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ral food, the knowledge of important truth; and the imagination, with all that in nature or in art is beautiful, sublime, and wonderful: for the orator's field is the universe, and his subjects are all that is known of God and his works.

"In a finished speaker, therefore, whatever there is of corporeal dignity or beauty....the majesty of the "human face divine," the grace of action, the piercing glance, the gentle languish, the fiery flash of the eye; whatever of lively passion or striking emotion of mind; whatever of fine imagination, of wise reflection, or irresistible reasoning; whatever of the sublime and beautiful in human nature; all that the hand of the Creator has impressed of his own image, upon the noblest creature we are acquainted with.... all this appears to the highest advantage. And whoever is proof against such a display of real excellence and dignity in the human character, must be void of sensibility, of taste, and of understanding."

"Such are th' effects of action, in

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ing branches of science. Its excellence arises from its contributing equally to promote knowledge, cultivate moral habits, and implant sentiments of rational piety. Its chief effect is to introduce man to an acquaintance with himself and the various objects of nature around him. But its influence over him does not terminate here. It irresistibly directs the powers of his mind to contemplate, and the affections of his heart to adore the Creator and Governor of the universe, the inexhaustible source of wisdom, of virtue, and of happiness.

"Natural History, in its most extensive signification, denotes a knowledge and description of the material universe; but in its more limited and familiar sense, extends only to the construction of the earth, its productions, inhabitants, and the atmosphere which surrounds it. It treats of those substances of which the earth is composed, and of those organized bodies, whether vegetable or animal, which adorn its surface, which rise into the air, or live in the bosom of the waters. But as a science so various

and comprehensive, could not possibly be discussed within the narrow limits of this manual, it is proposed to give a general view of the subject, and merely to delineate, in a summary manner, whatever curious, worthy to be known, or not obvious to every observer, occurs in the three kingdoms of nature. Or in other words, a brief, though comprehensive view of that all-wise disposition of the Creator, in relation to natural things, by which they and reciprocal uses. For though are fitted to produce general ends, we see the greatness of the Deity in all the seeming worlds which surround us, it is our chief concern to trace him in that which we inhabit; the examination of the earth, and its wonderful productions, being the proper business of the natural historian.

"It is necessary, therefore, here to remark, that this Compend is mtended only to awaken curiosity in

the youthful mind, by a display of a few striking objects; not to gratify the fulness of its wishes. From the extensive nature of the subject, and the necessary conciseness of such a summary, we are compelled to generalize, rather than enumerate, and to exhibit only such prominent features as may best serve to stimulate farther examination; at the same time endeavouring to condense as much information as can possibly be contained within so restricted a boundary.

"All the sciences are, in some measure, linked with each other; and before the one is ended, the other begins. In a natural history, therefore, of the earth, we must begin with a short account of its situation and form, as given us by astronomers and geographers; it will be sufficient, however, upon this occasion, just to hint to the imagination what they, by a train of elaborate and abstract reasonings, have forced upon the understanding.

"The earth, which we inhabit, is one of those bodies which circulate in our solar system: it is placed at a middle distance from the Sun, which is the center of that system; not so remote from it as the Georgium Sidus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars, and yet less parched by its rays than Venus or Mercury, which are situated so near the violence of its power.

"Besides that motion which the earth has round the Sun, the circuit of which is performed in a year, it has another upon its own axis, which it performs in twenty-four hours. From the first of these arises the grateful vicissitude of the seasons; from the second day and night.

"Human invention has been exercised fer several ages, to account for the various irregularities of the earth, and various have been the speculations of philosophers respecting it: but our attention is now to be directed to the earth and its productions, as we find them; not to the reveries and reasonings of opposing theorists, concerning the causes of those productions; that

being the province, not of natural history, but of natural philosophy."

He then proceeds to treat separately of Meteorology....of the Elements....Fire....Water.... Common Water.....Sea Water......Mineral Waters....He considers the Three Kingdoms of Nature.... The Mineral Kingdom, which consists of four classes; 1 Earths and Stones; 2 Salts; 3 Inflammables; 4 Metallic Substances or Ores....The Vegetable Kingdom....The Animal Kingdom with its various classes....He then proceeds to consider the nature of instinct in animals, and in the Conclusion of his work gives rapid portraits of some of the different races of men, and offers some properties which may be considered as forming a criterion to distinguish between animals, vegetables, and minerals.

