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boiling water. In general, he found that vegetation commenced soonest when the decoction of flowers is used, and latest when that of roots.

A method has been discovered by Mr. Turner, near Vauxhall, of fabricating very elegant and splendid embellishments for ball rooms, supper-rooms, pillars, temples, &c. by a composition, to which the Society for the Encouragement of Arts have attached the name o Imitative Scenite Granite. It is capable of being applied either on wainscotting or bare walls, or on walls already papered, and while it may be made to resemble the most beautiful marble or granite, particularly when assisted by lights, its charge does not exceed that of other ornamental painting or papering.

The Rev. G. S. Faber so well known in the literary world by his various works on the prophecies, has nearly finished for the press a work intended to form three to volumes, under the title of the Origin of Pagan Idolatry, ascertained from historical testimony and circumstantial evidence. It is announced by subscription.

The Rev. John Owen, gratuitous secretary to the British and Foreign Bible So ciety, proposes to publish, by subscription, in two vols. 8vo. The History of the Origin, Progress, and Present State of that Institution.

Mr. Sinine, a native of Russia, and author of the interesting account of the death of the lamented Moreau, has in the press a work entitled Sketches in Russia, containing fifteen engravings, chiefly illustrative of scenery and manners, including portraits of the Emperor Alexander, and the empress, from paintings very recently executed, and accompanied with original descriptions and anecdotes.

Mr. Sharon Turner is printing the first volume of his History of England. This will extend from the Roman conquest to the reign of Edward the Third, and com prise also the literary history of England during the san e period. It is composed, like his History of the Anglo-Saxons, from original and authentie documents, and will be published in December.

A voyage to the Isle of Elba, from the French of Mr. Arsenne Thiebaut de Berneaud is in the press. It embraces a general view, not only of the geography and geology, but also of the natural history antiquities, topography, agriculture, and commerce, and of the manners and habits of the population It will be accompa.. nied by an accurate map, laid down from actual observation; and is, in every particular, calculated to gratify the public curiosity concerning an island to which recent events have given such extraordinary interest.

The Ballantynes of Edinburgh have nearly completed Mr. Southey's poem of Roderick, the Last of the Goths.

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Method of preserving vaccine matter.-The invention of Mr Formann in genious manufacturer upon the Wear, near Sunderland. It is in the for small glass ball with a tube issuing from it, very similar to a cracker, as it is red, which mischievous boys put into candles to cause an explosion. The pustule from which the virus is to be taken being punctured by a lancet in the usual manner, the small ball or bulb is to be heated at a candle so as to rarify the air within it, and after it is sufficiently warmed the end of the little tube is to be inserted where the laneet had made the puncture, and the virus will immediately be taken up, so as to fill the bulb. The end of the tube is now to be hermetically sealed by means of a common blow-pipe at the flame of the candle, which is a very simple process; and thus the virus may be preserved for any length of time, and sent to any distance. If for immediate use, the tube need not be sealed, but may be secured in any convenient manner. Any requisite number of these balls may be employed, and it is proper to remark that the virus is never heated much above blood heat.

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Travels in the Interior of Brazil, particularly in the Gold and Diamond Districts of that Country, by authority of the Prince Regent of Portugal; including a voyage to the Rio de la Plata, and an historical sketch of the Revolution of Buenos Ayres. Illustrated with engravings. By John Mawe, author of "The Mineralogy of Derbyshire.' 4to. pp. 366. 1812.

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[From the Monthly Review.]

ALMOST all narratives of travels are interesting, either as conveying amusement to the general reader, or as affording instruction to the man of science and the philosopher. In course, their interest will vary with the novelty or the importance of the district described, and with the intelligence and the enterprise of the traveller; but temporary circumstances often confer additional zest on the pursuit after information respecting particular regions. The country of Brazil may be said to possess at present a share of this contingent importance, in aid of its own natural recommendations as an object of curiosity, and of the consideration that the knowledge which we have hitherto gained of its interior is very imperfect. We are glad, therefore, to announce the volume before us, which in some respects VOL. IV. New Series. 45

prefers but modest claims to distinction, but which in others, may be said to have sterling merit. It is the production of a traveller who neither lays claim to learning, nor boasts of intimacy with the great, but who went abroad for objects of personal utility, and gives the result of his observations in plain and unadorned language. In the year 1804, Mr. Mawe sailed from Spain to the Rio de la Plata, on a commercial speculation: but his ship and cargo were seized at Monte Video, in consequence, partly, of that antipathy which our recent capture of the Spanish frigates had excited against the name of Englishmen, and partly, through the treachery of certain individuals, who were interested in the confiscation. He was restored to liberty on the taking of Monte Video by Sir Samuel Auchmuty; and, sometime afterward, he was enabled to proceed to Brazil with an introduction to the Portuguese ministry from the Portuguese ambassador in London. This introduction intimated that Mr. Mawe was attached to mineralogical pursuits, and was desirous of exploring the ample field for investigation, which was afforded by the interior of Brazil. He delivered his letters of credence at a moment in which an Englishman could scarcely fail to obtain any reasonable request; viz. on the arrival of the court of Portugal in their western capital, under the protection of a British squadron. Mr. M. had accordingly the satisfaction of receiving recommendations to the public functionaries in the inland stations, with an order for escorts through those districts in which they were necessary. He was thus the first Englishman, perhaps the first foreigner, who visited the interior of Brazil with the sanction of government.

