cipated by his comrades, when they witnessed the picture. Several of the officers accompanied Captain Parry to their huts, where they saw their women and children. The former, instructed by their husbands, who had learnt from the sailors on their visit to the ships the day before, ran out and shook hands with the strangers. There was one pretty looking girl of twelve or thirteen years of age. The children were horribly frightened, and roared lustily in spite of beads and toys. The whole number of natives was about twenty. They had probably seen or heard of Europeans before. No arms were observed among them; but one of the little boys had a miniature bow and arrow, which showed their acquaintance with this weapon. Taking leave of them about the end of the first week in September, the expedition steered homeward. The ships were separated by a tempest, and the Griper waited seven days for the Hecla at the rendezvous in Shetland; but the latter suffered so much damage, as to be compelled to steer directly for Leith. The Griper also was nearly lost off Sheerness. They are now both at Deptford. Among the curiosities which were imported by these adventurers from the Arctic regions, was the upper bone of a whale's head, which, on its arrival, being assessed by the custom-house officers, was for some time under sentence of being thrown into the Thames, in order to avoid the impost which had been levied on it. This singular curiosity derives its principal importance from the distance whence it was brought, and the manner in which it was found. It was taken by the Hecla from Melville Island, having been discovered about a mile from the shore, and about 50 feet above the level of the sea; when first seen, it was nearly imbedded in earth, where in all probability it had lain for several centuries. How it could have been conveyed to this strange situation, exhibits a problem that is not easily solved, unless we imagine that the island was originally under water, when it received this deposite, and that it was afterwards thrown up by some violent convulsion of nature. Its weight was so great, as to require seven men to convey it to the ship, and in the quarter | where it was discovered, no human means existed, through which it could 86 have been transferred to its inland situation. Another natural curiosity was, the head of the musk ox, which seemed to exhibit a model of strength. The bases of the horns were so broad, as to cover all the upper portion of the skull above the eyes, and in thickness they were several inches, having slight grooves to the bend of the horn. Of these animals, only three males were shot. These, when the spring had a little advanced, accompanied by some females and calves, appeared in small droves on Melville Island, which they reached on the ice from the American continent. The calves and the females were too shy to come within gunshot; and it was to their superior courage that the males fell victims. They continued to face the human strangers, with whose deadly weapons they were unacquainted, until they found themselves unable to retreat. The carcase of the largest weighed about seven hundred pounds, including skin and entrails! Of the mineral productions, many varieties were obtained from granite and gneiss, of the primitive, to sandstone and iron-stone of the second order. Several specimens of slate are among the number; also a reddish granite like that of Egypt, mica, grey limestone, marble, quartz, stinkstone, madrepores, and a sort of bituminous slaty coal, which burns with a flame like cannel coal when put to the candle. Of this latter substance, the voyagers found an abundance; but from its being mixed with slate, it was not calculated to burn alone, and therefore was of little use to them. The mouse of Barrow Sound, was not the common mouse of Europe, but a distinct species. It was of a dun colour in summer, but in winter it became white. This animal abounds on Melville Island, and it is supposed to form the principal part of the food of the wolf, during the severest season of the year, when all other provisions are scarce. The skin of the rein deer is clothed in winter with a fur nearly three inches in length. The colour is white, with a tawny tinge in some parts on the extremities. We have already noticed, that among the fowls and birds, the most beautiful was the king-duck. This bird is not only the pride of the Arctic regions, but decidedly the finest of 87 Poetry-Villager's Lay. the species to which it belongs, of any portion of the globe. The colours which variegate the head are equally superb and uncommon. The figures which they present, seem cut out of the most elegant velvet, which the feathers resembles, both in form and substance. A skinny membrane of a delicate lemon tint, ornaments the bill above; and all around, it is decorated with hues as brilliant as fancy can conceive in a painted bird. Among the vegetable productions, they found about thirty genera, which chiefly consisted of mosses, grasses, and