Pacific which are the least known or frequented. She is furnished with a large supply of presents, for the purpose of bar tering with the islanders, and has on board a handsome present for the king of Otaheite, and the king of the Sandwich Islands. The Lords of the Admiralty have appointed Mr. Tradescant Say to be naturalist to the expedition; and we look to the most interesting results from the several purposes intended to be accom. plished by it. The surveying and opening a communication with the Friendly Islands may eventually prove of considerable importance. Upwards of 12,000 acres of land have been some time enclosed, and employed in the cultivation of cotton; the samples of which are pronounced inferior to the Lea Island cotton, but much superior to Egyptian. water. ASBESTOS. were better From this fossil was formerly manufactured a sort of cloth, and likewise paper, which was considered imperishable, Pliny says, he himself had seen napkins thereof, which, being taken foul from the table after a feast, were thrown into the fire, and by that means scoured than if they had been washed in But its principal use, according to the same author, was for the making of shrouds for royal funerals, to wrap up the corpse, so that the ashes might be preserved distinct from those of the wood, whereof the funeral pile was composed: and the princes of Tartary, according to the accounts in the " Philosophical Transactions," still use it at this day in pre burning their dead. The method of paring the incombustible paper and cloth is thus described by Ciampini:-The stone is laid to soak in warm water; then opened and divided by the hands, that the earthy matter may be washed out. This ablution being several times repeated, the flax-like filaments are col lected and dried; and they are conveniently spun with an addition of flax. The shorter filaments, which separate in washing the stone, may be made into paper in the common manner. most TEMPERATURE OF THE EARTH'S SURFACE. From a general and extensive review of the experimental data respecting the temperature of different places on the earth's surface, the editor of the Annales de Chimie deduces the following results: In no place on the earth's surface, nor at any season, will a thermometer raised two or three metres above the soil, and sheltered from all reverberation, attain the 37° of Reaumer, 46° centigrade, 14° 8' Faht.) On the open sea, the temperature of the air, whatever be the place or season, will never reach 25° Reaumer, or 31° centigrade, (87° 8′ Faht.) The greatest degree of cold ever observed on our globe, with a thermometer suspended in the air, is 40° Reaumer, or 50 centigrade below zero, (58° Faht.) The temperature of the water of the ocean, in any latitude, or at any season, never rises above 24° Reaumer, or 30° centigrade, (86° Faht.) SPECULUM CÆLORUM FOR THE ENSUING MONTH. Conjunctions.-Of the Sun and Saturn, in 11 degrees 18 minutes of Gemini, on the morning of the 2d, at a quarter past. five; of the Moon and Venus, in 20 degrees and 16 minutes of Taurus, on the evening of the 13th, at a quarter before eight; of the Moon and Mercury, in 35 minutes of Gemini, in the afternoon of the 14th, at half past three; of the Moon and Saturn, in 13 degrees and 3 minutes of Gemini, in the afternoon of the 15th, in 19 degrees and 10 minutes of Gemini, at half past two; of the Moon and Mars, on the morning of the 16th, at two; of the Moon and Jupiter, in 12 degrees 16 minutes of Leo, on the night of the 19th, at half past eleven; of Mercury and Saturn, in the afternoon of the 23d, at five, in 14. degrees 4 minutes of Gemini. Station of Venus.-This phenomenon will happen on the 9th, in 20 degrees 3 minutes of Taurus, the angular distance of the planet from the Sun being then 28 degrees 13 minutes. Apsides of the Moon.-The Moon will be in her apogee on the 9th, and in her perigee on the 23d. Other Phenomena.-Mercury will be at his greatest western elongation on the 10th, his angular distance from the Sun being then 23 degrees 19 minutes. The Sun will enter Cancer on the 21st at 48 minutes past six in the afternoon. At this moment he will be at his greatest northern declination, 23 degrees 28 minutes. On the 30th, Mercury will be in his ascending node. Throughout this month Venus will be a conspicuous object in the morning before sunrise; and Jupiter and his satellites may be advantageously seen every clear evening by those provided wtth telescopes. This planet sets on the 1st at two minutes before midnight; and on the morning of the 30th at eight minutes past ten. THE DRAMA. DRURY-LANE THEATRE. FAUSTUS. THE new romantic drama produced last week at this theatre, though by no means destitute of merit, possesses not, we apprehend, sufficient stamen, either in plot or conduct, to maintain itself very long on the boards. The story, as familiar to our earlier years as it is wild and incredible in its nature, loses much of its interest, from the want of novelty. Besides, our knowledge of the popular ignorance from which the tale of the Wirtemberg doctor originated, is accompanied with a disgust inseparable from the witnessing any effort to perpetuate the mind's misinformation, and lead it through the paths of falsehood and darkness. By the ancient Greeks, such a narrative as that of Doctor Faustus, might