UNDER the auspices of James the First, of Eng-| to Prince Charles. In 1619, 150 women were sen land, who had granted letters patent to the London to Virginia, and sold to the planters for about 150 and Plymouth companies, for the purpose of founding a colony in North America, Christopher Newport, sailed from London on the 20th of December, 1606; and after a disastrous passage of four months, entered the James river, and made a settlement upon its banks about forty miles from the sea, and called it Jamestown. This was the first permanent settlement that was made by the English in Virginia, although previous attempts had been made. The company consisted of 105 persons, and very soon received an accession to their numbers, swelling the amount to 200. The most difficult man amongst them, was Captain John Smith, whose name, it will be recollected, is identified with that of Pocahontas, the Indian girl who saved him from the barbarity of Powhatan. In 1614, Captain Smith explored the country, and made a map of it, which he presented VOL I-1

pounds of tobacco, each; tobacco being then valued at three shillings the pound. Twenty negroes, were also sold to the colonists by the Dutch about the same time, whence may be dated the commencement of the slavetrade in this country. Virginia progressed, by no means rapidly or prosperously, under the various governours sent out by the British Crown. Their chief export was tobacco. None of the colonies suffered more than Virginia from the despotism of a royal government. In violation of chartered rights, the colony was divided into parts, and conveyed away by proprietary grants; not grants of woodlands and wildernesses, but of plantations that had long been cultivated under the encouragement of kings and charters. These oppressions produced a notable rebellion in Virginia, during which, great outrages were committed, and Jamestown

was

burned. The civil war was commenced by Col. dug around the falls, however, so that a continuous Nathaniel Bacon, and terminated at his death. In boat navigation is secured for two hundred and twenty 1712, Virginia was divided into 49 parishes, and a miles. Richmond is a thriving town in point of clergyman allotted to each, with stated salary. In trade, and the means of general education are no 1713, Lt. Gov. Spottswood discovered the passage neglected.

of the Appalachian mountains.

Virginia was amongst the first of the colonies, that manifested that glorious spirit of resistance to the oppression and aggression of Great Britain, which wrought our independence. She was always forward in seconding the spirit and measures of her sister colonies against the common enemy, and met the demands of her country with laudable zeal and disinterested patriotism. The constitution of Virginia was adopted the next day after the Declaration of Independence, but has been recently revised and amended. Nine of the signers of the declaration, including its immortal author, were natives of Virginia, viz. :-Thomas Jefferson, John Penn, Richard H. Lee, Fr. Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton, George Walton, George Wythe, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, jr. Virginia also produced George Washington, Patrick Henry, Arthur Lee, James Madison, James Monroe, and John Marshall.

ECLIPSES.

ASTRONOMY.

ON ECLIPSES.

Among all the extraordinary phenomena which nature displays in the motions of the heavenly bodies, none are more interestingly sublime or useful than ter satellite, the moon, as round our planet she reWhile viewing the movement of our sisvolves in silent majesty, we have an opportunity of observing "the order of heaven's first law," and of witnessing that order so exemplified before our eyes be the basest ingratitude in us to neglect it. in the "grand planetarium of nature," that it would Yet how many thousands of individuals are there who do not know, and perhaps have not the means of being informed of the cause of these phenomena. To such deavour to lift the veil of superstition from their eyes, our pages are addressed, and should our humble enwaken a spirit of inquiry into "cause and effect," and a desire to trace Nature up to Nature's God," we shall be amply compensated. They will no more In 1830, Virginia contained 1,211,105 inhabitants, feel superstitious fears during an eclipse, no more of whom 469,759 were slaves. close The principal their wells for fear the water should be inrivers are the Potomack, Shenandoah, Rappahan-moniack power; but inquiring will know, and seeing jured by the supposed noxious influence of some denock, York, James, Appamattox, Elizabeth, Staunton, Renawha, Ohio, Sandy, and Monongahela. The Blue Ridge extends through the central part of the state, and there are other mountains in the state. Iron, lead, coal, limestone, and chalk, are found in abundance. The chief towns are Richmond, Norfolk, Petersburgh, Lynchburgh, Fredericksburgh, Winchester, Portsmouth, Williamsburgh, and Shepherdstown. The university of Virginia is established at Charlottesville, besides which there are several other colleges.

