Mar. 30. At Castries, St Lucia, Mr James Fleming Loudon, son of Morehead Loudoun, Esq. Glasgow. April 30. At St John's, Newfoundland, Mr Donald H. M'Caman, formerly of the Island of Islay. May 19. At Halifax, Nova Scotia, Lieut.-Colonel P.Waterhouse, Major of the 81st regiment. June 1. At Culross, the Rev. Walter Macalpine, first minister of that parish, in the 82d year of his age, and 54th year of his ministry. -At Arniston Place, Henrietta Chisholme, youngest daughter of Geo. Lang, Esq. -At Edinburgh, Mrs MacAllan, spouse of Mr James MacAllan, writer to the signet, and daughter of Mr Robert Ainslie, writer to the signet. 2. At Ettrick Bank, Matilda, only daughter of William Ogilvie, Esq. younger of Chesters. -At Paris, Marshal Davoust, Prince of Eckmuhl, after a long and painful pulmonary consumption. -At Peterhead, James Trail, Esq. surgeon. 3. At Edinburgh, Mrs Faulkner, late of the Theatre-Royal. At Musselburgh, Louisa, wife of J. H. Home, Esq. of Longformacus, and fourth daughter of the late Captain David Ramsay, Royal Navy. - At Northam, Suffolk, Miss Mary Foulis, youngest daughter of the late Sir James Foulis of Colington, Bart. 4. At Edinburgh, Robert Hill, son of the late Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Hill, of the East India Company's Service. -At Kinghorn, Mrs Helen Wallace, wife of Lieut. Evan Macpherson, Aberdeenshire Militia. - At Perth, John Hay, eldest son of James Paterson, Esq. of Carpow. 5. At Abington Hall, Staffordshire, Janet, the infant daughter of William Hay, Esq. of Drummelzier. -At Aberdeen, Mr Robert Troup, merchant. 6. In Merrion Square, Dublin, the venerable Judge Fletcher. At Farme, Miss Margaret Farie, sister of James Farie, Esq. of Farme, and on the 8th inst. his daughter, Miss Farie. 7. In Dublin Street, Mrs James Hunter. 8. At Fort William, Mr John Wallace, rector of the Academy there. -At Aberdeen, Mr James Mowat, merchant and manufacturer. - At Ayr, David Scott, Esq. banker. -At Gibraltar, John Macdonald Buchanan, Esq. of Drummakill. At Aberdeen, Captain Robert Christie, late of the 88th regiment. 9. In Curzon Street, Mayfair, General Robert Manners, Colonel of the 30th regiment. -At Dryden, the seat of Sir Charles Macdonald Lockhart, Bart, Mr James Borthwick, aged 61, whose ancestors had been for upwards of 300 years upon the estate. - At Dalserf House, Thomas Paterson, Esq. late Paymaster of the 22d regiment of foot. 10. At Ayr, Captain Bedford Stewart, late of the Irish revenue service. At Leith, Mr Cundell, late cashier of the Leith Banking Company. -At Stirling, Colin Dawson, Esq. writer. - In York Place, Thomas, eldest son of Dr Gillespie. - At Leith, Mrs Anne Clark, relict of Mr John Rogers, soap-manufacturer, Fisherrow. - At the Manse of Dumbarney, Mr Alex. Anderson, son of Mr John Anderson, Newburgh, Fife. 12. At Waterford, Lieut.-General William Doyle. 13. At Theobalds, Hatfield, Herts, the Marquis of Salisbury. 14. At Edinburgh, Mary Ross, third daughter of Mr George Stedman, Solicitor Supreme Courts. 14. At Lopness, in Orkney, Margaret, eldest daughter of Mr William Strang. At Dunbar, Lieut.-Colonel John Clark, Royal Marines. At her house, in Upper Grosvenor Street, London, the Countess de Dunstanville. -At her house, in Nicolson Square, Mrs Julia Hope, wife of Mr Thomas Manners, writer to the signet, and depute-clerk of session. 15. At Edinburgh, Dr John Thomson, R. N. -At Manse of Durris, the Rev. William Strachan, minister of that parish, in the 79th year of his age, and 52d of his ministry. -At Warriston Crescent, Agnes, wife of Mr A. Plimer, of the Stamp-office. 16. At his house, Caltonhill, Archibald Elliott, Esq. architect. At 101, Prince's Street, Isabella, daughter of the Rev. James Grant, minister of Laggan. - At Old Hall, near Warre, Thomas Cleghorn, Esq. Mr Robert Ogle, of the firm of Ogle, Duncan, & Co. booksellers, London. At Ballancrieff House, the Hon. Clara Mary Murray, second daughter of the Right Hon. Lord Elibank. At his house, Royal Exchange, Mr James Kirkwood, junior. 18. At Sorrento, in the Bay of Naples, Ronald, second son of John Crauford, Esq. of Auche names. - Mr Thomas Sheriff, late ship-master, Dunbar. -At Wimbledon, near London, Samuel Charters Somerville, Esq. W. S. Edinburgh, second son of the Rev. Dr Somerville, Jedburgh. - At Colzium, James Davidson, Esq. writer to the signet. -At St Andrews, Mrs Isabella Stormonth, relict of Mr James Mowat, late Rector of the Grammar School there. -At London, William Gordon, Esq. of Campbelton, in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. 