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ened, like those I had the pleasure of knowing; and even if I could have suspected their existence, which some kind service, some delicate attention would doubtless have disclosed, I should not have experienced the charm which could retain them in that foggy, rocky, pathless region, without a tree on the mountains or plains for the eye to rest on; kingdom of the rain, of the wind, and of the tempest, whose atmosphere constantly impregnated with chill moisture, only softens to a certain degree the roughness of the winter, under the sad condition of giving no summer. That which attaches them to it is the profound and unalterable peace which they enjoy, for the pleasures of which they have a perfect relish.

to guide me in their continuation, delaying the final calculation until my return. In doing so I doubtless acted well, for although I have since devoted much time to them, they are not yet entirely finished. Nevertheless, the agreement of those observations, of which the calculations are completed, shows the accuracy which may be expected of them; and the results which are deduced from them, being combined with those of Formentera of the arch of France, give for the flattening of the earth exactly the same value which is deduced from the theory of the moon, and the measurement of the degrees compared at great distances. This perfect agreement between determinations so different, shows at once the certainty of the result, and the sure method which science employs to obtain it. It will be seen from this notice, that it is not without trouble that this point of precision has been reached, and it will not excite much surprise when it is known, that the variation of the length of the pendulum, by which the flattening is measured, is in all, from the equator to the pole, but four "millimétres," that is to say, less than two lines; and from Formentera to Unst, one "millimétre" and a half, or less than three-fourths of a line. It is these three-fourths of a line however, which, appreciated as can now be done, exhibit and measure, even with great accuracy, the flattening of the whole terrestrial spheroid, and prove to us, that in spite of slight accidents of composition and arrangement, which this exterior and slender surface on which we move presents to us, the interior of the mass of our planet is composed of strata perfectly regular, and subjected to the laws of super-position, density, and form, which a primitive state of fluidity had assigned to them. The advantage of having completely performed my operations, how great soever it necessarily appeared to me, was neither the only nor the most This calm, this habitual security, precious I experienced in the family gives to their social relations a charm which had so kindly received me. If elsewhere unknown. Every one here, I had remained upon the rocks of Bal- in the class of gentlemen, is relation, ta, I should, without doubt, have quit- connexion, or friend; and friendships ted these isles with all the prejudices are like relationships. But as in this of a foreigner. I should only have seen the dreariness of their situation, the poverty of their soil, and the inclemency of their sky; I should not have known that they contained beings sensible, kind, virtuous, and enlight VOL. III.

During 25 years in which Europe was devouring herself, the sound of a drum had not been heard in Unst, hardly in Lerwick; during 25 years the door of the house I inhabited had remained open day and night. In all this interval of time, neither conscription nor press-gang had troubled or afflicted the poor but tranquil inhabitants of this little isle. The numerous reefs which surround it, and which render it accessible only at favourable seasons, serve them for defence against privateers in time of war ;-and what is it that privateers would come to seek for there? These people receive news from Europe in the same way as they read the history of the preceding age; they recall no personal misfortune; they awaken no animosity, of course they have neither that interest, or to express it better, that momentary delirium which produces the mad exaltation of all the passions, and they tranquilly philosophise on events which seem to relate to another world. If there were only trees and sun, no residence could be more pleasant but if there were trees and sun, every body would wish to go thither, and peace would there exist no longer.

have loaded me with obligations; I shall I cannot here recall all the persons who add at least to the names of MM. Edmon stons, those of Mr Mowat of Unst, and Leisk of Lunna.

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world evil necessarily accompanies good, this very pleasure of living in a great family is sometimes dearly purchased. It causes them to feel with extreme pain, every death which visits this little circle of individuals, in whom their affections are concentrated: such an event, and it must arrive, is a family affliction, and possesses all its bitterness. They but too commonly experience almost equal grief, when their brothers or some one of their friends depart to seek their fortunes elsewhere; the isle, and all the isles together, not furnishing sufficient employment for the upper class of the population. This departure is regarded as a death by those who remain, and it is in effect almost a death to them, since it is but too probable that they will never again see those who depart. People often quit the Shetland isles to establish themselves in a better country, but they seldom return to them. The friendships even which their kindness leads them to contract with the foreigners whom they oblige, become to their affectionate hearts, subjects of regret and sadness, which the far distant voice of gratitude can but imperfectly soften. The necessity of leaving their native country arises among the higher classes of the Shetlanders, from the narrow extent of commerce and of agriculture, occasioned by the want of capital, and the want of exportation for the produce of the soil. A small portion only of the estate of each proprietor is cultivated, the rest is occupied in the pasturage of flocks of sheep, and horses in a half wild state, without a keeper and without shelter. The people grub up around their huts such a bit of ground as is merely sufficient for their subsistence, and they pay the rent of it by the perilous but attractive profits of fishing. This they all practise with unexampled boldness. Six men, good rowers, and confident of each other, agree to possess one boat, a light canoe, entirely uncovered; they take with them a small provision of water and of oat cake; and in this to frail skiff, with a compass, they go out of sight of the isles and of all land, the distance of 15 or 20 leagues :there they cast their lines, and pass a day and a night in fishing. If the weather is good, and the fishing successful, they may each gain ten or twelve francs by such a trip. If the sky is overcast, and the sea becomes tempestuous, they struggle in their