have been received as a refined allegory, carrying with it a useful moral; but in these more enlightened times, it can be considered only as a senseless series of improbabilities, or rather impossibilities, founded on any thing but taste or rationality. Yet we are free to allow, that our own admirable Marlow, and the German Goethe, have not disdained to exercise their talents on the same subject; but even their authority is not sufficient so far to influence our judgment, as to reconcile us to the propriety of giving the life, death, and descent into hell, of Doctor Faustus, in stage representation. But waving this objection, weighty as we really think it, the incidents are both too little consistent in themselves, and too indifferently combined, to excite that interest without which all dramatic enactment loses its best and strongest attraction and we insist, that among the undramatized subjects, both in history and romance, we could point out several, which in many respects are much more eligible for stage adaptation, than the present. The outline of the plot, (all that we have room for,) is as follows : The first scene, which is introduced by an overture of WEBER, and a prologue, delivered by TERRY, presents to us Faustus with his volume of occult science; just at the moment when his long research of supernatural power has been crowned with success, and to use an appropriate [expression, he and the devil have become hand and glove. The prince of the air is at first too terrible to behold, without inward commotion; but afterwards exhibits himself in the humble guise of a valet. The dialogue that then ensues between the doctor and his satanic attendant, informs us, that Faustus has commenced his career of guilt, by the 849 seduction of Adine, niece of the count of Casanova. By the magic of Mephistophiles, he is then transported to the heart of Venice, where he meets with Adine, (who, since, her aberration from the path of virtue, had separated from him,) and her cousin, Rosalia, daughter of the count, with whom, notwithstanding his retained affection for Adine, he instantly and openly falls in love. By the aid of the minister of evil, he, however, immediately obtains a sequestered meeting with his first favourite, and is seen with her in the midst of a wilderness, by moonlight. He endeavours, but in vain, to persuade her to share the credit he has obtained with the spirit of darkness; and on her refusal, invokes the fiend to bear her away by force; but in the critical moment, Mephistophiles appears, and the ravisher flies dismayed. The next exploit to which Faustus is instigated by his infernal friend and counsellor, is that of obtaining forcible possession of Rosalia. This attempt being opposed by Enrico, the brother of Adine, in their encounter, Enrico is killed; when Faustus, though somewhat touched by remorse at this first scene of blood, withdraws, with his demoniac attendant, to the splendour and revelry of his palace, where he again joins Adine, who, ignorant that he is the destroyer of her brother, strives to prevail upon him to veil his past criminal conduct toward her by the solemnity of a nuptial union, with which persuasion he is about to comply, when Montolio enters, dissuading him from the measure, and at the same time induces Adine, for the sake of her own future peace and safety, to suffer herself to be separated from him. After this, Faustus, influenced by his diabolical ally, and the inebriating bottle, renews his designs on Rosalia; when being discovered in the palace of her father, count Casanova, and fearing to fall into the hands of the inquisition, the evil genius effects his escape, by multiplying himself and the doctor sixfold, when, by the further operation, of his mysterious power, they all vanish. Proceeding from crime to crime, and constantly improving in the science of sensual iniquity; alternately exulting in the success of his wickedness, and experiencing the pangs of remorse ; now transported to the dungeons of justice, and then wafted to the palace of Milan, he at length becomes a regicide, by killing the sleeping monarch, whose semblance he then assumes, whose throne he ascends and tyrannically maintains, till recognised by Adine, and deserted by the Demon, he is hurled from his "bad eminence" by avenging fiends, and, in his own recovered form and countenance, is plunged head long into the fiery gulf of Pandemonium. This is the main business. The under plot, in which HARLEY is as comic as his situation will allow him to be, is not worth detailing. WALLACK, though not perfectly at home in Faustus, throws into the part a good deal of spirited acting; BROWNE was quite lively and talkative enough in the Count; Miss J. PATON, Miss POVEY, and Miss STEPHENS, were characteristic and sweetly-melodious in Rosalia, Lucetta, and Adine and the music, the principal part of which is by BISHOP, though not sparingly sprinkled with plagiarisms, possesses some little originality, and while it too often reminds us of Weber, indicates that the composers might have more confidently relied on their own resources. Diary of Occurrences. May 17.