LA CHAISE.

"The sacrament on a Friday's gras! I should have recommended an enema first, with a de profundis, a miserere, and an eructavit cor meum, and lastly a little oil of ricina, which administered by the holy and taken by the faithful is almost as efficacious in its way as that of Rheims. Penance is to be done: your Majesty must fast: your Majesty must wear sackcloth next your skin, and carry ashes upon your head before the people."

But we must stop here. Amidst some paradoxical and some common-place opinions, there is a great mass of strong, well-expressed, and original thoughts in these volumes; and no one can read them without advantage to his own intellect, and a high opinion of Mr. Landor's talents.

Journal of a Second Voyage for the Discovery of a North West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific; performed in the Years 1821-2-3, in His Majesty's Ships Fury and Hecla, under the Orders of CAPTAIN W. E. PARRY, R. N., F. R. S., and Commander of the Expedition. 4to. London: John Murray. 1824.

(Concluded.)

IN our last week's notice of this volume, we accompamed Captain Parry as far as Winter Island, where the ships were securely laid up for the season. The account of the manner in which the winter was spent, is very similar to that contained in the narrative of the preceding voyage. Indeed the two volumes in every respect greatly resemble each other. It is for this reason that we feel disposed to censure the size and expensiveness of the present quarto. So far as any new matter is concerned, it might all have been comprised in a moderate sized octavo. The ambition of making a book was scarcely ever more strikingly exhibited. We are sorry that Captain Parry did not appeal to some judicious and experienced friend who might have counselled him on the absurdity of sending forth such a volume with so small a quantity of really new or valuable information. But it was thought perhaps that one octavo or a duodecimo would compromise the dignity of the expedition. Not at all. Captain Hall published a duodecimo account of his voyage in the Chinese seas-and surely it contains more novelty, and quite as much that is important to geographical and nautical science as this unwieldy quarto. But if we extend our censures much further, we shall deserve a similar reprehension for prolixity.

The officers of the ships, in order to furnish a rational amusement to the sailors, set on foot a series of theatrical entertainments, which were given once a fortnight during the season. The Esquimaux were occasionally invited to attend, and appeared to be highly entertained. A school was likewise established, and at the termination of the voyage Captain Parry says that there was not a sailor in either ship who could not read his Bible. The interests of science were not neglected. An observatory was erected on shore, for the purpose of making magnetic observations, though the extreme cold prevented

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We

the free use of all the astronomical instruments. will quote the description of the aurora borealis :"Innumerable streams or bands of white and yellowish light appeared to occupy the greater part of the heavens to the southward of the zenith, being much the brightest in the S. E. and E. S. E., from whence it had indeed often the appearance of emanating. Some of these streams of light were in right lines like rays, others crooked and waving in all sorts of irregular figures, and moving with inconceivable rapidity in various directions. Among these might frequently be observed those shorter collections or bundles of rays, which, moving with even greater velocity than the rest, have acquired the name of the merry dancers,' which, if I understand aright the descriptions given of them by others, do not think I ever saw before. In a short time the Aurora extended itself over the zenith, about half-way down to the northern horizon but no farther, as if there was something in that quarter of the heavens which it did not dare to approach. About this time, however, some long streamers shot up from the horizon in the N. W. which soon disappeared. While the light extended over part of the northern heavens, there were a number of rays assuming a circular or radiated form near the zenith, and appearing to have a common centre near that point, from which they all diverged. The light of which these were composed appeared to have inconceivably rapid motion in itself, though the form it assumed and the station it occupied in the heavens underwent little or no change for perhaps a minute or more. Suppose, for instance, a stream of light to have occupied a space between any two of the stars, by which its position could be accurately noticed, the light appeared to pass constantly and instantaneously from one to the other, as if, when a portion of the subtle fluid of which it is composed had made its escape and vanished at the end next one of the stars, a fresh supply was uninterruptedly furnished at the other. This effect is a common one with the Aurora, and puts one in mind, as far as its motion alone is concerned, of a person holding a long ribbon by one end, and giving it an undulatory motion through its whole length, though its general position remains the same. One of the most striking of the various locomotive properties of the Aurora is that which it often has laterally, by which I mean in the direction perpendicular to its length. This motion, compared with the other, is usually slow, though still very rapid in the merry dancers,' which seem to observe no law with regard to the rest of the phenomenon. When the streams or bands were crooked, the convolutions took place indifferently in all directions. The Aurora did not continue long to the north of the zenith, but remained as high as that point for more than an hour: after which on the moon rising, it became more and more faint, and at half-past eleven was no longer visible. "The colour of the light was most frequently yellowishwhite, sometimes greenish, and once or twice a lilac tinge was remarked, when several strata, as it were, appeared to the light was always increased in intensity. The electrooverlay each other, by very rapidly meeting, in which case meter was tried several times, and two of Kater's com