Richmond, the largest city in the state, and the seat of government, has a population of 16,000, and is situated at the head of tide water on the James river. The town rises gradually from the river, and with its many elegant brick houses, presents a fine appearance. The publick buildings are a courthouse, a state prison, an almshouse, a museum, eight churches, and the CAPITOL. We have presumed that the engraving would furnish the reader a better idea of this elegant structure, than any mere written description. It is appropriated chiefly to the purposes of the state, senate, and assembly. It stands on the highest ground in the city, and the views from its top are extensive and interesting. This city is one hundred and twenty miles from Washington, and one hundred and fifty from the mouth of the river. There are two bridges across the river at this place, and falls a short distance above. A canal has been

up

will believe. We however trust, that in this enlightened and scientifick age, there are few who are so far under the influence of errour.

is no deviation from the general course of nature, and Eclipses, then, are perfectly natural, that is, there are to be calculated upon with as much certainty as when striking a flint with a piece of iron, we expect and see a spark of fire; but they are not the less wonderful; for though in each we see the second cause and the effect, (in the eclipse of the sun, the intervention of the moon between the sun and the earth, and consequent eclipse; and in the striking of the flint, the spark-produced by the friction melting an atom of the iron into liquid fire,)—still the First Cause; and, to a philosophick eye, the fire we do not see, but are left to wonder and admire from the flint is as wonderful as the eclipse.

Eclipses are occasioned by one heavenly body intervening between the sun or source of light, and another heavenly body; and, as regards our earth, eclipse when the sun is eclipsed; and a lunar eclipse are either solar or lunar eclipses. It is to be a solar when the moon is eclipsed. For the sun to be eclipsed, the moon must be between the earth and sun, in a direct line, or within 17 degrees of the crosses the orbit of the earth. And for the mour nodes or points, where the moon in her course to be eclipsed, the earth must be between her and the sun, in a direct line, or she must be within 12 degrees of her nodes. In order to explain this more fully to our readers, we have presented them with a of the sun, earth, and moon, during a total or partial diagram of eclipses, showing the relative positions eclipse of the sun, and also during an eclipse of the moon, which we shall endeavour to describe.

the earth casting a large umbra and penumbra behind it, in which the moon is enveloped, and consequently appears dark when viewed from the earth.

Fig. 2, represents an eclipse of the moon, occasioned Fig. 1, represents the earth in her orbit, and revolving on her axis, with the sun shining full upon half by the coming in a direct line between the sun and of her globe-as shown by the part shaded light-moon, thereby preventing the sun shining upon her; and casting a shadow and penumbra behind her. The moon is also in her orbit, with the sun shining She is represented to be so full upon her surface. far above the nodes, or points where her orbit intersects the orbit of the earth, that she does not prevent the sun's rays from falling upon the earth, but casts her shadow and penumbra quite in another direction; and only a portion of her disk appears illuminated,

Fig. 3, represents what is generally termed an eclipse of the sun, but what is in fact an eclipse of the earth; and, in order to explain this more correctly, we are supposed to be observing the same from a point on the earth marked " total;" the sun shining upon that part of the surface of the moon which is

towards him but the moon being in a direct line | may be considered as fabulous, and not to be depended between the sun, and the point marked "total" on upon as little can be ascertained of the actual state the earth, intersects the sun's rays (as represented and position of our earth with respect to the heavenly by the lines passing to the sun), and prevents them bodies previous to the flood but by tradition and con falling on that part of the earth: consequently, an jecture, which are generally erroneous. The Indian observer standing there cannot see the sun; and the epoch of astronomy is said to be an eclipse, which sun is, as regards that part of the earth, totally took place so long as 3102 years before the Chriseclipsed. tian era: and Mr. Bailly, after considerable research and calculation, states, that a conjunction of the sun and moon did actually take place at that time, He also informs us, that the Indians at present calculate eclipses by the mean motion of the sun and moon, observed 5000 years since.

An observer standing on that part of the earth represented by the point marked "partial," would only see a partial eclipse; the moon not being in a direct line between that part and the sun, but merely preventing a portion of his rays from falling upon the earth, the observer would be prevented from seeing that portion of the sun obscured by the moon, as represented by the two lines drawn from the point "partial" to the sun; and consequently, it would be only a partial eclipse.