-To day the Catholic Relief Bill was consigned to the "tomb of the Capulets." All the bishops voted against it except those of Norwich and Rochester. The ministers were somewhat unreasonable in their expectations; instead of a majority of 48, they expected a majority of 55. Various opinions are entertained on the result, but one is so singular, that I, must needs put it down. "What say they would the people of Ireland gain by the Emancipation Bill? It might throw open a few situations of honour and emolument to the higher, but it would do nothing for the lower orders. Nay, it might even be injurious to them: while the Catholic nobility and gentry suffer under a common system of injustice and proscription, along with their poorer brethren, they will doubtless feel a community of interest and object; but should their claims be conceded, they will no longer have the same motives for exertion, and might possibly unite with their oppressors!" This struck me as a new view of the subject which, till the other day, I had not seen. IMPORTANT TO CARRIERS.-The Court of King's Bench has decided, that a coach proprietor is responsible for all parcels committed to his charge, although he might have advertised that he would not be accountable for any parcel above a certain amount, unless paid for accordingly. This was decided not to be a sufficient notice; and the Chief Justice suggested, that a coach proprietor ought to give every person bringing a parcel, a paper containing that notification. 18.-The great sir William Curtis is about to proceed on a voyage to Petersburg, and other northern courts. Mr. Huskisson is really an industrious little man: his bill, now in progress through Parliament, for consolidating the custom laws, will repeal at one "fell swoop," 465 acts of Parliament, removing thereby a fruitful source of litigation and perplexity. There were 508 petitions presented to the house of lords against further concession to the Roman Catholics, and 88 in their favour. This would form an unsafe criterion of the respective numbers of Catholic and anti-catholic petitioners, since many of the petitions are known to have been got up on a small scale, and of course did not contain an equal number of sig natures. 23.-MACADAMIZING. The world is really very hard to please; every one is now complaining of the Macadamized streets in London. In the first place it is discovered they blind us; inflammations of the eyes have been uncommonly prevalent of late, and they are attributed to the fine particles of granite dust, which cannot be kept out of the eyes, or got out when once in. The owners of carriages also find great fault with this same granite dust, because, being very hard and gritty, it scrapes off the varnish when the carriage is cleaned. People who have no coaches, and who have, therefore, no feeling for varnish, quarrel with Macadam's dirt again, on account of its extraordinary substance in wet weather, when the Macadamized streets become impassable masses; while, in dry, fine weather, on the other hand, his roads take the air, fly away on the wind, and torment our eyes, as already described, crusting them over with flour of granite, in such a sort that, if we can see at all, we may be said to be a most penetrating generation, seeing through mill-stones-à thing which our fathers, it is proverbial, could never accomplish before us. To compensate for the destruction of our sight, for the wear and tear of varnish, and for the sloughs, we enjoy the unspeakable advantage of not hearing the noise of carriages, which used to warn us to get out of the way, if we did not desire to be run over! The sooner the stones are laid down again the better, and let travellers carefully note down in their journals, that Macadamized roads are good for the country, but bad for a metropolis. WEEKLY CALENDAR. Weekly Calendar. May XXVIII.—Saturday. High Water, Morn. X. 40 m.-Even. XI. 14 m. Sun rises, III.57 m.; sets VIII. 3 m. CHRONOLOGY.-1546. Cardinal Beaton, the "Bonner of Scotland," was assas sinated in the castle of St. Andrew's. The immediate cause of this murder was his severity to the reformers, and particularly the barbarous and illegal execution of the famous George Wishart, whom the cardinal condemned to the flames alive for heresy; and he exultingly beheld from his own window the dismal spectacle of Wishart's sufferings and death. May XXIX.-Trinity Sunday. High Water, Morn. X1, 48 m.-Even. 0. 0. m. Sunday Lessons, Morn. Geu. 1; Matt. 3. Even. Gen. 18; 1 John, 5. Stephen, bishop of Liege, first drew up an office in commemoration of the Holy Trinity, about the year 920; but the festival was not formally admitted into the Romish church till the fourteenth century, under the pontificate of John XXII. CHRONOLOGY.-1660. Charles II. was restored, being the anniversary of his birthday, The 29th is still celebrated in some parts of England with considerable pomp and circumstance, by the people wearing oak leaves, covered with leaf gold, in their hats, to commemorate the concealment of Charles in an oak after the battle of Wor cester. May XXX.-Monday. High Water, Moru. 0. 22 m.-Even. 0.55 m. CUSTOMS. This being the Monday after Whitsun week, a curious custom is observed at Pidlington, in Oxfordshire. A fat lamb is provided, and the maids of the town, having their thumbs tied behind them, run after. it, and she that with her 361 - LUNAR ECLIPSE. There will be a slight eclipse of the moon this evening, which, if the night prove clear, will be visible to the inhabitants of Great Britain from the beginning to the ending. The lunar obscuration begins at 53 minutes after 11; and ends at 23 minutes 19 seconds after midnight. Digits eclipsed are 0° 12 on the moon's northern limb, or from the southern side of the earth's shadow. June I.