fore leave the further consideration of the subject to the suggestions of those whose interests are more deeply connected with this important subject. These remarks, we admit, can never apply to the western section of the NewYork canal, supplied as it will be from an exhaustles source; but having descended into the valley of Seneca river, its course eastward lies over an elevation from whence it can only receive the superfluous waters of crecks or rivulets, which in future times may be less abundant than at present. The progress already made in the works is such as must be peculiarly gratifying to these who take an honourable pleasure in their prosecution, and the author of the work before us has, we believe, derived the following information from authentic sources. "In undertaking to open three or four hundred miles of canal, much previous preparation was necessary. The New-York Legislature made the first appropriation for this object, on the 15th April, 1817. The first contract was dated on the 27th June, 1817, although no labour was done until the following 4th of July. Even after the contracts were made, as the contractors found their own implements and tools, some time was requisite for proper arrangements. Owing therefore to the lateness of the season, and the great rains which inundated the country embracing that part of the canal route for which the contracts were made, the progress of the works were much retarded at the beginning. Fifteen miles of the distance were, however, finished the last season, and many new contracts made for the present year. Considerable suins of money were advanced to the contractors during the last winter, that they might be better enabled to purchase provisions, and prepare for the commencement of operations at the opening of the spring. Although the progress of the works last season was not astonishingly great, yet it should not escape reflection, that much important information was obtained by the engineers and commissioners. Some considerable saving in expense was also made. In the articles including tools and implements, in the canal estimates, there was a saving of $75,000. It was found that bridges could be erected for $350, instead of $500 each, which was the sum originally fixed upon in the calculations; and that grubbing and clearing uncleared land, could be done for $1200, instead of $1500 per mile. These deductions in the whole length of the canal, would create no inconsiderable deduction in the aggregate expenditures; and should the estimates hereafter be exceeded in other respects, here will be a counterbalance. "The canal works were resumed early the present season, and have been prosecuted with an energy and success that have transcended the highest expectations. Even the most ardent and sanguine have been disappointed. Every circumstance and result coincides with the former views and conclusions of the engineers and commissioners, excepting an unexpected ease and facility in advancing the stupendous design. The commissioners, very properly, have first undertaken the completion of the middle section; because the completion of this line, which communicates with the Mohawk, will afford immediate advantages on its being finished, and, of itself, would stand the greatest work of the kind in the new world, and rival the canal of Languedoc. More than two thousand men, with five hundred horses and cattle, are now vigorously employed on this part of the route. We feel warranted in asserting that the whole distance between Utica and Seneca river, making not far from ninety miles, will be completed the present season. We believe, that the 10th of December next, the period at which the present contracts are to be performed, will show to the world two hundred and thirty miles of navigation into the heart of our state, by means of this middle section and the Mohawk river; a channel of commercial intercourse that traverses one of the noblest countries on the face of the globe, cultivated by a people unsurpassed for enterprise, industry, and intelligence. This channel, too, will soon be crowded with merchandize, yield an annual revenue to the state, that will aid us in completing the remaining portion of the canal, and impart life and vigour to commerce, agricul ture, and manufactures. Then will the people begin to feel the effects of our policy. Then will they see the giant efforts of a single season, animating every species of labour, bringing the energies of the community into more active operation, and greatly enhancing the value of real estate. Another season will give the people an earnest of that unparalleled prosperity that awaits them. "The season, thus far, has been peculiarly favourable, and every opportunity is embraced to improve it. Experience now fully proves, that the magnitude of the distance over which the canal must pass, no longer presents any discouragement. Such is the favourable nature and quality of the soil, that on the middle section, for sixty miles, between Utica and Salina, not more than one half mile will want puddling; and even that this half mile will want it, is problematical. When we consider the expense of puddling in England and elsewhere, there is much cause to congratulate ourselves on this important fact. It has also been ascertained, by one or more of the engineers, that so few rocks and stones are found on the whole extent of the summit level, that $500 will be sufficient to remove every obstacle of the kind. "A fact worthy of much consideration has also been considered, respecting the ice in the canal, at the opening of