passes exposed upon the ice, during the continuance of this Aurora, but neither was perceptibly affected by it. We it, but could hear none, but it was too cold to keep the ears listened attentively for any noise which might accompany uncovered very long at one time. The intensity of the light was something greater than that of the moon in her quarters. Of its dimining the stars there cannot, I think, be a doubt. We remarked it to be, in this respect, like drawing a gauze veil over the heavens in that part, the veil being most thick, when two of the luminous sheets met and overlapped. The phenomenon had all the appearance of being full as near as many of the clouds commonly seen, but there were none of the latter to compare them

with at the time."

The officers occasionally held musical conversazioni when the weather was too cold to be upon deck; and during the milder intervals, they were engaged in exploring the island, or in attempting to catch the white foxes which were very numerous. They appear to have been of a very curious species:

"Of a great number of foxes weighed by Captain Lyon during the winter, the average weight was eight pounds, but they varied from nine and a half to seven, and he observed that the males, though larger than the females, were not so fat. The fur of the whole of them when first caught was of the purest white, except in two or three individuals of a bluish colour, which appeared to be of a different species. The great variety of dispositions displayed by those which were kept for taming was very remarkable, some being gentle and quiet from the time of their first coming on board, and others remaining wild and intractable in spite of every kindness and good treatment. Our dogs becaine familiar enough even to play with them; but the foxes were, on their part, never entirely free from apprehension on this account. The noise they make when irritated is a weak half-stifled sort of bark, but they have also a more shrill and piercing cry when much frightened. When placed with their houses upon the ice, they were constantly endeavouring to burrow in the snow within the circle of their chains, and one of them, where the snow lay deeper than usual, soon formed for himself a secure and sheltered apartment under it. When deprived of the means of doing this, they are far from being proof against the severity of the season, for two or three died on board the Fury entirely from this cause, though furnished with good kennels. Of those which were taken better care of, not one remained on board alive when we went to sea, the greater part having gradually wasted away, though well fed and housed; and the rest which were thriving better made their escape to the shore."

The account of the Esquimaux and their habits of life is not devoid of interest, but is too diffusely drawn up, and too full of repetitions. This people, which has been generally rated as the most stupid and ignorant ever yet discovered, does not seem to be entirely worthy of such a character. Captain Parry, though certainly not much disposed to speak favourably of them, tells us of some ingenious charts which they constructed of the coast for a considerable extent. In many respects, these charts were erroneous, but still they furnished a tolerable idea of the country, and served to rescue the natives from the very degrading notions which had always been entertained of them.