uncovered boat against its fury, till they have saved their lines, the loss of which would be the ruin of themselves and their families; then they row and sail in the direction of the land, in the midst of waves rising to the height of houses. The most experienced of them, placed in the stern, holds the helm, and, judging of the direction of every wave, eludes its immediate shock, which would be sufficient to swallow them up. At the same time he gives orders as to the sails, which he causes to be lowered every time the boat mounts on the top of a wave, and hoisted every time she descends, in order that the wind may cause her to fly over the top of the following wave. Sometimes enveloped in profound darkness, these poor men cannot see the mountain of water which they would avoid ;—they can only judge of its approach by the noise of its howling. In the mean time, women and children are upon the coast imploring Heaven; watching the appearance of the boat which bears their only hopes; sometimes expecting to see it upset or swallowed up in the roll of the waves; striving to assist their husbands and fathers, if they arrive near enough to enable them to succour them; and sometimes calling loudly to those who will hear them no more. But their lot is not always so dismal. By means of skill, hard labour, coolness, and courage, the boat is victorious in this terrible struggle; the well-known sound of her shell is heard; she arrives; tears are then followed by embraces; and the joy of seeing each other is increased by the recital of the frightful danger which has been escaped.

Nevertheless, the ruggedness of their country has charms for these poor people. They love those old rocks, whose bold shape and wellknown aspect point out to them the narrow passage which their boat must follow, when, returning from a prosperous fishing, with a favourable wind, she enters the protecting bay, greeted with the cries of the sea birds. They love those deep caverns where they have often launched their boat into the middle of the waves, when setting out to surprise the seals. Even I myself, feeling calm under their guidance, have contemplated with admiration those lofty cliffs of primitive rocks, that ancient structure of the globe, whose strata lay inclined towards the sea,

and, undermined at their base by the fury of the waves, seemed threatening to bury under their ruins the frail bark which bounded at their feet. At our approach clouds of sea birds issued in thousands from their retreats, surprised to find themselves troubled by man, and making these solitary places resound with their confused cries; some darting into the air; others plunging into the waves, and shooting upwards, almost as quickly, with the prey which they had seized; whilst porpoises and seals, here and there, raised their blackish heads above waves transparent as crystal. Every where life seems to abandon a cold and humid soil, to take refuge in the air and in the waters. But, soon as the evening spreads her veil over these wild retreats, all re-enter in peace and silence. Sometimes a gentle breeze of the south tempers the chillness of the air, and allows the planets of the night to shine with the purest light on this tranquil scene, whose profound peace no noise interrupts, except, at intervals, the distant murmur of the dying waves, or the soft and plaintive cry of a 'moëtte,' skimming rapidly the surface of the tide. After a stay of two months, I quit ted these isles, carrying with me recollections for my whole life. An equinoctial gale carried me back to Edinburgh in fifty hours. This abrupt transition from solitude to the bustle of the world,-from patriarchal simplicity to the refinements of civilization and luxury,-is not without attraction. Colonel Elphinston, by the kindest reception, convinced me that friendship had not altogether retired to the Shetland islands. It was then that, entirely at leisure from my observations, I could contemplate at my ease every thing which the most social state of this country presents to us, of institutions and of men,-a spectacle at once consoling and sad for whoever has spent his life amidst the troubles of the Continent. I witneseed a people poor, but laborious; free, but respectfully submissive to the laws; moral and religious, without sternness; tolerant, without indifference. I saw peasants learning to read in books which contained essays of Addison and Pope. I saw the works of Johnson, and Chesterfield, and of the most agreeable English moralists, offered as a relaxation to the middle ranks of the people. In the passage-boats, as elsewhere, there were games of cards and

dice. I witnessed village farmers meeting in clubs to deliberate upon the interests of politics and agriculture, and formed into societies for the purpose of buying useful books; among the number of which was the Encyclopædia Britannica, which is known to be digested at Edinburgh by learned men and philosophers of the first order. Finally, I witnessed the higher classes of society suited to this high degree of civilization, and truly worthy to occupy the first place in it, by their intelligence and the loftiness of their sentiments. I observed them exciting and directing all enterprises of public utility,-in unceasing communication with the people, and never confounding themselves with them; anxiously employed in displaying their information to enlighten them on the subject of their duties and of their true interests; knowing how to comfort them in their necessities, without depriving them of those virtues, and that independence, which are produced by the care of providing against them; thus every where procuring their respect, without exciting their envy, and enjoying, as the reward of so many exertions, peace, union, reciprocal esteem, mutual confidence, and even a very lively affection, founded, on the one hand, on the habitual exercise of the kindness and the gentleness of an intimate relation, and, on the other, upon gratitude and respect.