-Wednesday. High Water, Morn. II. 25 m.-Even. II. 47. m. JUNE had its name from the Latin Junius, from its being the month for young people, as the month of May was for the old. June is drawn by artists in a mantle of dark green. It is the pleasing season when, as Thomson expresses it, June III.-Friday. On this day, 1822, died Mr. Haüy, the celebrated mineralogist, whose important discoveries in crystallography are familiar to the admirers of this interesting science. mouth takes and holds the lamb is de- High Water, Morn. III. 9 m.-Even. III. 27 m, clared lady of the lamb; which being dressed with the skin hanging on, is carried on a large pole before the lady and her companions to the green, attended with music, and a morris dance of men, and another of women, where the rest of the day is spent in dancing, mirth, and merry glee. Next day the lamb is part baked, boiled, and roasted, for the lady's feast, where she sits in state at the upper end of the table, and her companions with her, with music and other attendants, which ends the celebration. CHRONOLOGY.-1431. The heroic Joan D'Arc, who reanimated the expiring LIST OF WORKS PUBLISHED. Life and Writings of Lord Byron, 3 vols. 8vo. 21. 28.-Groser's Lectures on Popery, 12mo. 5s.-Juvenile Sketch Book, 12mo. 4s. 6d. Memoirs of Madame Genlis, vols. 3 and 4 English, royal 12mo. 16s.-White's Evidence against Catholicism, 8vo. 9s. 6d.-Pitman's Junction ofAtlantic and Pacific Oceans,8v0.8s. The Novice, 3 vols. 12mo. 16s. 6d. Sender's Tables of French Weights, 8vo. 75. 6d.-Dramatic Table Talk, 3 vols. 12mo. 1. Is.-Story of a Life, 2 vols. crown 8vo. 18s.-Wood's Parish Church, 8vo. 10s. 6d. Lizars on Ovaria, folio, 18s.-Tredgold on Rail Roads and Carriages, 8vo. 10s. 6d.-Observations on the Law and Constitution of India, 8vo. 12s.-Memoirs of Madame du Hausset, 12mo. 7s. 6d.-Rennell's Sermons, is then sent to the smelting-house. 8vo. 12s.-The Twenty-ninth of May, 2 vols. 8vo. 18s.-Dibdin's (T. F.) Sermons at St. Mary's, 8vo. 15s.-Ritson's Life of King Arthur, crown 8vo. 10s. smaller. The ore is again washed, a large hole is made in the ground, surrounded with stones, a stream of water passes into it; the lead sinks into the hole, and the sand is washed over an inclined plane: this sand is washed two or three times over, until all the lead is separated, which THE SETTING SUN. How glorious the setting sun to view, clouds On them reflecting bright its gorgeous hue, As if indignant e'en in its adieu At the thick mass which half the west enshrouds! How beautiful to watch it linger still CUSTOM AT COVENTRY. MANY years ago, a poor weaver passing through the town of Devizes, without money and without friends, being overtaken by hunger, and in the utmost necessity, applied for charity to a baker, who kindly gave him a penny loaf. The weaver made his way to Coventry, where, after many years of industry, he amassed a fortune, and by his will, in remembance of the seasonable charity of the Devizes baker, he bequeathed a sum in trust for the purpose of distributing, on the anniversary day when he was so relieved, a halfpenny loaf to every person in the town; and to every traveller who should pass through the town on that day a penny loaf. The will is faithfully administered, and the archduke of Austria and his suite, in the year 1786, passing through the town on the day of the Coventry loaf, in their way from Bath to London, a loaf was presented to each of them, of which the duke and duchess were cheerfully pleased to accept; and the custom struck the archduke so forcibly as a curious anecdote in his travels, that he minuted down the CRUSHING AND WASHING LEAD circumstance; and the high personages And sweeter is the parting smile it beams streams, That glow, and seem to tremble with delight, Than when at noon it gilds the eastern sky, Or shines at noon in full ORE. supremacy. J. E. S. THIS process is performed by a large overshot water wheel, which gives motion to smaller ones that are employed to raise the waggons containing the ore up an inclined plane. From these the ore is thrown into an inverted hollow pyramid, called a shute; the roller is furrowed something like the roller of a coffee-mill, and is so balanced by large stone weights, as to raise the roller, when a piece too hard to break comes in contact with, and would be likely to injure the roller; from this the ore goes to another until it is sufficiently broken to be washed. This is done by putting the ore into an iron sieve, with two long pieces of iron on each side, and perforated with three holes something larger than an iron peg which is put through one of them, and the end of a lever is jerked slowly (over a large trough of water) by a boy : the gravity of the lead sinking in through the sieve to the bottom of the trough, leaving part of the lighter and larger substances in the sieve, which again undergo the process of grinding seemed to take delight in breakfasting on tude for a favour seasonably conferred. the loaf, given as the testimony of grati |