"The present fashionable mode of blending the vegetable with the animal creation, and the rational with the irrational classes of the latter, by referring every impulse in human nature to a particular instinct as its ultimate cause, is a theory hurtful to science, and dangerous to morals; tending directly to materialism, and consequently to the degradation and extinction of Christianity, the only true source of consolation and of happiness to a virtuous and well disposed mind.

"In contemplating that portion of the great scale of creation which is subjected to our inspection, Man is unquestionably the chief or capital link, from whom all the other links descend by almost impercep tible gradations: and as head of the animal kingdom, while all the inferior orders are solely intent on the gratification of the senses, or are conducted to the performance of certain duties by blind instinct, unconscious of the wonders which surround them, it is his glory and prerogative to be gifted with an ability of extending his views beyond his own insulated existence, of examining the relations and dependencies of things, and of contemplating the vast universe of being. As a highly

rational animal, improved with science and arts, he is in some measure related to beings of a superior order, having been originally made "but a little lower than the angels." "Though there cannot be a doubt but that all mankind, however disseminated over the globe, sprang from one parent stock; yet the influence of climate, civilization, and government, has created great and sensible diversities in colour, form, and stature. These broad lines of distinction, it is the business of the naturalist to remark, and of the philosopher to explain.

"In taking an extensive view of our species, there does not appear to be above five or six varieties, sufficiently distinct to constitute families; and in them the distinctions are more trivial than is frequently seen in the lower classes of animals. In all climates, man preserves the erect deportment, and the natural superiority of his form. There is nothing in his shape or faculties that designates a different original; and other causes connected with the climate, soil, habits, customs, laws, &c. sufficiently account for the varieties which exist among them.

"The Polar regions exhibit the first distinct race of men. The Laplanders, the Esquimaux Indians, the Samoied Tartars, the inhabitants of Nova Zembla, the Greenlanders, and the Kamtschadales, may be considered as forming a race of people, all nearly resembling each other in stature, complexion, habits, and acquirements. Born under a rigorous climate, confined to particular aliments, and subjected to numerous hardships, it seems as if their bodies and their minds have not had scope to expand. The extreme cold has produced nearly the same effect on their complexions, as intense heat has on the natives of the tropical regions: they are generally of a deep brown, inclining to black. Diminutive and ill shaped, their aspects are as forbidding,as their manners are barbarous. Their visage

large and broad, the nose flat and

short, the eyes brown suffused with yellow, the eyelids drawn towards the temples, the cheek-bones high, the lips thick, the voice effeminate, the head large, and the hair black and straight. The tallest do not exceed the height of five feet, and many not more than four. Among these nations feminine beauty is almost unknown; and little difference is to be discerned in the external appearance of the sexes. In proportion as we approach the north pole, mankind seems to dwindle in energy and importance of charac ter, till we reach those high latitudes that forbid rational, if not animal life. The gradations, however, vary almost imperceptibly; but on the southern borders we find people of a large stature and more noble form, which, compared with those of the more northern, exhibit a striking contrast, and prove the omnipotent influence of climate on whatever breathes and lives.

"The second great existing variety in the human species, seems to be the Tartar race, whence it is probable that the natives of the hyperborean regions sprung. The Tartar country, in its common acceptation, comprehends a very considerable part of Asia, and consequently is peopled by natives of very different forms and complexions; yet there are leading traits of distinction between the whole race, and the people of any other country. They all have the upper part of the visage very broad, and early wrinkled; the lower narrow, and approaching to a point at the chin; their eyes are small and wide apart, their noses short and flat, their cheek-bones high, the eye-brows thick, the hair black, and the complexion olive. In general they are of the middle stature, strong, robust and healthy.

"The Calmucs in particular, are, according to our ideas of beauty, not only ugly, but frightful.

"Different as the Chinese and Japanese are in their manners and customs, they are evidently of Tartar origin. The general contour of

features is the same, and the variations in complexion, stature, and observances, may be satisfactorily explained from the principles of climate, food, and political institutions. To the class of original Tartars may be referred the Cochin Chinese, the Siamese, the Tonquinese, and the natives of Aracan, Laos, and Pegu; which all evince a common origin.

"The southern Asiatics constitute the third variety in the human species. In stature and features they bear a strong resemblance to the Europeans; they are slender and elegantly formed, have long straight black hair, and not unfrequently Roman noses. Their colour, however, according to the diversity of the climate, assumes different shades, from pale olive to black. The Persians and Arabians may be referred to this class; which, including the inhabitants of the widely dispersed islands in the oriental ocean, constitutes a very large mass of mankind.