If the observer be supposed to be standing upon that part of the earth marked "no eclipse," and the moon remaining in the same position, he would see no eclipse, (although on the other parts of the earth marked "total" and "partial," the eclipse would be total and partial,) because the moon neither intersects the sun's rays, nor the observer's points of sight, as also shown by the lines running to the sun. Consequently the sun shines upon that part of the earth, the observer sees the whole of the sun, and there is no eclipse.

To the emperour Hong-ti, the grandson of Noah, the Chinese attribute the discovery of the Polestar, and the invention of the mariner's compass. Du Halde affirms, 36 eclipses are recorded by Confucius who lived 551 years before Christ; and P. Trigault, who went to China in 1619, and read more than 100 volumes of their Annals, states, "It is certain that the Chinese began to make astronomical observations soon after the flood; that they have observed a great number of eclipses, in which they have noted down the hour, day, month, and year when they happened, but neither the duration nor the quantity; and that these eclipses have been made use of, for regulating their chronology."

We are also informed by Du Halde, that in the province of Honan, and City Teng-foan, which is If the line of the nodes, like the axis of the earth, nearly in the middle of China, there is a tower, on was carried parallel to itself round the sun, there the top of which it is said that Tchaon-cong, the would be just half a year between the conjunction most skilful astronomer that ever China produced, of the sun and nodes; but the nodes shift back-made his observations. He lived 1200 years before wards, or contrary to the earth's annual motion 19 Ptolemy, or more than 1000 years before Christ, and degrees every year, and therefore the same node passed whole nights in observing the celestial bodies, comes round the sun nineteen days sooner every and arranging them into constellations. He had a year than before. Consequently from the time the very large brass table placed perfectly horizontal, on ascending node passes by the sun, as seen from the which was fixed a long upright plate of the same earth, it is only 173 days till the descending node metal, both of which were divided into degrees, and passes by him again; so that we may be sure that by these he marked the meridian altitudes; and from whenever we have an eclipse above either node, we them derived the times of the solstices, which were shall have another eclipse in 173 days. their principal epochs. The Abbe Grosier, in his description of China, states, that in Peking, there is an astronomical tribunal established, having an inspector, two presidents, one of them a Tartar, the other a Chinese, and a certain number of mandarins, who act as assessors; but for more than a century, the president has been an European, and two thirds of the pupils are maintained at the emperour's expense. The following ceremony takes place during eclipses :-A communication is made some months beforehand to the emperour, of the day and hour, as well as the direction in which it will appear. The eclipse is also calculated for the longitude or latitude of the capital city of every province in the celestial empire. These observations, and the diagram of the eclipse, are preserved by the tribunal of ceremonies, and another, called the Calao, by whom it is transmitted to the different provinces and cities of the empire. A few days before the eclipse, the tribunal causes to be fixed up on a publick place in large characters, the hour and minute when the eclipse will commence; the quarter of the heavens in which it will be visible, with other particulars. The mandarins are next summoned to appear in state at the Tribunal of Astronomy, and to wait there till the eclipse wi!! tak piace; and as soon as that begins, they throw themselves on their knees, knock their

By means of eclipses, the most common observer may be convinced of some very important facts. By the eclipses of the moon and sun we know that the moon passes round our earth; that from the time she is passing through the shadow of our earth she must be much smaller than our globe, and that her light is not her own, but borrowed from the sun; were it not so, she would continue to shine when passing through the earth's shadow, nor would she appear dark when between us and the sun; but we find, in proportion as she proceeds away from within 17 degrees of the nodes, she keeps increasing till her full.

Eclipses happen very frequently to the satellites of Jupiter, and are of great service in calculating the longitude of places on the earth. They also prove the motion of light not to be instantaneous, for when the earth is between the sun and Jupiter the eclipse of his satellites is found to be 8 minutes sooner than at other times; hence it takes 16 minutes of time to go through a space equal to the diameter of the earth's orbit, 180 millions of miles in length, and consequently the particles of light fly almost 200,000 miles every second of time.

We have various accounts of ancient astronomical observations and eclipses, many of which, however,

heads against the earth, and make a dreadful noise with drums and cymbals throughout the city: this ceremony is performed, with the superstitious idea of preventing the sun from being devoured by the celestial dragon. And, although the superstition is exploded, they still keep up the custom. While the mandarins are prostrate in the court, others on the observatory examine with great attention the commencement, middle, and ending of the eclipse, comparing what they observe with the figure and calculation given. They then write down their observations, seal them, and transmit them to the emperour, who meantime has also been observing the eclipse.