the spring. That part of the western canal which was finished last year, was found to be free of ice some two or three weeks sooner than the waters of the Mohawk river, or those of lakes Oneida and Ontario. As this excited some degree of surprise, inquiries were made, touching the same fact as pertaining to other canals, and it was found to be generally, or perhaps universally the case. The Middlesex canal is found to be clear of ice ten days or two weeks sooner than rivers and large bodies of water in the vicinity. From the most accurate observations, made by one of the engineers, upon the general breaking up of the waters in the neighbourhood of the canal; he came to the conclusion, that we might uniformly expect that it would open every season, two or three weeks sooner than the contiguous bodies of water. This is owing to the numerous small springs which ooze through the sides of the canal, as well as to the warmth of the soil acting upon an extended and narrow surface of ice. "Another circumstance is worthy of observation. Those people who have made contracts and performed them, are generally anxious to enter into new ones. The commissioners state, in their report to the last session of the legislature, that many applications had been rejected on account of the great number received. One of the engineers has stated, that when a section is laid off and subject to contract, that the engineers are thronged with applications. In the village of Eldridge, where a distance of 15 miles was to be let out on contract, there were no less than 15 applicants for the job, each anxious to complete it. What could more satisfactorily prove, that while the expenses of the canal keep within the estimates of the commissioners, the people themselves grow rich by performing the labour? Every dollar paid out by the commissioners, goes into the pockets of the people, and is retained among ourselves. It is not paid to the European or to the East Indian manufacturer, to swell the history of our luxuries; but it is merely a cir culation of capital in our own community, that enriches individuals, and, through their enterprise, increases the wealth of the state. "It may afford satisfaction to observe, that the work thus far, has been faithfully performed under the immediate eye of the engineers. No contracts are paid until the works are carefully inspected, and found unexceptionable in point of execution. Some one of the engineers travels the line under contract, from one extremity to the other, giving advice and correcting errors. Great credit is due to them for their fidelity, their talents, and their unwearied applica tion. "Ten years were first allotted as the period necessary for connecting the Hudson with the Lakes. Less than eighteen months from the commencement of the works, will show us more than one-fourth of the whole western canal in a finished state, if the present season continues favourable. Mr. Briggs has already, we are informed, began to lay off the eastern section, including the line from Albany to the middle section; and no doubt remains, but that long before the time shall have expired, which by many was once deemed necessary to complete the middle section alone, our hardy yeomanry will have finished both the eastern and middle seetions, and show us their excavations and embankments beyond the waters of the Genesee, and thus finishing the last link in this mighty chain of inland navigation." In conclusion the author (who we understand is Mr. James Talmadge, jun.) gives a pleasing epitome of the history of canaling, from the earliest periods of history to the present day, and, by plausible comparisons, infers the illustrious success of the project in hand. It remains for us to say, that in our judgment, the author has displayed his subject in a style equally creditable to his talents as a man of literary attainments and political abilities; and if in some instances his zeal in the cause has led him (as it undoubtedly has) beyond the sober deductions of authorized reasonings, still must we view his efforts with peculiar satisfaction, and take pleasure in recommending the perusal of the work, not only to the inhabitants of this particular state, but the nation at large. C. A. B. The following are a series of questions put, on a particular occasion, by the Reviewer, to the engineer of the Grand Junction Canal, England, about four years since, with his answers; they are subjoined, not as having any immediate connexion with Mr. Talmadge's work, but merely as illustrative of some ci cumstances relating to canals, the knowledge of which may be both interesting and useful. 1st. What is the greatest rise in the course of one night that has been known to occur in any level of the Grand Junction Canal, and from what cause? Answer. or 12 inches, and from rain. d. What is the greatest difference in rise, in the course of 2 hours, that has been known to occur between two contiguous levels of the same canal? To explain what is meant by difference of rise, suppose one of two contiguous levels rise 10 inches, while the other rises only 7 inches, then 3 inches would be the dif ference in rise. Answer. Greatest difference from rain only, 10 or 12 inches, but in short pounds the difference may be (from cross lockages) 24 inches, the upper level being drawn down 12 inches, and the lower raised 12 inches. 3d. Whenever a considerable difference of rise takes place in a short time between two contiguous levels of the canal, is it not always in that place where a long level joins a short one, and that the short level has risen more than the long one? Answer. Yes-and the short levels vary most. 4th. Are there not waste weirs to prevent the accumulation of water above certain levels? Answer. Certainly there are. 5th. Would not the canal be always full to the level of the waste weirs, were it not for losses by lockage, leakage, soakage, evaporation, and the occasional supply of mills? Answer. Certainly, excepting accidents to the banks, &c. 6th. Whenever the waters of the canal are at any considerable distance below the level of the waste wiers, has not the depression proceeded principally from lockage? Answer. From lockage, and common practical imperfections of the locks. 7th. Whenever it happens that a mill is supplied from the canal, is not the supply always drawn from the longest level possible? Answered in the next. 8th. Does it ever happen that a mill, or any works of that nature, are supplied from a very short level of the canal? Answer. The existence of mills supplied from canals, being always antecedent to that of the canals themselves, the supply must be taken from that level best suited to the mill-head, without reference to the extent of the level. 9th. If it were possible to prevent the loss of 7-8ths of the water now lost in lockage, would the levels ever be drawn near so low beneath the waste weirs as they now unavoidably are? And, under those circumstances, would not the fluctuations of the levels be very considerably reduced? Answer. The levels would certainly not be drawn so low by lockage, and the fluctuations would in course be reduced, so far as lockage was con cerned. 10th. Are not the rises of the water often rapid, and what rise in 12 hours is considered rapid? Answer. Yes-sometimes 10 or 12 inches in 12 hours, but most frequently 6 or 7 inches. 11th. Are not the depressions of the waters of the canal always gradual? And in how long a time would the water fall 6 inches in a dry season? Answer. Yesmore gradual than the rise-but the time is very various. 12th. Has a boisterous wind, independent of rain, any considerable effect upon the water of a long level? What inclination will it produce in a given line, and in what time? Answer. The inclination has been known to be 1 1-2 inches in a mile, but that was an extreme case, and the wind long continued. 13th. If the inclination be 6 inches, or any other given measure, will it not be divided between a rise of 3 inches at one extremity, and a 3 inches fall at the other extremity? Answer. Yes-except such variation as may be produced by the shelving obliquity of the banks. 14th. Does a violent wind produce any sensible inclination of the surface o short level? Answer. Has not been observed. ART. 3. Samor, Lord of the Bright City. An Heroic Poem. By the Rev. H. H. MILMAN, Fellow of Brazenose College, Oxford, and Vicar of St. Mary's, Reading. 18mo. New-York. C. Wiley & Co. TW we HE time is fast coming on, we think, again come forth to the eyes of his worshippers arrayed in his native beauty and grandeur, such as he shone in the days in Spencer, Milton, and Dryden -not trailing his wing on the earth in the vain endeavour to bear un to a higher region the dull and heavy efforts of the feeble votaries that approached his shrine after the nobler spirits among whom we should assuredly reckon Pope-had departed; nor forced away from his lofty and mag 1818. course the an die nificent course by the extravagant ambi not mean to say that the period which elapsed between the decease of Pope and the rising of Moore, Scott, Byron, Wordsworth, &c. was wholly unillumined by rays of poetic light, or that the talents of those eminent and enchanting writers are not of an order to move and take captive the minds and hearts of all who have intellect to be kindled, or affections to be awakened. The effusions of Goldsmith, and the productions of that astonishing youth 1818. Chatterton, shed a permanent and beautiful lustre on a period otherwise deficient in the sublime and exquisite-at least, so far as poetry is concerned in the question-while the last twenty years have seen the budding forth and rich blossoming of talents unquestionably more abundant, if not in some respects of a higher order, with the exception of two or three illustrious names, than those which adorned the brightest periods of English poetry preceding their appearance. The delicious softness and melody of Moore the vivid and romantic genius of Scottthe contemplative muse of Wordsworththe fine blending of the sweetest and softest poetry with the spirit of philosophical musing and analyzation which characterises that wild but most attractive composition-the Childe Haroldhave diffused over our own times a brilliancy varied and enchanting as that of the rainbow, nor would we wish to exclude even the apostate laureate from his share, dimmed though it be by the vapours of a night blacker than that of Erebus, of the glory which plays around the brows of that illustrious brotherhoodnor should we be doing justice to the feelings of his admirers or our own, were we not to mention, in terms of high honour and respect, the exalted and exquisitely-cultivated genius to whom we owe the Pleasures of Hope, and that delightful poetical romance, Gertrude of Wyoming,-besides these more eminent names, we might bring forth a crowd of minor writers, whose abilities, in a less prolific age, would have shone with no contemptible lustre, and whose productions, even now, may be mentioned with commendation, as contributing to that mass of radiance which lights up and fills the poétical horizon of the nineteenth century, and from the centre of which the more splendid and majestic orbs send forth their unwavering and enduring beams.