the moles and enemy's armed vessels, attacked, boarded, carried, and brought off their largest galley, La Prima, of fifty oars, and two hundred and fifty-seven men, armed, besides muskets, pistols, cutlasses, &c., with two brass guns of thirty-six pounds, having about thirty brass swivels in her hold, and commanded by Captain Patrizio Galleano. The bombardment suffered no material interruption, but was continued till day-light this morning, when the Prima was safely brought off: her extreme length is one hundred and fifty-nine feet, and her breadth twenty-three feet six inches. On our part four seamen only have been

wounded; one belonging to this ship, in the boat with Captain Beaver; one belonging to the Pallas; and the other two to the Haerlem. The enemy's loss is not exactly known; but one man was found dead on board, and fifteen wounded. The satisfaction which I derive from considering the zeal, activity, and gallantry with which this service has been performed, is greatly augmented by the flattering testimony borne by Captain Beaver to the good conduct of the officers and seamen who acted with him on this occasion."

'The detachment with which Captain Beaver attacked La Prima, consisted of ten boats, containing, between them, about one hundred officers and men. While these were proceeeding, with all possible silence, hoping to approach undiscovered in the prevailing darkness, a Genoese gun-vessel, stationed between the two mole heads, opened her fire upon them. Every moment's delay now adding to the danger, the boats dashed on towards their objects. On arriving alongside, a new obstacle presented itself: the gangway or gunwale of the galley projected three feet and upwards from the side of the hull, and was strengthened by a strong barricade, along the summit of which the brass swivels mentioned by Lord Keith were occasionally mounted. As an additional obstruction to the British, her oars were fixed in their places ready for use; with the looms secured to the benches, or thwarts. Thus, with a crew of two hundred and fifty-seven men, exclusive of the galley-slaves on board, La Prima, even had she not been guarded by numerous batteries, would have been a formidable object of attack. All this, however, was of no avail. The first entrance was made amid-ships on the starboard side, in the most courageous manner, by a boat of the Haerlem, under the command of Mr. John Caldwell, midshipman, who was promptly seconded by three other pinnaces. In the meantime the crews of the Minatour's cutter, and Vestal's launch, gallantly led by Beaver, and supported by the remaining boats, had clambered up the images on the quarter to carry the poop, where a considerable number of French troops had assembled. After a desperate struggle, hand to hand, our captain and his brave tars succeeded in their attempt: the greater part of their opponents jumping overboard on one side as they secured a footing on the other. Almost immediately afterwards a burgee, or broad triangular pendant, the only flag flying on board La Prima, was hauled down by Lieutenant Gibson, and all further resistance ceased. The boats were immediately ordered a-head to tow; and the slaves, with seeming cheerfulness, manned their sweeps, crying out, in broken English, "Got bless de King of Gibbelterra !"'-pp. 129-133.

We soon after this find Captain Beaver off Alexandria, and in command of the Foudroyant, assisting the movements of Sir Ralph Abercrombie, who, after receiving his mortal wound, was conveyed on board that vessel.

During the violent agitation into which the nation was thrown by the threatened invasion of Buonaparte, Captain Beaver performed a most useful service to the country, by making public his views on the subject. In a letter, which he wrote to the Editor of the Courier, he reasoned with great ability on all the circumstances connected with the affair, and greatly allayed the popular ferment which had been awakened. This letter appeared on the 16th February, 1804, and was published under the

con

signature "Nearchus." Having been appointed to the Acasta, he sailed to the West Indies, and had afterwards an important share in the negociations, which were then being carried on with South America. His conduct at Martinique acquired him additional reputation. "The direction of all the naval operations," says the official dispatch of Sir A. Cochrane to the Admiralty, nected with the army, was left entirely with Captain Beaver, of the Acasta, who conducted the service with all the correctness and celerity which I expected of him." General Maitland also expressed the same sentiments. Captain Beaver has increased the character, which I know his conduct at Bay Robert, in presence, gained him. His arrangement, and presence of mind, render him peculiarly qualified for joint operations."

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But, notwithstanding these high testimonials to his distinguished merit, he shortly found himself again out of employ, the Acasta being paid off, and declared unfit for sea. After many fruitless applications, one at last proved effectual, and he was offered his choice of the Phoenix, a vessel just manned and ordered to the East Indies, and of the Nisus, a frigate lately completed and lying at Plymouth. He chose the latter, and bid his final adieu to his country and family. The memorial which he addressed to Lord Mulgrave, and which was successful in obtaining him the appointment, is very interesting, and serves well to show the true rank which he bore in his profession :-

To be brief, I shall shortly state, that during three-and-thirty years' service, I have never been unemployed in the time of war; that twentyseven of those years I have borne a commission, and am now in the tenth year of post rank; that during that time I have never been tried by a court martial, never confined, nor have I ever been once asked by any of my superiors, why such or such a thing had not been done. So much for negative merit. I decline dwelling upon the earlier parts of my servitude, that I may the less encroach upon your Lordship's leisure. Soon after I was made a Commander, I was appointed assistant captain to the Mediterranean fleet; in this situation I had charge of the flotilla which had six times bombarded Genoa; I negociated for the same place on the part of the British, and came home overland with the documents announcing the event. The battle of Marengo had been fought, and on my arrival, though I travelled from the Elbe in less time than the same ground had ever been passed before, all Italy was again in the hands of our enemy; the despatches of which I was the bearer were therefore never published. Returning to the Mediterranean, I held the same situation till the expedition to Egypt, when Lord Keith appointed me his Captain in the Foudroyant; and I was with that officer and Sir R. Abercrombie when the landing was effected. A few months after the late war, I returned to England, and was paid off; early in this, I was appointed to the Sea Fencibles in Essex, where I remained three years; and during the last three have commanded the Acasta. In her I have had the charge of conducting and landing seven thousand of our troops in the expedition against Martinique; and shortly after about two thousand five hundred at the Saints. The ship then being found in a state of decay, was