On the second of July, the ice had sufficiently broken up to permit the ships to sail out from the bay. But their progress was greatly interrupted by the floating masses, and sometimes they were thrown into the greatest perils. Some notion of these perils may be form d from this passage :

"The flood-tide coming down loaded with a more than ordinary quantity of ice pressed the ship very much between six and seven A.M., and rendered it necessary to run out the stream cable, in addition to the hawsers which were fast to the land ice. This was scarcely accomplished when a very heavy and extensive floe took the ship on her broadside and, being backed by another large body of ice, gradually lifted her stern as if by the action of a wedge. The weight every moment increasing obliged us to veer on the hawsers, whose friction was so great as nearly to cut through

the bitt-heads, and ultimately set them on fire, so that it became requisite for people to attend with buckets of water. The pressure was at length too powerful for resistance, and the stream cable, with two six and one five inch hawsers, went at the same moment. Three others soon followed. The sea was too full of ice to allow the ship to drive, and the only way by which she could yield to the enormous weight which oppressed her was by leaning over on the land ice, while her stern at the same time was entirely lifted more than five feet out of the water. The lower deck beams now complained very much, and the whole frame of the ship underwent a trial which would have proved fatal to any less strengthened vessel. At this moment the rudder was unhung with a sudden jerk, which broke up the rudder case and struck the driver boom with great force. In this state I made known our situation by telegraph, as I clearly saw that in the event of another floe backing the, one which lifted us, the ship must inevitably turn over, or part in mid-ships. The pressure which had been so dangerous at length proved our friend, for by its increasing weight the floe on which we were borne burst upwards, unable to resist its force. The ship righted, and a small slack opening in the water, drove her several miles to the southward before she could be again secured to get the rudder hung; circumstances much to be regretted at the moment, as our people had been employed with but little intermission for three days and nights, attending to the safety of the ship in this dangeroustideway.'

The summer of 1822 was spent like the preceding one, in unavailing attempts to accomplish the great object of the expedition. We have no room for further extracts about outlets and inlets, savage Esquimaux, and dangerous icebergs. The winter of this year was still more tedious and protracted than the former; and from November to August, the ships remained immoveably fixed in the ice. By this time, the officers began to entertain doubts of their ultimate success, and the opinion of the medical gentleman was hostile to any longer absence from England. This opinion is worth quoting, and throws some light on the subject of these expeditions

"During the last winter and subsequently, the aspect of the crew of the Fury in general, together with the increased number and character of their complaints, strongly indicated that the peculiarity of the climate and service was slowly effecting a serious decay of their constitutional incipient scurvy in the most favourable month of the year, powers. The recent appearance also of several cases of and occurring after a more liberal and continued use of fresh animal food than we can calculate upon procuring hereafter, are confirmatory proofs of the progression of the evil.

With a tolerable prospect of eventual success, other circumstances remaining unchanged, I should yet expect an increase of general debility, with a corresponding degree of sickness, though at the same time confident of our resources being equal to obviate serious consequences.''

It was decided therefore to abandon all further attempts, and to return at once to England. On the 10th of October, they reached the Shetland isles.

Captain Parry is still decidedly of opinion that a north-west passage exists. Be it so-but we ask cui bono? The resolution of speculative opinions in science is not worth so great an expence of money and so great a hazard of life as have attended these northern expeditions. The same sum of money would have effected

a communication between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, a thing infinitely more useful and desirable. We regard the whole thing as a very injudicious and vain-glorious piece of business, and can only regret that it should have enlisted so much of the popular feeling of the country in its favor.

There is an Appendix, containing a further account of the Esquimaux, and a vocabulary of their language. We wish that some one of the intelligent officers who accompanied Captain Parry would take the different works which have been published on the subject of the north-west passage, and condense them into a single volume, as a companion to that drawn up by Mr. Barrow of the Admiralty. It would be a curious as well as useful work, and no one who has not been attached to the expedition would be competent to do it justice. We cannot dismiss Captain Parry's volume without again censuring its prolixity, and at the same time expressing once more our respect for the zeal, intelligence, and firmness with which he and his companions conducted themselves in this arduous and perilous enterprize.

The Deserted City; Eva, a Tale in Two Cantos; and other Poems. By JOSEPH BOUNDEN. London: Longman and Co. 1824.

THERE is some resemblance between the titles of Mr. Bounden's and Goldsmith's Poems, and still more between their respective mode of treating the subject. Mr. B. has evidently chosen "The Deserted Village" as his model, and has copied, with much success, the style, manner, and versification of Goldsmith. This is conclusive as to his taste, rather than to his originality. But original or not, "The Deserted City" is an uncommonly pretty poem, which we have read through with great pleasure.

