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moderately thick in proportion, and the wing. shells are marked with numerous irregular va riegations of a lighter or greyer cast than the ground colour. Ridiculous and incredible as it may appear, it is an animal that may in some measure be tamed; at least it may be so far familiarised as to be made to beat occasionally, by taking it out of its confinement, and beating on a table or board, when it will readily answer the noise, and will continue to beat as often as required."--Shaw.

GREAT BRITAIN

Is so flourishing and far-famed an island, that we shall do well to treasure up in our minds the following summary but accurate delineation of it.

"GREAT BRITAIN has become the greatest commercial nation that the world ever beheld, covering all the seas with her ships, and known and respected by the most distant nations. Her trading navy has been the support and nursery of a warlike navy, the most powerful and most formidable for courage and discipline that the annals of mankind have recorded. She is at present the undoubted queen of the ocean, an envied and hazardous station, which can be preserved only by an union of equity and moderation with vigorous exertion. It has been an advantage of the combination of manufactures. with foreign commerce, that wealth has been generally diffused through the country; scarcely any part of it being out of the reach of profit. able employment. The advanced demand for the necessaries of life has given additional en. couragement to agriculture, and the value of

land and its products has fully kept pace with the influx of opulence. Lands newly taken into culture, neat farms, elegant villas, thriving towns, and smiling villages, every where meet the traveller's eye!" The mutual communication of the different parts is promoted by turnpike roads in every direction, and by inland navigation, which has been carried on, during the last forty or fifty years, with most unexampled spirit. Canals now spread their arms over the surface of the island, connecting all the great towns and navigable rivers, and forming a system of water-communication more complete than exists in any other country in Europe, with the exception of the Netherlands. The mechanical skill and invention displayed in their construction, would alone suffice to do honour to the genius of the nation."

IRELAND,

Dr. Aikin.

THE sister kingdom, now a constituent portion of the united empire, is thus pleasingly described by a gentleman who has very recently visited it.

"HEAVEN never committed to any government the care of a country upon which she has been more prodigally bountiful; for independently of the genius of the people, Ireland throughout rests upon a bed of the richest manure. Towards the sea she has sand, shells, and weed; inland she abounds with limestonegravel, limestone-marl, and other natural ma nures; her rivers and surrounding seas are all propitious to commerce, and are open to all quarters of the world! The Shannon, the Lif

fey, the Lee, the Luis, the Bann, the Boyne, the Blackwater, and other rivers, her creeks, her numerous, vast, and beautiful lakes abound with fish of various descriptions, and with lit. tle assistance from the hand of man, can be formed into canals, which might easily unite the centre with the extremities of the island: upon the seas which surround her, vessels from the most distant regions can approach her indented coasts in the most tempestuous weather with safety. Within a circuit of seven hundred and fifty miles it has been estimated that she possesses sixty-six secure harbours! The ferti lity of the country, with a slender exception, is uncommonly great; her climate is soft and salubrious, her bogs demonstrate her former consequence, and can be, and are, rapidly re. claiming; an inexhaustible stratum of coal is ready to supply its turf, and her peasantry, without having much of happiness and prosperity, possess all the essential qualities by which both are deserved, and can be enjoyed and promoted."--Carr.

ROME

Is so renowned a city, both in ancient and mo. dern times, that a description of it must be ac ceptable; take the impression it made on the mind of one our first poets, the author of The Elegy in a Country Church-yard.

"IN descending Mount Viterbo, we first dis. covered (though at near thirty miles distance) the cupola of St. Peter's, and a little after began to enter on an old Roman pavement, with now and then a ruined tower, or a sepulchre, on each hand. We now had a clear view of

the city of Rome, though not to the best advantage, as coming along a plain quite upon a level with it; however, it appeared very vast, and surrounded with magnificent villas and gar dens! We soon after crossed the Tiber, a river that ancient Rome made more considerable than any merit of its own could have done; however, it is not contemptibly small, but a good handsome stream, very deep, yet somewhat of a muddy complection. The first en trance of Rome is prodigiously striking. It is by a noble gate, designed by Michael Angelo, and adorned with statues; this brings you into a large square, in the midst of which is a vast obelisk of granite, and in front you have at one view two churches, of a handsome architecture, and so much alike, that they are called The Twins, with three streets, the middlemost of which is one of the longest in Rome! As high as my expectation was raised, I confess the magnificence of this city infinitely surpasses it. You cannot pass along a street but you have views of some palace, or church, or square, or fountain, the most picturesque and noble one can imagine; we have not yet set about considering its ancient and modern buildings with attention, but have already taken a slight transient view of some of the most remarkable. St. Peter's I saw the day after we arrived, and was struck dumb with wonder. I have hardly philosophy enough to see the infinity of fine things that are here daily in the power of any body that has plenty of money, without regretting the want of it."--Gray.

CULBONE CHUCH-YARD,

IN the west of England, is a most secluded and romantic spot; it is thus described in a manner adapted to rouse our curiosity...being at once picturesque and instructive.

"SURE never was a spot better calculated for the indulgence of the meditative faculty than Culbone Church-yard. Every circumstance around leads the mind to thought, aud soothes the bosom to tranquillity. The deep murmur of the ocean tide rising from beneath but softened in its lengthened course falls gently on the ear, which lists with equal rapture to the broken mysterious whisper of the waving woods above! Here, whilst all without is wasteful war and raging horror, the thoughtful wanderer, as he treads the glen, will please him. self with the conviction, that he has at least found one little spot sacred to Peace! Here, whilst he feels the holy calm of silent solitude, he will drop a tear in chastened sorrow over haman vice and human folly, over the wicked. ness of the few, whose destructive ambition converts a world so competent (through the bene. ficence of Providence) to render men comfortable and happy, into one wide scene of waste and misery; and over the folly of the many, who allow themselves to be made the instru ments of such devastation and wretchedness! He will reflect with sadness and astonishment on the torrents of blood, that even now are flooding the christian world, and in the. pure spirit of genuine patriotism will breathe an. as. piration to heaven, in the beautifully figurative language of Solomon: O that the winter were

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