19. At London, at the advanced age of 81, Mr William Coombe, the author of "The Diaboliad," "the Tour of Dr Syntax," and many other works. At his house, Leith Walk, Charles Fraser, of Williamston, Esq. - At Versailles, in France, Isabella, wife of Major-General John Murray. 20. At his house, Canongate, Mr William Burton, merchant. -At Rothie House, James Leslie, Esq. of Rothie. 21. At New York, William Blackie, Esq. late merchant in Glasgow. 23. At Edinburgh, Elizabeth, wife of Mr James M'Innes, S.S.C. Prince's Street. - At Catherine Bank, Mrs Margaret Spalding. wife of the Rev. Dr Ireland, North Leith. At her house, in Seymour Place, London, the Dutchess Dowager of Cardigan. 25. At Louth Hall, in the county of Louth, after a short indisposition, occasioned by the bursting of a blood-vessel, Thomas Lord Baron Louth, in the 60th year of his age. 28. At Edinburgh, Miss Margaret Craigie, youngest daughter of the late John Craigie, Esq. of Quebec. 29. At Porterfield Cottage, near Edinburgh, in the 72d year of his age, Dr William Farquharson, physician in Edinburgh, a man eminent in his profession, warm and steady in his friendships, and of much urbanity of manners. 30. At Stamford, Lincolnshire, Octavius Graham Gilchrist, Esq. a distinguished literary character, at the early age of 43 years. - Mr Álexander Lesslie, of Conduit Street, London. Printed by James Ballantyne and Co. Edinburgh. We have lately received a very delightful book, from a very delightful friend, and, being anxious that the world should become as happy, and as well informed, as ourselves, we lose no time in requesting the numerous individuals of which it is composed, men, women, and dandies, the" intermediate link," to order each and all of them, his, her, and its copy. Everybody knows something now-a-days of the Garden of Plants, or at least ought so to do; for it has been ascertained, that even "Tims" has bearded the Douglas in his den; that is, has stood within a few paces of the Menagerie without any fear of being driven to atoms by the tuft of the lion's tail. But in an establishment of such great extent, and unrivalled excellence, it may well be imagined, that many things worthy of notice escape the observation, and many more the comprehension, of travellers; and hence the value of a clear and satisfactory history of the rise, progress, and completion of the King's Garden, and of the splendid collections in every branch of natural history which it now contains. Such a work is, in fact, from the nature of things, an exposition of the state of the most important physical sciences during the successive and connected periods of which it treats, and thus, at the same time that it enlightens us regarding the practical management and present state of a most regal institution, it explains and illus trates the progress of human intellect in many of the most delightful branches of knowledge. The person who writes this work in English is M. Royer, a French gentleman, who holds a situation in the office of administration of the Museum. He is well known for the wonderful skill which he has attained in speaking and writing our language, without having resided in Britain, and for his great civility and kindness to those foreigners who visit the Museum and its environs, for the purposes of amusement or information; and he is universally esteemed for the intelligence and integrity of his character. He has resided constantly in History and Description of the Museum of Natural History and Royal Botanic Garden of Paris. Translated from the French of M. Deleuze, assistant Botanist. By A. A. Royer. 2 vols. 8vo. with 17 plates. Price 21s. Sold by G. B. Sowerby, 33, King Street, Covent Garden, London. This work has been composed, by authority of the French government, from mate. rials furnished by the Professors and Administrators of the Museum. VOL. XIV. Q the Garden for these last twenty years, for the most part with M. Dufresne, the King's naturalist, chief director of the zoological department, and is consequently well acquainted with the management, both in its general spirit and most minute details. The Garden of Plants is certainly a most interesting spot. What can be more delightful than to wander about in the twilight of a fine autumnal evening, beneath those magnificent rows of ancient lime-trees, when the air is perfumed by, the balmy breath