-Yet, ready as we are to allow that the poetry of the times in which we live evinces powers of a very striking and captivating kind, and are forward to acknowledge that over the lyrics of Moore, the border tales of Scott, the haughty verse of Byron, the mild magnificence of Wordsworth, the wonders of Thalaba, and the supernatural prodigies of Kehama, the visions-alas, that they should be only visions!-of Hope, and the domestic blessedness of Wyoming, we have spent many a long and delightful night-and felt the witchery of the genius that engendered those beautiful compositions 436 steal through our hearts, and transport us The production now before our tribunal, and whose extraordinary merits have given occasion to the remarks with which we have thought proper to commence this article, is the work of a gentleman whose compositions, though we believe they have not yet reached this country, had previously procured him a high rank among the poets of England. The first of these, in point of time, was the "JuDICIUM REGALE," an effusion intended to celebrate the success of the allied armies in 1814, and though with the political opinions there developed we might have good reason to quarrel, we should be acting with palpable injustice to the author were we to withhold our praise from the many finely conceived and energetic passages with which it abounds. The subject, to be sure, is curious, and contrasting the reality with the fiction, it-yes, it actually is a little difficult to refrain from smiling. Napoleon deserted by the generals to whom he confided the defence of his metropolis, and the allies at Paris, it struck Mr. Milman that it would be a very fine thing to represent the allied monarchs as sitting in judgment on their late potent but now unfortunate brother of France.-So to work he goes, and having settled with himself that it was not possible to represent the rulers of Russia, Austria, &c. &c. as too good, gracious, and philanthropic, or that any colours his imagination could supply would be too dark and atrocious for the character of the emperor, he assembles in high conclave all the royal "virtues" of Europe-" thrones, dominations, princedoms, and powers"--we forget whether that pattern for princes, Ferdinand of Spain, is included, and cannot be positive as to that ton of king, Louis, any more than we are certain as to the presence of his classical majesty of Naples-but then there is that genteel and smooth-lipped gentleman, Alexander of Russia, and that second Aurelius, the philosophical emperor of Austria, and that modern Cato, the king of Prussia, and the royal stoic of the "Netherlands," as it has pleased the deliverers to denominate Holland and Bel * This personage, in the beginning of the French Revolution, was conversing one day with a gentleman of his court, and expressing his fears for the safety of Louis XVI. The courtier reminded his majesty of the decapitation of Charles the first of England-when the king observed that "he must be mistaken-that the English were too good and loyal a people to send their sovereign to the scaffold, and that it was altogether a tale trumped up by the jacobins at Paris to serve their wicked purposes." gium, with some few more worthies of equal merit. To the bar of this sage and virtuous synod, is Napoleon, through the ministration of Mr. Milman, led to answer before "the sceptred of the world" the accusations preferred against him, through the same organ, by the nations of Europe. That Mr. Milman has managed his subject with considerable ability and effect, it is by no means our intention to deny, and viewing it solely as the effort of imagination, we do not scruple to say that, though it is not wholly free from blemishes, it evinces a strength of talent and vividness of conception that promised those richer fruits which have at length appeared in the work now under consi. deration. The passa e immediately ensuing the assembling of the tribunal, and the congregation of the European people, is marked by features of a grand and striking description. "Abroad were sounds as of a storm gone past, Of plain, or mountain, listening sate, and lone, Each nation to those crowned peers' decree, And this wide world of restless beings rude, Lay mute and breathless as a summer's sea." There is also in the character of Napoleon, such as it has pleased the author to pourtray it, a power and liveliness of painting that we could have wished to have seen displayed with some greater regard to the truth of circumstances. Viewed as a delineation of the imperial exile, we do not hesitate to pronounce it a libel-as a portrait evidently drawn with the spirit and zeal of a partisan, and failing in every resemblance of the original. Napoleon had faults-great faults-but a want of fortitude, and selfabandonment of that regal and overawing demeanour which subdued the minds of his enemies, after his sword had vanquished their armies, were not among them-and while we wish to do justice to the poetical talents of Mr. Milman, and are willing to accord his description of the ex-emperor every praise but that of verity, we are at the same time compelled to say that it is somewhat ridiculous to exhibit the Victor of Lodi-Marengo Austerlitz-and Jena-as trembling in the presence of individuals whom so short a period before that in which the present scene is supposed to have taken place, he had behield striving to excel each other in the base work of flattery to him who had shaken the very thrones on |