On quitting Scotland, I visited the most industrious counties of industrious England. There I beheld another spectacle: I saw the powers of nature employed in the service of man, under all imaginable forms, and himself reserved as a mechanical power of a more expensive, and more delicate construction, for these intermitting or accidental operations only, which his divine reason render him more peculiarly fit to execute; and whether it was that the considerations of social morality, with which I had been so much struck, had left too deep traces on my soul; whether it was that a great manufacturing system ought to be appreciated rather in its national results, than in its local and particular influence, I admired that immense display of manufacturers, rather than wished to see it established in my own country. After having paid my respects to Oxford and Cambridge, those ancient and tranquil abodes of learning and of science, I proceeded to rejoin Mr Arago at London, and again to associate

myself with him, for the measurement
of the seconds pendulum, no longer
in a desert island, but in the mag-
nificent Observatory of Greenwich.
M. Humbolt, who had accompanied
him, assisted in this operation, and was
desirous, while it lasted, to forget the
multitude of his other talents in his
labours as an excellent observer. Mr
Pond, the astronomer royal, was pleas-
ed to offer us all imaginable facilities,
with that generous eagerness which
men truly devoted to the sciences can
alone feel for every thing which con-
tributes to their progress. After hav-
ing enjoyed the pleasure of observing
the heavens, and of studying one of
the greatest phenomena of nature with
fine instruments, all already consecrat-
ed, if I may so express it, by so many
observations, and in a place renowned
for so many astronomical discoveries,
I once more beheld my native country,
with that happiness at return which
the hearts of Frenchmen feel so keen-
ly, and of which the charm was ren-
dered still more agreeable, by the in-
ternal feeling of satisfaction and grati-
tude of which I brought her back the
homage. It is truly in a voyage un-
dertaken for the advancement of
science, that a Frenchman can learn
still more to honour, and still more
to cherish, his noble country. Placed
without the circle of political passions,
not attracted to it by interest or am-
bition; without rank, without the
riches which support it, there only
exist for him those titles which his
country has acquired to solid glory,-
to that which consists in doing good
to mankind. He is exalted by the re-
collection of the many services which
she has rendered to the civilization of
the world, by the universal admiration
which she has excited by the many
masterpieces with which she has en-
riched literature, the sciences, and the
arts. Like Minerva, that country ac-
companies him in a foreign land
she speaks for him, introduces him,
protects him, disposes all hearts to
him, and claims in his favour a hospi-
tality, which she herself has so often and
so nobly bestowed. Thus, after having
reached the end of his toils, and while
relating to his countrymen the reception,
the assistance, the kindness, and even
the friendship, which he received from a
justly celebrated nation, he experiences
in manifesting the expression of his

gratitude, a pleasure so much the more
pure, that all these favours are still, in
his eyes, new gifts from his country.

that

Note. What I have said in this notice of the social virtues of Scotland, and of the Shetland Isles, presents these countries under an aspect so different from our Continental modes of life, that I would not be surprised, that in France, and even in England, many persons should suppose there is some exaggeration in the picture, and that I have yielded involuntarily to the predeliction which a foreigner always conceives for a new country, where he has been received with kindness. They will perhaps believe me so far as regards Scotland; but for the Shetland Isles, where shall I find witnesses? Although they be not far distant, the difficulty of the navigation, the inclemency of the climate, and the want of commerce, repel travellers from it; and those whom necessity occasionally carries thither, hasten to depart from it as soon as their business is done. Perhaps a residence of two months, in a free and disinterested capacity, has permitted me to see these isles more intimately than many of the Scots who live near them. Even in Edinburgh, very erroneous ideas are entertained respecting them. But, generally speaking, it is a pleasure which one may procure from one end of Europe to the other, to hear every one railing at his neighbours of the north. In Italy, they look upon France as having a rude and severe climate; see what Alfieri says of it. Here we find our country very beautiful; but England_appears to us the abode of fogs. In London, no one complains of the climate; but they speak of Scotland as a country almost deprived of the sun. The Scots look upon this opinion as very ridiculous; but they regard with much pity the poor Shetlanders. These again, in their turn, pretend that they have much less cold than in Scotland, but that Iceland and the Feroe Isles are truly miserable. I am convinced, that even the Icelanders look upon Spitzbergen with some disdain. The truth is, that in all the climates of the world, a man may have very nearly an equal share of happiness, if he carries with him the social virtues, and the resources of commerce and civilization.

LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE.

WE stated in our last Number that CAPT. KATER had been appointed by the Board of Longitude to measure the length of the seconds pendulum at the Shetland Islands. The expedition originated with his Majesty's ministers, who have in the most liberal manner provided the finest instruments, and every thing that is necessary to promote the object in view. Captain Kater, accompanied by LIEUT. FRANK of the navy, arrived in Edinburgh on the 27th of June, and set off for Shetland on the 1st of July in the Nimrod sloop of war, commanded by CAPT. DALLING. After measuring the length of the pendulum at Unst, Captain Kater proposes, if the weather is favourable, to go as far as the North Cape in Norway, with the view of determining the length of the pendulum in the latitude of 70° or 71°, and to repeat the same measurements in Norway in the latitude of 65° or 66°. He then returns to the trigonometrical survey at Cowhithe, near Banff; and having determined the length of the pendulum there, he performs the same experiments at Leith Fort, Clifton, Arbury Hill, and Dunnose. If the weather shall prove favourable, so as to allow Captain Kater to make his observations in Norway, we shall have a series of results of the greatest importance in the determination of the true figure of the earth.

The Polar Expedition. We understand letters have been received from the North Polar expedition, dated in the first week of June, opposite to Magdalena Bay, Spitzbergen, when all were well and in high spirits.

The celebrated Professor Mohs has just returned from a long tour through the Highlands. We understand he has been highly gratified with the magnificent and striking displays of stratification so frequent in this country, and that his attention was particularly arrested by the island of Arran, that wonder of the mineralogical world. He did not fall in with any of those volcanic phenomena which are said to occur every where in the tracts of country he investigated.

Mathematical Prize Question for 1820. -The Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris have again proposed, as a question for 1820, the following theorem of Fermat : " Beyond the second degree, there exists no power which may be divided into two other powers of the same degree." The reward is a gold medal of 3000 francs value, and the latest time allowed for the reception of memoirs, 1st January 1820.

Astronomical Prize Question for 1820.The question proposed by the Royal Academy of Science at Paris, is as follows:To form by the theory of universal gravita

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tion alone, and without taking from observations any thing but arbitrary elements, tables of the movement of the moon, as exact as the best tables in existence. prize is a gold medal of 3000 francs value, which is to be awarded in March 1820. The utmost period allowed for the reception of papers, 1st January 1820.

Astronomical Prize Medal.-The Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris, have awarded their own gold medal to the Astronomer Royal, John Pond, Esq. That which was before voted to him was the one founded by the astronomer De Lalande.

Harvest Moons.-This year is the third of a series of 10 years in which the moon will prove the most beneficial to the farmers for reaping and gathering in the fruits of the earth, viz. from 1816 to 1825 inclusive. The preceding nine years, namely, from 1807 to 1815 inclusive, were in the class of those in which, from natural causes, the harvest moon has been least beneficial. Such will also be the years from 1826 to 1828.

Telegraphs. Intelligence can be received from Calais at Paris, between which places there are twenty-seven telegraphs, in three minutes; from Lisle, twenty-two telegraphs, two minutes; from Strasburg, forty-five telegraphs, six minutes and a half; from Lyons, fifty telegraphs, nine minutes; and from Brest, thirty telegraphs, eight minutes.

Blight in Apple-trees.-The American farmers are said to adopt the following practice to prevent the blight or mildew from injuring their orchards. In the spring, they rub tar well into the bark of the appletrees, about four or six inches wide round each tree, and at about one foot from the ground; this effectually prevents the blight, and abundant crops are the consequence.

Fly in Turnips.--The following has been given as a method of preventing destruction by the fly in turnips. Divide the seed intended for one day's sowing into two equal parts, and put one part to steep in soft pond or ditch-water the night previous to its being used. Mix the whole together, adding to each pound of seed two ounces of flour sulphur. This will ensure two successive growths, and the fly will not touch the plants. Gottingen Chemical Prize for 1819.. The Royal Society of Gottingen has offered a prize of fifty ducats for "An accurate examination, founded on precise experiments of Dalton's theory of the expansion of liquids and elastic fluids, especially of mercury and atmospheric air by heat."

The authors are to pay attention to the necessity alleged by Dalton for changing the progression of the degrees of the present thermometrical scales. The memoirs must

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