of many thousand flowers-to listen, amid such a scene of stillness and repose, to the multitudinous voice of a mighty city-or to contrast a sound composed of such discordant and tumultuous elements with the wild and plaintive cries of some solitary water-fowl, which inhabit the banks of a little lake, in the centre of this Garden of Paradise! On the other hand, during the day-time, if less interesting to your sentimentalist, it is certainly fully more amusing to the ordinary class of visitors. Great part of one side of the Garden is laid out as a Menagerie, in which all sorts of wild animals are confined, or, more properly speaking, detained-the extreme comfort and extent of the dwellings, with their beautiful conformability to the pursuits and manners of their inhabitants, almost entirely precluding the idea of anything so harsh and rigorous as confinement. There the elephant, "wisest of brutes," occupies, as he ought to do, a central and conspicuous situation. He is not lodged, as he is with us, in a gloomy crib, in which he can scarcely turn himself round with sufficient freedom to perform the little devices taught him by his keeper, and which one sees how much he despises by the calm melancholy expression of his eyes. He dwells in a large and lofty apartment, opening by means of broad folding-doors into a capacious area, which is all his own. In this he has dry smooth banks to repose upon, and a deep pond of water, into which, once a day, he sinks his enormous body, causing the waters to flow over every part, except his mouth and proboscis. Nothing can be more refreshing than to see him, after basking for some hours in the morning sun, till his skin becomes as parched and dry as the desert dust of Africa-to see him calmly sinking down amidst the clear, cool waters of his little lake, and reappearing again, all moist and black, protruding his huge round back, more like a floating island, or a Leviathan of the ocean, than an inhabitant of terrafirma. In this neighbourhood, too, there are camels and dromedaries, the "ships of the desert," as they are so beautifully called in the figurative languages of the east, either standing upright, with their long, ghost-like necks, and amiable, though imbecile countenances, or couched on the grass, " and bedward ruminating," apparently well pleased to have exchanged the burning plains of Arabia for the refreshing shades of the Jardin des Plantes. No fear now of the blasting breath of the desert, or of those gigantic columns of moving sand which had so often threatened to overwhelm them, and the leaders of their tribe-no delusive mirage, tempting them still onwards, amongst those glaring, glittering wildernesses, "with show of waters mocking their distress." Even the wilder and more romantic animals seem here to have found a happy haven and a fit abode. The milk-white goat of Cachmire, with its long silky clothing, is seen reposing tranquilly, with half-closed eyes, upon some artificial ledge of rock, forming a beautiful and lively contrast to the dark green moss with which it is surrounded. Deers and antelopes repose upon the dappled ground, or are seen tripping about under the shade of the neighbouring lime-trees, while the enclosures, with their surrounding shrubbery, are so skilfully arranged, and so intermingled with each other, that every animal appears as if it enjoyed the free range of the whole encampment, instead of being confined to the vicinity of its own little hut. The walks are laid out somewhat in a labyrinthic form, so that every step a person takes he is delighted by the view of some fair or magnificent creature from "a far countrie." Birds of the most gorgeous and graceful plumage, peacocks, golden pheasants, and cranes from the Balearic Isles, solicit attention in every quarter, and are seen crossing your path in all the stateliness of conscious beauty, or gliding like sun-beams through groves of evergreen," star bright, or brighter." In whatever direction you turn, you find the features of the scenery impressed with characters very different from those which are usually met with in European countries. At the head of the Garden, beyond the house which was once the dwelling of the illustrious Buffon, there grows a magnificent cedar, its head rendered more picturesque by a cannon-ball, which struck it during the Revolution;* and from a little hill in the neighbourhood, there is an extensive and beautiful view, not only of the Garden of