ordered home, and paid off. Had I any idea of not being kept in active service, I should certainly have accepted either the Abercrombie or the Jewel, both of which ships were offered to me by Sir A. Cochrane, previous to my coming home. From what I have stated, I trust it will appear that my standing as a Captain is sufficient, that my conduct as an officer is unimpeachable, and that the length of my service will justify my solicitation. If, however, I should not succeed, I shall return to my cottage with the sentiments of the Spartan who lost his election as one of the Ephori-happy that my profession produces so many men of merit and virtue superior to myself.-'pp. 198-200.

He sailed almost immediately for the Cape of Good Hope and the Isle of France, afterwards cruising about the Indian seas in almost every direction, till he sailed for Quiloa. His exertions here were considerable, and he returned to the Cape greatly exhausted. It was his hope to be now ordered to England, but he did not live to enjoy the happiness of re-visiting his native shores. A disorder, which his biographer supposes him to have contracted in Batavia, had been long preying upon him, and now reached a fearful height. On the vessel entering Table Bay, March, 1813, he desired the attendance of the surgeon, but was unwilling on account of his immediate engagements on shore to apply the remedies proposed. His illness in consequence increased with terrible rapidity, and in three days he expired. Captain Beaver left a wife and six children, who, from the little disposition which he felt for accumulating wealth, were not provided for as it might have been supposed they would be from his active career. Beaver was appointed matron of Greenwich Hospital School, and efforts were made, but without success, to procure her a better provision.

Mrs.

The character of Captain Beaver has been already delineated. The style in which his memoirs are written, is creditable to his friend and admirer, who has taken this means to preserve his memory from oblivion. There is much in the volume which will be interesting to the general reader, and a professional student may derive from its perusal, many valuable hints for his conduct. The honourable feeling which was uniformly exhibited by the excellent man, who forms the subject of its pages, the strict attention which he never omitted paying, to all the duties connected with his station, his industry, as well as boldness and indifference to danger, are all worthy of the closest imitation, and place him amongst those most valuable of men, who do more good by their example, than can be done by any series of individual actions. We must not forget to mention, that Captain Beaver was ardently fond of geographical studies, and that he made it a point on all occasions, to promote as much as was in his power, the advancement of that science. He was frequently very successful in his endeavours, and the present volume contains ample proofs of his qualifications to have done more, had he been master of greater leisure and retirement for the purpose.

ART. IV.Tableaux de la Nature, ou Considérations sur les Déserts, sur la Physiognomie des Végétaux, sur les Cataractes de l'Orénoque, sur la Structure et l'Action des Volcans dans les différentes regions de la terre. Par Le Baron de Humboldt. 2 vols. 8vo. Paris. 1828. Les Articles Mer, et Montagne. Par le Colonel Bory de St. Vincent. Dictionaire Classique d'Histoire Naturelle. 8vo. Paris.

IN studying the various circumstances connected with the earth's surface, it is important to distinguish between what may appropriately be termed political and physical geography. Under the first, we ought to place whatever relates to government, extent of territory, population, towns, cities, manufactures, cultivation, agricultural and horticultural; and all arts and sciences. Under the latter, again, we should arrange the prominent natural features of the globe; climate, with its variations of temperature and moisture; seas, with their tides, currents, and evaporation; lakes, with their levels, their embankments, or their outlets; rivers, with their sources, their course, their overflowings, and their deltas; mountains, with their height, structure, and various groupings; and plains and valleys, with their fertility or barrenness. It is but very recently that these subjects were treated in a systematic and scientific manner, though scattered notices, often of doubtful accuracy, may be met with in the earliest writers from Moses, Homer, and Herodotus, down to Salmon, Gutherie, Busching, Pinkerton, and M. Jauffret. Now that the subject has attracted attention in consequence of having heen treated in a superior manner, by men of high attainments and unquestionable talent, it assumes an aspect of more permanent interest, while its utility is no less prominent, than the pleasure it cannot fail to afford, to almost every class of inquirers. Taking for our guide, therefore, the excellent maxim of Polybius, 'Αμα και το χρησιμον και το τερπνον λαβειν, (Hist. Lib. i. c. 5.) we shall briefly advert to a few of the most useful and attractive materials, in the works under review.

We are particularly pleased with M. Bory de St. Vincent's classification of the waters, which cover more than three-fourths of the whole surface of the globe, and which have hitherto been treated of, in a vague and isolated manner. Looking at these with the eye of a naturalist, M. Bory arranges all the great masses of waters into five leading classes, namely, 1. Oceans; 2. Mediterraneans; 3. Caspians; 4. Lakes; and 5. Rivers. The beauty of his classification, however, will be better appreciated from the following

" TABLE OF SEAS.

I. OCEANS.

1. Arctic Ocean.

2. Atlantic Ocean.