The story is of course entirely imaginative, and is a picture of a proud, happy, and flourishing city, laid waste by the desolations of war, and affording a theme for melancholy meditations. It is described as it stood in its days of splendour and power, and as it lies in decadence and ruin. The recollections and associations of the past are beautifully interwoven with the sad realities of the present, and Mr. B. has known how to make his picture true and touching. A few scattered scenes are all that we can afford :

:

"Urburgh! thy suburbs were a scene of joy The morrow's doubtful ills could not destroy! When summer evening rob'd the gorgeous sky, And day was loveliest as it fled the eye, Passing away in many a crimson streak, Like the last flush on dying beauty's cheek,The fields were crowded by a mingled throng, The young, the gay, the active, and the strong. There careless boys, and men releas'd from care, In varied pastime, woo'd the evening air

There life exhibited her brightest face,

And thoughtless pleasure laugh'd in ev'ry place-
There, ere the Moon her snowy radiance shed,
Linger'd the student ere he sought his bed-
And there the servant, loos'd from masters' chain,
Awhile forgot that servitude was pain.

While merchants urg'd their dusty wheels from town,
To breathe the country air on beds of down,
Children in groups were homeward seen to creep,
With lagging steps and eyes half clos'd in sleep;
Or mark'd with sorrow that th' approach of night
Had shut the sport so early from their sight."

The comparison between the town and country is a little too much in the extreme, but it is poetically wrought up :

"Here all was intellectual-glowing-bright!
No winter of the soul-no dearth-no night!
Earth had no wisdom that was stranger here-
In art no rival-and in joy no peer.
The land's etherial part; in sanguine hour,
Here came each fiery soul, and rose to power;
Till science soaring reach'd her highest aim,
And pour'd o'er all the world a mental flame.
The country seem'd but made to yield the best
Of art and nature to adorn her crest;
The willing slave to spread her ample board,
With all the field, the garden, could afford.
Howe'er the peasant lov'd his sunny scene,
Boasted his cloudless skies, and verdant green,
Once cherish'd here, he slighted, or forgot,
The listless quiet of the lowly cot;
And found his soul in spell of magic bound,
By more intense delights that spread around.
For him the silent glen had charms no more,
He came to wonder-tarried to adore!
There life was sameness-here 'twas ever new,
With fresh excitement op'ning on his view-
There lack of thought had dimm'd his vacant hours,
While here his soul had scope for all her powers.

Yes, beauty o'er the rural prospect reigns,
Clothes the fair fields, and brightens all the plains.
'Tis joy to breathe the pure and fragrant air,
And see the sun revel in glory there;
To view the clouds in fairy form and hue,
And the fields glitt'ring in a sea of dew;
To see the yellow morn its wings unfold,
And ev'ning set in crimson and in gold;
To tread the silent dell in pensive mood,

And stray by moonlight through the thoughtful wood;
To be in solitude, but scarce alone,
Circled by forms that still are fancy's own;
To climb the mountain wild, and see below
The landscape stretching in the sunny glow,
Till, fading in the horizon's misty blue,

It seems to melt in clouds, and dies from view;
To hear the distant hum-the murm'ring stream,
And wander lost in many a joyous dream:
These are high pleasures, and who feels them not,
Who views creation as a blank, or blot,
Must own a soul of cold and midnight form,
That thought can never thrill, nor feeling warm.
But still these beauties pall upon the sense;
The sated mind asks something more intense;
Some more etherial, intellectual scope,
To rouse the fancy, and inspire with hope;
To wake to fire-to agitate the soul,
Until she burn and revel past controul;
Sweeping her own-created empire round,
That owns no law, acknowledges no bound-
But, unsubstantial as herself, displays
Unearthly scenes in fancy's brightest blaze!
And hence she flies, where kindred minds inspire,
And still in cities lights up all her fire."

It is but fair that we should give something from the other side of the picture: