and shortly afterwards married a German princess of the house of Baden. Of all the European monarchs he was the most zealous partisan of legitimacy, and he proposed, as the great object of his life, the restoration of the dethroned family of the Bourbons to the crown of France. In 1803 he made a journey through Germany in order to unite all the sovereign princes of the Empire in arms against Napoleon; and to show his detestation of the usurper he sent back to the king of Prussia the order of the Black Eagle, because the same distinction had been given to Napoleon. When Bonaparte concluded peace with Germany in 1806, Gustavus IV., through his ambassador, declared that he would no longer take any part in the proceedings of the Diet while it remained under the influence of a usurper. Nothing more was required to make him break off all diplomatic relations with the most powerful courts of Europe than an approach on their part to friendly relations with Napoleon. He thus involved his country in indescribable difficulties; irritated all his neighbours, and showed by his conduct that he would not scruple to sacrifice his people's welfare to his unreasoning obstinacy. His wars and negotiations exhausted the poverty of Sweden, and the inhabitants sighed beneath an intolerable burthen of taxes. Even England, his only ally, whom he certainly could not reproach with any friendly feelings towards Napoleon, he contrived to offend by his conduct. Upon the English government sending hini a message with some well-grounded complaints, he broke off with this power also, and ordered all the English ships in Swedish harbours to be laid under embargo. The Swedes soon became tired of seeing themselves sacrificed to the extravagant follies of this Don Quixote of legitimacy, and the most influential patriots began seriously to consider how they could rescue their country from total destruction. Gustavus appears to have discovered through his spies that a storm was gathering about him, and, either in order to avert it, or to make himself safe in any event, he endeavoured to possess himself of the funds deposited in the bank of Sweden. At first he made an attempt to get the money into his hands by means of a proposed loan of eighty-two millions of Swedish rix-dollars (about twelve millions sterling), but as the bank commissioners refused to comply with this lemand, he resolved to carry his plan into effect by force. On the 12th of March, 1809, he repaired to the bank, accompanied by a detachment of military, with the intention of taking possession of the money deposited there. The commissioners of the bank had applied for protection to the Diet, and the Diet had directed Generals Klingspor and Adlerkreutz to divert the king from his intention by persuasion, or to prevent him by force. The generals met the king in the court of the bank buildings, and endeavoured to make him aware of the impropriety of his conduct; but Gustavus treated them as rebels, and ordered the soldiers to remove them from his presence by force. Adlerkreutz then advanced, seized the king by the breast, and cried with a loud voice- In the name of the nation, I arrest thee, Gustavus Vasa, as a traitor.' Of the soldiers who were present, about forty endeavoured to defend the king, but the majority followed the call of the general to carry into effect the orders of the Diet. Gustavus defended himself with desperation, and it was only by force that they could disarm him. He tore himself loose from the hands of the soldiers, and had very nearly escaped, but was again secured, and confined in an apartment, where for several hours he raged like a madman. Immediately upon the arrest of Gustavus, Duke Charles of Sudermania issued a proclamation, in which he announced that he had been called to the head of a regency, and exhorted the people to quietness till the decision of the States-General should be promulgated. On the 24th of March Gustavus was brought to the castle of Gripehelm, where he gave in his abdication. On the 29th there appeared the decision of the Diet, by which Gustavus IV. and all his direct descendants were declared to have forfeited their rights to the Swedish crown, and the Duke of Sudermania ascended the now vacant throne of Sweden under the name of Charles XIII. and renounced all external observances that might remind him of his former rank. He refused the appanage which Sweden offered him; he urged forward a suit of divorce from his wife, which he succeeded in obtaining on the 17th of February, 1812; and he declined having any communication with his family, and obstinately rejected all as sistance from them. He subsisted on the produce of his labours as an author, together with a little pension which he drew as a colonel. Among his printed works, which appeared during his residence in Switzerland, one very systematically develops the mystical-religious and ultra-royal political tendencies of his mind. The moderation and discretion, as well as the stedfast tranquillity with which he endured his fall dif him honour, and almost excuse the follies through which he trifled away the possession of a throne. He was a martyr to his principles, which were founded upon his extravagant notions of the divine right of kings over their subjects. He died at St. Gall, toward the end of the year 1837, lamented by all who had known him in the latter years of his life. His son, the heir of the line of Vasa, now lives at Vienna, a colonel of an Austrian regiment. GUSTROW. [MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN.] GUTENBERG, believed to be the first inventor of the art of printing with moveable types, whose real name was John Gensfleisch, was born in 1397 at Sulgeloch, a village near Mentz. His youth was passed in the latter city, where he acquired the name of Henne (i.e. John) vo Gutenberg, from that of the family with whom he dwelt. During