Plants, with its fine groves and shady terraces, but also of the city itself, with Mont Martre rising like an acropolis in the distance, the old square tower of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, and the golden dome of the Hospital of Invafids. Between the Garden of Plants properly so called, and that part of it which is devoted to the uses of the Menagerie, there is a broad and deep sunk fence divided by stone walls into several compartments. These are the dwelling-houses of the bears, the awkward motions and singular attitudes of which seem to afford a constant source of amusement to the visitors. Bare leafless trees have been planted in the centre of some of these inclosures, to the top of which Bruin is frequently seen to climb, as if to enjoy the more extended view of the garden, and of the groups of people who crowd its walks. Some of these animals, when they perceive any one looking over their parapet, erect themselves on their hind legs, and, stretching forth their great paws, seem to ask for charity with all the importunity of a moaning beggar. Indeed, they are so much accustomed to have bread and fruit thrown to them by strangers, that the slightest motion of the hand is generally sufficient to make them assume an erect position, which they will maintain for some time, till their strength fail them, and they drop to the ground, testifying by a short and sullen growl their displeasure at having been obliged to play such fantastic tricks to so little purpose. An unfortunate accident befel one of the largest of these creatures some years ago. He was sitting perched near the top of his tree, when his footing gave way, and he was precipitated to the ground. A broken limb was the only disagreeable result of this misfortune. His temper of mind does not, however, appear to have been much mollified by his decreased strength of body, for it was this same animal which caused the death of the unfortunate sentinel who had descended into his area, misled, as it was supposed, by an old button or bit of me The largest of the pine tribe on the hillocks, is a cedar of Lebanon, P. Cedrus, the trunk of which measures twelve feet in circumference. The history of this tree, as recited to us by Professor Thouin, is remarkable. In 1736, Bernard de Jussieu, when leaving London, received from Peter Collinson a young plant of Pinus Cedrus, which he placed in a flower-pot, and conveyed in safety to the Paris Gardens. Common report has magnified the exploit by declaring, that Jussieu carried it all the way in the crown of his hat. It is now the identical tree admired for its great size."--Neill's Journal of a Horticultural Tour through Flanders, Holland, and the North of France. This work is no doubt in the hands of every horticulturist, whether professional or amateur. Mr Neill's name is a sufficient pledge for the extent and accuracy of the information which it contains. But the interest of the work is by no means confined to horticultural details. Although these form, as they ought to do, the leading topics of investigation and description, yet the author's eye has been by no means inobservant of other things. His narrative is continually relieved by sensible and ingenious observations on the characteristic manners and aspect of the people, and on the general features of the scenery of the various districts through which his tour extends. The whole book, indeed, is written in a very clear, intelligent style; and, the author's mind being naturally active, and, during this period especially, occupied by subjects of the greatest interest and the highest utility, there is no unsuccessful searching after subjects for the memorandum-book, no necessity for attempting to cover and conceal that vacancy of mind, which is the companion of most modern tourists. "Senza istruzione," says an Italian writer, "non puo aversi utilitá, ne diletto viaggiando; ed è miglior cosa che il ricco incolto nascondo fra le domestiche mura la sua nullitá, e la vergogna della sua ignoranza." With Mr Neill, on the contrary, there was always a delighful subject at hand to occupy the attention, and a constant exercise of intelligence required in comparing what he then witnessed for the first time in foreign countries, with the result of his own past experience at home; and the "Horticultural Tour," recently published, exhibits what, indeed, might have been anticipated from the author's character, although it is rarely met with