The negroes of Africa form a well defined and striking variety of our species, which may be called the fourth. This sable race is extended over all the southern parts of Africa: and though there are various shades of distinction in point of colour and features, all may be grouped with propriety in the same picture. As among Europeans we find some handsomer than others; all, however, have the black colour, the velvet, smooth skin, and the soft frizzled hair. Their eyes are generally of a deep hazle, their noses flat and short, their lips thick and prominent, and their teeth of ivory whiteness.

We shall find the fifth variety of the human species among the Aboriginal Americans, who are as distinct in colour, as in their place of residence or habitation, from the rest of the world. These people, except towards the north, among the Esquimaux, where they resem

ble the Laplanders, are of a red or copper colour, with less variation, however, than might be expected in such a diversity of climates. They have all black, straight hair, and thin beards, which they take care to extirpate in whole or in part, flat noses, high cheek-bones, and small eyes. Various deformities are created by art, among different tribes, under the idea of beauty; and for this purpose they paint the body and face, in a manner truly hideous, if scanned according to the standard of European regularity.

"The sixth and last grand division of the human race, and the most elevated in the scale of being, comprehends the Europeans and those of European origin. Among whom may be classed the Georgians, Circassians, and Mingrillians, the natives of Asia Minor, and the northern parts of Africa, together with parts of those countries which lie north of the Caspian Sea. The inhabitants of countries so extensive

and so widely separated, must be expected to vary a good deal from each other; but in general there is a striking uniformity in the fairness of their complexions, the beauty and proportion of their limbs, and the extent of their capacity.

"To some one of the classes alrea

dy enumerated, the people of every country may be referred. It is easy to perceive that of all the colours by which mankind is diversified, white is not only the most beautiful, but also the most expressive. The fair complexion becomes like a transparent veil to the soul, through which every shade of passion, every change of health, may be seen without the necessity of oral utterance; whereas, in the African black, and the Arabian olive complexion, the countenance is found a much less distinct index of the mind. With regard to stature, it wholly depends on climate, food, and other local

causes.

"The European figure and complexion, may justly be considered as the standards, to which all the other varieties must be referred, or with which they may be compared. In proportion as other nations approach nearer to European beauty, the less they may be said to have degenerated; and in proportion as they recede, the farther they have deviated from that original form impressed on them by their great Creator."

We conclude this Review, by recommending these Compends and an excellent Compend of Logic, written by the Reverend Dr. Andrews, Vice Provost of the University of Pennsylvania, to the attention of the schools in the United States.

When the works of our countrymen discover talents and information, the feelings of every scholar and of every patriot should wish to see them meet proportionable encouragement, instead of being ranked below European productions of inferior merit.

For the Literary Magazine.

formed of the talents of D'Israeli. The Narrative Poems are entitled, "The Carder and the Carrier".... "A Tale addressed to a Sybarite." All of these poems are exemplifications of the passion of love....their plans are extremely simple, and such as do not afford great interest in narration....they are however told very poetically. The first narrative describes an affection which subsisted between two persons in an humble station in life.... their intercourse and their conversation....and their innocent sport in the garden, by which one of the lovers was deprived of life. The narrative continues to unfold the suspicion which was fixed on the surviving maid, as the destroyer of her lover Pasquil, her accusation, and her condemnation. It closes with the following speech of the maid to her accusers, and the account of her death....

"Too well we lov'd in separate life

to grieve,

Or live a day when Love has ceased to live.

Born in Desire and nursed by chaste

Delight,

Our infant Love the stranger eye would fright;

fly,

Narrative Poems, by J. d'Israeli; The child of Solitude and Fear would published by John Conrad & Co. Philadelphia....T. & G. Palmer, printers....p. p. 63.

FROM several of the prosaical works of D'Israeli, we have received pleasure and instruction. He is a writer who discovers an uncommon store of anecdote, who riots in the luxuries of literature, and leaves the more profound researches to minds more patient and inquiring. It is probably well known, that to him we are indebted for Curiosities of Literature, Varieties of Literature, Literary Amuse ments, a volume of Miscellanies, a Sketch of the Times, an Essay on the Literary Character, and the luxuriant and pathetic Tale of Mejnoun. The poems under consideration, will not detract from the favourable opinion which we have

Nor to the world would trust its in

fancy.

Think not, ye Rich! in Poverty's rude We feel no rapture from a heart that's sphere

dear;

Think not, ye Delicate! we take no

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