his residence in Mentz he became implicated in an insurrection of the citizens against the nobility, and was compelled to fly to Strasburg to avoid the vengeance of his victorious adversaries. At Strasburg necessity compelled him to employ himself in mechanical occupations, and by accident he made the discovery so pregnant with future consequences. After the animosity of his persecutors had subsided, Gutenberg returned to Mentz, and endeavoured, in conjunction with Fust, a rich citizen of that town, and his son-in-law Schoeffer, to turn his invention to a profitable account. But Gutenberg experienced the hard fate that all great inventors have to endure from the misconceptions and ingratitude of mankind. The members of the Guild of Writers, at that time an influential body, together with the priests, persecuted him; his partners Fust and Schoeffer joined with his enemies against him; through litigation he was deprived of all his property; and once more he was forced to turn his back upon the ungrateful town. In the meantime Fust and Schoeffer pursued their business as printers, and thus reaped all the profit, while the inventor was wandering in exile. After an interval of many years Gutenberg returned to Mentz, where he died in 1468. Posterity has endeavoured in some degree to make amends for the ingratitude of Gutenberg's contemporaries. Last year (1837) a splendid monument by Thorwaldsen was erected to his memory in Mentz. The Gutenberg Society, to which all the writers of the Rhenish provinces belong, hold a yearly meeting also in Mentz to honour his memory and to celebrate his discovery. [FUST.] The 'Statuta Provincialia antiqua et nova Moguntina,' 4to., are thought to have been printed by Gutenberg, with two or three editions, of which fragments only remain, of Donatus. Some have thought the Mazarine bible to have been a production of his press. (Wagenseil, Biographieen.) GUTHRIE, WILLIAM, was born at Brechin, in the county of Angus, Scotland, according to one account, in 1701, according to another in 1708. He was educated at the University of Aberdeen; but little or nothing is known of his early years, except that it is said he was induced to leave his native country by a disappointment in love, on which he came to London, and commenced writing for the booksellers. He was one of the most popular compilers of his day, and must have been one of the most industrious writers ever known, if he was the author of all the voluminous works to which his name is prefixed. Among them are a History of England, 3 vols. fol.; a History of Scotland, 10 vols. 8vo. ; a General History of the World, 13 vols. 8vo.; a History of the Peerage, 1 vol. 4to.; a translation of Gustavus left the Swedish territories very shortly after the Institutes of Quintilian, 2 vols. 4to.; translations of his deposition. During his exile he travelled through most nearly all the writings of Cicero; The Friends,' a novel, of the countries of Europe, but lived chiefly in the little in 2 vols. 8vo.; 'Remarks on English Tragedy,' &c. But town of St. Gall, the capital of the Swiss canton of the in the preparation of most of these works he is believed same name. He assumed the name of Colonel Gustavson, I to have had little share, beyond lending them his name, which it would appear was in repute with the booksellers. I also here mention once for all that the affection is sometimes The well-known Geographical Grammar' which bears his merely hysterical, in which case though the blindness may name is believed to have been compiled by a bookseller in be total it is rarely permanent; and the same remark may the Strand, of the name of Knox. Guthrie found the trade be made of a kind of amaurosis which occasionally results of authorship not an unprosperous one; and to what he from the irritation of worms in the intestinal canal. gained with his pen was, in course of time, added a pension The effects of remedies and some other considerations from government, which it may be supposed he earned by appear to lead to the conclusion that amaurosis is generally some writings acceptable to the court, or by other unknown of an inflammatory nature, or dependent at least upon a political services. He was also placed in the commission congested state of the blood-vessels. It is however unquesof the peace for Middlesex, although it is said he never tionably sometimes the result of an opposite state, for it may acted as a magistrate. He died in 1770. Guthrie's 'Ge- be brought on by excessive or repeated losses of blood, by neral History of England, from the Invasion of the Romans long-continued nursing, and by other immoderate disunder Julius Cæsar to the late Revolution in 1688,' which charges and secretions, and is sometimes the effect of mere is the historical work of which his claim to the authorship debility. is the most undoubted, is written in a style by no means It may be caused by simple pressure on the optic nerve, without warmth and animation, though it has not much as by the growth of a tumour, or by apoplectic effusions claim to the praise either of penetrating judgment or exten- within the head: in this case it is analogous to the paralysis sive research. The author is rather fond of new and pecu- of a limb. A slight stroke received unexpectedly upon the liar views one instance of which that may be mentioned is naked eye-ball may produce it, although a violent blow the light in which he endeavours to place the conduct and when the lids are firmly closed has no such consequence. character of Richard III., many of the common stories in In this case it is called concussion of the retina, and is anaregard to whom he disputes in a manner that led him after- logous to concussion of the brain. It may also be the inwards to claim the honour of having anticipated nearly all stantaneous effect of a flash of lightning. But the most that was most remarkable