now-a-days,-great knowledge without the slightest pretension. tal, which he mistook for a piece of money. The cries of this poor being were heard distinctly during the stillness of the night by those who dwelt within the garden; but, as there was no reason to dread the possibility of such an accident occurring, no assistance was offered. He was found by the guard who came to relieve him in the morning, lying dead beneath the paws of the bear, exhibiting, comparatively speaking, few marks of external violence, but almost all his bones broken to pieces. The bear retired at the voice of his keeper, and did not, in fact, seem to have been induced by any carnivorous propensity to attack the person whose death it had thus so miserably occasioned. It was rather what an old man in the garden characterized as a piece of mauvaise plaisanterie, for it appeared to derive amusement from lifting the body in its paws and rolling it along the ground, and shewed no symptom of fierceness or anger when driven into its interior cell.* Turning to the right as you enter the lower gate of the Garden, opposite the Bridge of Austerlitz, now called the Pons du Jardin du Roi, you approach the dwellings of the more carnivorous animals, which are confined in cages with iron gratings, very similar to our travelling caravans. Here the lion is truly the king of beasts, being the oldest, the largest, and in all respects the most magnificent, I have ever seen. There is a melancholy grandeur about this creature in a state of captivity, which I can never witness without the truest commiseration.The elegant and playful attitudes of the smaller animals of the feline tribe being so expressive of happiness and contentment, prevent one from compassionating their misfortunes in a similar manner; while the fierce and cruel eye of the tiger, with his restless and impatient demeanour, produces rather the contrary feeling of satisfaction, that so savage an animal should be kept for ever in confinement. He appears to lament his loss of liberty, chiefly because he cannot satiate his thirst for blood by the sacrifice of those before him; his countenance glares as fiercely, and his breath comes as hot, as if he still couched among the burned-up grass of an Indian jungle. But his companion in adversity appears to suffer from a more kingly sorrow-the remembrance of his ancient woods and rivers, with all their wild magnificence, "dingle and bushy dell," is visibly implanted in his recollection. Like the dying gladiator, he thinks only of "his young barbarians," and, when he paces around his cell, he does so with the same air of forlorn dignity as Regulus might have assumed in the prison of the Carthaginians. But, while we are indulging ourselves in "a world of fond remembrances," we are forgetting Mr Royer's book, to which we had sat down with the intention of extracting an article. We shall therefore proceed in the first place to form a compendious sketch of the Garden and Cabinet, from the pe riod of their origin to the close of last century, which we deem it the more necessary to do, as the subject has not yet found a place in English literature. We must, however, premise, that the nature and confined limits of our abstract will necessarily exclude a thousand interesting particulars regarding the history of individual plants and animals, for the elucidation of which we therefore refer our readers to the work itself, which is just about this time ready for delivery to the public. The King's Garden in Paris, commonly called the Garden of Plants, was founded by Louis XIII., by an edict given and registered by the Parliament, in the month of May, 1635. Its direction was assigned to the first Physician Herouard, who chose as Intendant Guy de la Brosse. At first it consisted only of a single house, and twenty-four acres of land. Guy de la Brosse, during the first year of his management, formed a parterre 292 feet long, and 227 broad, composed of such plants as he could procure, the greater number of which were given him by John Robin, the father of Vespasian, the King's botanist. These amounted, including varieties, to 1800. He then prepared the ground, procured new plants by correspondence, tra We understand that the bears are now removed to the new Menagerie of wild beasts, and their places in the Fossés occupied by a breed of boars. Our old friend Marguerite, the great elephant, alluded to in a preceding paragraph, has been dead for gome years. |