The course of Mr. Mawe's peregrinations would have been rendered considerably clearer by a map on a larger scale than that which he has given; and this defect is the more to be regretted from our unacquaintance with the inland geography of Brazil. To afford our readers an idea of the direction of the author's inland expeditions, it may be well to fix the attention on the situation of Rio de Janeiro in lat 22° 54", and to divide his travelling inte three journeys; one, above one hundred miles N. E. of Rio, to a place called Canto Gallo; another, more than twice the distance, W. by N. of Rio, to the town of St. Paul's; and a third, considerably longer still, in a direction almost due north, through the country of the gold and diamond mines. These journeys are exclusive of his travels on the Spanish territory from Monte Video to Buenos Ayres; a tract of country which is already familiar to most general readers. We shall, therefore, pass over that part of the book which relates to it, as well as the description of the town of Rio de Janeiro, and direct our observations chiefly to the interior of Brazil. To begin with the manners of the Brazilians : One of the first towns visited by Mr. Mawe was St. Paul's, an in

land place situated above two hundred miles westward of Rio de Janeiro. This being comparatively an old settlement, the inhabitants consider themselves as not a little superior to their fellow-subjects of the neighbouring towns.

"Our appearance at St. Paul's excited considerable curiosity among all descriptions of people, who seemed by their manner never to have seen Englishmen before. Many of the good citizens invited us to their houses, and sent for their friends to come aud look at us. It was gratifying to us to perceive that this general wonder subsided into a more social feeeling; we met with civil treatment everywhere, and were frequently invited to dine with the inhabitants. At the public parties and balls of the governor we found both novelty and pleasure; novelty at being much more liberally received than we were in the Spanish settlements, and pleasure at being in much more refined and polished company.

"The dress of the ladies abroad, and especially at church, consists of a garment of black silk, with a long veil of the same material, trimmed with broad lace; in the cooler season, black cassimere or baize. At table they are extremely abstemious; their favourite amusement is dancing, in which they display much vivacity and grace. At balls and other public festivals they generally appear in elegant white dresses, with a profusion of gold chains about their necks, their hair tastefully disposed and fastened with combs. Their conversation, at all times sprightly, seems to derive additional life from music. Indeed, the whole range of their education appears to be confined to superficial accomplishments; they trouble themselves very little with domestic con. cerns, confiding whatever relates to the inferior departments of the household to the negro or negra cook, and leaving all other matters to the management of servants. Owing to this indifference, they are total strangers to the advantages of that order, neatness, and propriety, which reign in an English family; their time at home is mostly occupied in sewing, embroidery, and lace making. Another circumstance repugnant to delicacy, is, that they have no mantua-makers of their own sex; all articles of female dress here are made by tailors. Aa almost universal debility prevails among them, which is partly attri butable to their abstemious living, but chiefly to want of exercise, and to the frequent warm bathings in which they indulge. They are extremely attentive to every means of improving the delicacy of their persons, perhaps to the injury of their health.

"The men in general, especially those of the higher rank, officers, and others, dress superbly; in company they are very polite and attentive, and show every disposition to oblige; they are great talkers, and prone to conviviality. The lower ranks, compared with those of other colonial towns, are in a very advanced state of civilization.

"We found very little difficulty in accommodating ourselves to the general mode of living at St. Paul's. The bread is pretty good, and the butter tolerable, but rarely used except with coffee for breakfast,

or tea in the evening. A more common breakfast is a very pleasant sort of beans, called feijones, boiled or mixed with mandioca. Din ner, which is usually served up at noon or before, commonly consiste of a quantity of greens boiled with a little fat pork or beef, a root of the potato kind, and a stewed fowl, with excellent salad, to which succeeds a great variety of delicious conserves and sweetmeats. Very little wine is taken at meals; the usual beverage is

water.

"I may here observe, that neither in St. Paul's, nor in any other place which I visited, did I witness any instance of that levity in the females of Brazil, which some writers allege to be the leading trait in their character."

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This detail is the more deserving of attention, because it is, in a great measure, applicable to the state of society in the larger city of Rio de Janeiro. The Portuguese are in general reserved in admitting a foreigner to their family parties: but when he is once received, they treat him with great openness and hospitality. Education is at almost as low an ebb in the capital as in St. Paul's: but several attempts at improvement have recently been made by the Prince Regent, of whom Mr. Mawe is disposed to speak in terms of great personal eulogy, while he admits that at his court most things are managed by intrigue. With regard to agriculture, we can scarcely conceive a country in a more backward state. The Prince Regent's farm, as it is called, is of the size of one of our average counties, and cultivated by fifteen hundred negroes, who are half starved in the midst of the richest resources. land under culture is covered with weeds, and the coffee planta tions are filled with wild shrubs, like a coppice wood. Such is the general condition of Portuguese Brazil, with partial exceptions in the neighbourhood of large towns. No soil can be more favourable to the growth of maize, beans, peas, and every species of pulse. Poultry are abundant and low-priced; and the cattle, notwithstanding continued neglect, are tolerably good, and sell on an average at 30s. each. The horses are very fine: but it is the custom of the country to prefer mules as beasts of burden. Goats of a large breed are sometimes found: but sheep are totally neglected, and mutton is rarely eaten. The diet of the inland settlers deserves to be mentioned: it consists generally of kidney-beans boiled and mixed with the flour of maize, for breakfast; for dinner, the same, boiled with pork; and for supper, boiled vegetables. Stewed fowls form likewise a variety at dinner; and fruits, particularly bananas and oranges, are used in great abundance.

"The half civilized Aborigines reside in the woods, in a most miserable condition; their dwellings, some of which I saw, are formed of

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