OF THE FOUR GREAT HISTORICAL AGES.

The four Great Historical Ages are those in which the arts were carried to perfection, and which, by serving as the era of the greatness of the human mind, are examples for posterity.

The first of these ages to which true glory is annexed, is that of Philip and Alexander, or more properly, that of a Pericles, a Demosthenes, an Aristotle, a Plato, an Apelles, a Phidias, and a Praxiteles; and this honour was confined within the limits of ancient Greece; the rest of the known world being then in a state of barbarism.

The second age is that of Cesar and Augustus (of Rome,) distinguished likewise by the names of Lucretius, Cicero, Titus Livius, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Varro, and Vitruvius.

under the Medicis, Augustus, and Alexander; but human reason, as regards philosophical inquiry, has been greatly improved.

It was in the present age that we first became acquainted with sound philosophy; and which has not only reanimated all Europe, which was languishing, but also the greater part of the world. This happy influence has latterly been chiefly confined to England.

Before the age of Lewis XIV., A. D. 1643, the Italians called all the people on this side the Alps by the general name of Barbarians.

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Italians were the only commercial people of Europe. Commerce began to spread itself towards the north of Europe about the end of the thirteenth century.

HISTORY.

History, in its most extensive sonse, signifiés a narrative of the most remarkable events that have happened in the world, arranged in the order of time in which they were transacted-an enumeration of the causes to which they may be attributed, and the effects which they may be said to have produced.

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History," says a celebrated modern writer, "is the exhibition of man, the display of human life, and the foundation of general knowledge. It expands the ideas, enlarges the mind, and eradicates those narrow and illiberal prejudices which dim and cor

The third age is that which followed the taking of Constantinople by Mahomet the 2d; when a fam-rupt the understanding." ily of private citizens was seen to do that which ought to have been undertaken by the monarchs of Europe

The Medicis invited to Florence all the learned who had been driven out of Greece by the Turks; this was the age of Italy's glory.

Here the polite arts soon recovered a new life. The Italians honoured them with the title of Virtu, as the first Greeks had distinguished them by the name of Wisdom.

Every thing now tended towards perfection; a Michael Angelo, a Raphael, a Titian, a Tasso, and an Ariosto flourished. The art of engraving was invented; elegant architecture appeared again as admirable as in the most triumphant ages of Rome; and the Gothick barbarism, which had. disfigured Europe, in every kind of production for a thousand years, was driven from Italy to make way for the arts, sciences, and good taste.

The arts, being again transplanted from Greece to Italy, were again cultivated there with great success. The Italians alone, for a long period, kept possession of every thing that was beautiful, except musick, which was then in a very rude state, and experimental philosophy, which was everywhere equally unknown.

The Last and Fourth Age, which includes the present period, is that known by the name of the Age of Lewis XIV. (of France), and is that which is considered to approach the nearest to perfection. Of all the four ages, the last being enriched by the discoveries of the three former, it has done more in many things than all those put together.

The arts in general, however, have not been carried much further in the fourth age, than they were

By the study of History we not only gratify a laudable curiosity respecting past events, but we draw the most interesting conclusions as it regards their causes and consequences. We may trace the progress of refinement, and the gradual advance from the rudeness of savage life to the elegances of the most exquisite luxury; from the garment of skins to the embroidered and jewelled robe; from the hut of bark, to the magnificent palace, with its rich furniture and pictures; from the undisciplined rabble, armed with clubs and stones, to the gallant army, drawn up in battle array, with banners waving, arms glittering, trumpets sounding, and its proud steeds pawing the ground with eagerness for combat.

A contemplative will likewise discover, from this study, the effect which the gradual progress of refinement has on the condition of the human species, by giving rise to commerce, which opens a communication between the most distant countries on the globe, and carries on an interchange of the commodities which each country respectively furnishes, and others need.

History likewise informs, or ought to inform us, of the rise and progress of regular government, and of laws, of societies, states, and empires; of the causes of their increase, prosperity and downfall or decay; of the conquests they have achieved, and the losses they have sustained by invaders; of their internal commotions, and the influence they have exerted on the morals, manners, and happiness of the people who have been the subject of them

Of History, there are several species:-1. Ecclesiastical History, or the History of the Church in all ages, which is important both in a religious and a political point of view.