flowers. Among the latter was the poppy, which grows to the height of seven or eight inches, and blossoms above the whitened surface, thus affording a criterion by which to judge of the general depth of the snow, and shedding a lonely enamel over the uniform desert. Another of the flowers resembles the cowslip, but its leaf is different. The lichens are various and beautiful. One of the grasses produces a seed containing a cotton-like substance. At the period when the sun had its greatest southern declination, from about half past 11. A. M. until nearly 1. P. M. there was a glimmering light, which indicated distant day in the south. By this glimmering light, they could read the small print in a prayer book. The moon was visible through the 24 hours, and shone with a degree of splendour resembling that which we enjoy in England, during a clear frosty night. Another expedition will be fitted out in the ensuing summer, and sanguine expectations are already entertained of its success. Should this be fortunate in the attainment of its object, the age in which we live will be rendered memorable in the records of science; and even if the obstacles to be encountered should ultimately prove insurmountable, the attempt will be remembered as a noble effort of maritime enterprise, and of British daring. THE VILLAGER'S LAY. Now day declines in majesty serene, 88 And rustic ev'ning sounds salute his ear. O ye who press the silken couch of ease, strife Not that the cottage life always prepares These left uncheck'd, or suffer'd to increase, On thy dear lap, O Britain! first I drew birth, I've own'd no narrower heritage than earth: Cradled in tenderness, and nurs'd in love,- Of woman born, who hath not felt the same? Ah, sweet endearment of a Mother's name! swim Unreck on'd-thankless-unreturn'd by him! When partial fondness once upon him smil'd, I was a timid one, when life was green, Who hath not realiz'd the Poet's dream, Love's first illusion-Fancy's first-born theme? Who hath not hop'd, whate'er the mind imbued, The love of fame-wine-wealth-a solitudeWhen buoyant youth should sink to calmer bliss, That happiness might seal the nuptial kiss; Thus Fancy pictur'd the delightful day, While on the hour with summer sunbeams gilt, As youthful suckers clasp the parent vine; End of Canto Ninth. LINES The gewgaws of the present scene, Oh! grasp with ardent, fierce desire, And to your native skies aspire, And take all heav'n by storm; To hidden scenes divinely bright, Thro' boist rous seas, thro' troubled waves, Wherefore let time, its toils and pain, I'll count the world as dross; 90 OF AN ADDRESS TO THE EVENING STAR, From the Songs of Selma, in the second volume of Ossian's Poems. HAIL! fairest star of the descending night! Now from the west thou shew'st thy beaming From pitchy clouds thou wav'st thy radiant light, head; Thy march majestic o'er the hills is led. Priestgate, Peterborough. SONNET. WHILST on the verdant bank, I sad reclin'd, The sun shone bright adown the western sky, And musing zephyrs, as they passed by, Deep sigh'd responsive to my troubled mind. The fair enamell'd flow'rs seem'd laughing gay, Whilst from them sprung a fragrance doubly sweet, That with a pleasing scent perfum'd my seat, On the First Epistle of St.John, Chap. ii. And contemplation stole the hour away. 15th Verse. "Love not the world-neither the things that are in the world." LOVE not the world, nor yet its toys, No. 23,-VOL. III. 'Tis thus, thought I, that virtue scents the song Of Poets, to a thoughtful reader's mind, When they infuse the lovely theme among Their rising numbers, glowing and refin'd. Ev'n thus it doth their troubled cares allay, And, for a while, chase sorrow far away. Stepney, near Newcastle-uponTyne, 1819. G W. V. 91 Poetry-Review: Miller's Guide. SONNET. To an accomplished and pious young Friend, who 92 REVIEW.-The Miller's Guide, &c. By John Miller, 12mo. pp. 80. Dublin, Nolan, Suffolk-street, 1820. It is scarcely possible for any person unacquainted with the subjects of which this volume treats, fully to appreciate its merits, or to do justice to its author. Written by an experienced miller, and addressed to men engaged in the same profession, it abounds with names and expressions, which must be as unintelligible to common readers, as they are to ourselves. We are not, however, disposed to insinuate any thing that wears the appearance of censure, because we happen to be ignorant of the manner in which a mill should be constructed, and how the various branches of its apparatus should be arranged, so as to produce the most beneficial results. Those parts, which to us appear obscure, and calculated to convey information, may to others be perfectly luminous; at once valuable and perspicuous, to "the Gentlemen Millers of England and Ireland," to whom the work is dedicated, and for whose use it is evidently intended. On some parts of this work, however, which treat of the qualities of wheat, the manner of drying it, and of cleaning the grain previously to its being ground, no such obscurity can be said to rest. On these and the terms of art to be introduced, Mr. other subjects, which do not require Miller has shown himself to be a man of much observation; and a friend to experiment in his own department of philosophy. On the quality of wheat necessary for a miller to purchase, for making good flour, Mr. M. speaks as follows: 93 Review-Discourse by the Rev. R. Blacow. "White wheat, called lammas in Ireland, when full and even, and grown on limed or marled soil, is decidedly the best of all others, for produce and quality of flour. Fallow redpolled wheat, if grown on limestone ground, comes next to white in quality. This species can be easily distinguished, by the roundness, plampness, and bright gold-colour of its grain. Wheat, grown on limed or clayey soil, after potatoes, (unless the soil contain a great quantity of calcareous earth,) is neither plump nor good-coloured; but mixed with small and sickly grains, that have not filled, and are literally nothing but bran. This wheat is also deficient in many qualities necessary for producing good bread. 94 in which party zeal is permitted to triumph over Christian charity, without being tempered with moderation, or regulated either by common prudence or common sense. The author's political opinions seem to have so completely supplanted his theological creed, that, forgetting the respect which was due to his own character, and the sanctity of his office, he mounted the pulpit to scatter around him firebrands, arrows, and death. Unhappily this discourse, instead of deriving dignity from the appellation which it bears, confers degradation on the title which it assumes,and is better calculated to bring public worship into contempt, than to make proselytes, or to allay public ferment. Spring wheat is also bad for producing a large quantity of prime flour. It does not contain as much starch as winter wheat, but more mucilage. Buck or cone wheat, recently brought from America, is the worst of all kinds, for fine or white flour. It contains less starch or fine flour than any of the former, and more mucilage than some may think. This wheat was some We may give to Mr. Blacow credit years ago much grown in the southern parts of for the sincerity of his intentions; but Ireland, and near Liverpool, in England; but from the envy, hatred, malice, and is now almost entirely exploded, the Millers uncharitableness, which his discourse finding, to their serious loss, that it was not hit contains, we must be as much infor making fine flour. Notwithstanding this disadvantage to the Miller, the produce it debted to charity, if we compliment gives the Farmer is certainly great: some as- him on the purity of his motives, as if sert, sixteen barrels per acre. It is easily we were to congratulate him on the beknown by its round back, quite prominent beneficial tendency of his pamphlet. yond any other wheat, and has more bur on the end of the grain."—pp. 7, 8. Remarks and observations, equally discriminative with the preceding, run through the chapter. On the drying of the grain, in the following chapter, his observations appear to be equally instructive and judicious; and in those which succeed, he traces the whole process of cleaning and grinding the wheat, dressing the fine flour, managing the manufacture of what are called whole meal and sharps, and the making of oatmeal; concluding with Remarks on the baking business, and the best method of bringing starch to perfection. To those who are engaged in any of the numerous branches connected with the corn or flour trade, we have no doubt that the Author's Remarks will prove advantageous: but we cannot avoid thinking, that a volume of this description, might be put into their hands at a much lower price than ten shillings. REVIEW.-The Substance of a Dis- Mr. Blacow's text is Gal. v. verse 1. "Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free." We have perused several expositions of this passage; but until the Rev. gentleman's discourse appeared, we had no conception that it sanctioned a liberty in ministers, either to traduce others, or to turn their pulpits into vehicles of abuse. To deter those who denominate themselves Radicals, from demolishing constituted authorities, and unhinging the state, Mr. B. does not hesitate to bear false witness against his neighbours; without reflecting, that if those into whose hands his discourse may fall were to copy his example, they would violate those sacred commands, the observance of which he officially recommends, and introduce that anarchy and those convulsions, which be foolishly imagines he has been endeavouring to avert. Although the vindictive spirit by which this angry divine appears to have been actuated, is professedly directed against his antagonists in politics, the earlier sallies of its vengeance are poured out on those whom and whom on this account he views as he is pleased to denominate Dissenters, enemies of both church and state. |