in Horace Walpole's Historic frequent causes of amaurosis are exposure of the eye to too Doubts.' But in truth both he and Walpole had been long bright a light, as in watching an eclipse of the sun; or overbefore preceded in the same line of argument by Sir George exertion of it in laborious study, especially at night, or in Buck. The History of England' bears throughout, and occupations such as that of the watchmaker. The Esquiespecially in the latter part, the marks of having been writ-maux are very subject to this complaint from the bright ten in haste, and under the pressure of limits too narrow reflexion of their snow-fields; and have learned by expefor the author's not very economical style. It is however a rience to guard against the danger by using snow-speclarge work; the first volume, which was published in 1744, tacles, which are pieces of wood pierced with small circular and comes down to the accession of Edward II., containing holes, bound before the eyes, so as to shut out a part of the 962 pages; the second, published in 1747, and coming down field of view. to the accession of Edward VI., 1130 pages; and the third, published in 1751, 1396 pages. After all, the narrative stops at the Restoration, the author apologising for putting a period to his work at that point, contrary indeed, he says, 'to my obligations to the public, but I hope not contrary to the sense of my readers, upon whom this volume has already grown so enormously.' GUTTA SERENA is that kind of blindness which arises from derangement or disease of the nerves of the eye, whether before or after their separation from the brain. The name originated in a notion, long prevalent in the schools, that all diseases are attributable to some deleterious fluid or humour circulating in the blood or diffused in the substance of the part affected. The epithet serene was intended to intimate the comparative freedom from pain, and the absence of any unpleasant change in the appearance of the eye, which distinguish this class of ophthalmic complaints from others equally destructive of sight. Hence Milton, whose blindness was of this kind, thus addresses Light (Paradise Lost, iii. 22): Cyriack, this three years' day these eyes, though clear What supports me, dost though ask? But the rejection of the humoral pathology has been extended to the nomenclature derived from it; and this fanciful, though still popular term, which seems to have been devised expressly for the poets, has given place in modern systems of nosology to that of amaurosis (äμavpoç, blind). The most frequent seat of the complaint is the retina; the next is probably the brain itself, or that part of the optic nerve which, lying within the cranium, is in contact or communication with the brain, and partakes of its diseases. But recent observations and experiments have proved that the affection of the optic nerve may be secondary; and that the primary seat of the disease may be in certain other nerves connected with the eye, though not immediately subservient to vision. It may likewise be symptomatic of irritation in some distant organ, probably through the intervention of the same class of nerves. The temporary failure of sight during a bilious attack is of this nature: we may We cannot enter at length into the symptoms of amaurosis, which vary of course with the seat, the cause, and the degree of injury. The chief symptoms are a more or less rapid failure of sight, by an increasing dilution of light with darkness (if the expression may be allowed), rather than by the appearance of a cloud. Moving spots, called muscæ volitantes, are generally seen to flit before the eyes, especially when they are closed. There is generally some degree of pain in the organ itself, and in the forehead; when the complaint arises from exhaustion, it is felt chiefly towards the back of the head. Exertion of the sight is always fatiguing and painful. The pupil is either preternaturally large or small, and obeys the stimulus of light either not at all or very sluggishly. The eyeball is sometimes too soft; in other cases unusually firm; or it may be of the natural degree of hardness. A degree of fever is occasionally present. If one eye becomes affected, the other generally follows, especially if the cause be common to both. The complaint is most usual after the middle period of life; it is frequently found to affect members of the same family, and comes on about the same age. Dissipation of all kinds, and especially habitual inebriety, predispose to it. Confirmed amaurosis is seldom cured; but in its early stages much may be effected by careful and skilful treatment; and the means may generally be adapted with great precision to the nature of the case, by attentive consideration of its symptoms and history. Depletion, aperient medicines, abstinence, and a darkened chamber, must of course form a part of the treatment when the case is inflammatory: but mercury, pushed if necessary to the extent of salivation, is the remedy most to be relied on; indeed, without it, the oculist would have little chance of success in any case. When the symptoms arise from exhaustion, an opposite plan of treatment is obviously proper; but even then the moderate action of mercury is sometimes requisite. Blisters behind the ears and between the shoulders are frequently of great service in both descriptions of cases. In sympathetic amaurosis the attention must of course be directed in the first place to the organ which is the original seat of irritation. This complaint not unfrequently forms a complication of cataract and of closed pupil; probably from extension of the inflammation from the parts of the eye affected in those disorders to the choroid coat or to the retina. Operations for the cure of either of those causes of blindness would be attended with no advantage in such cases, and should not be undertaken. GUTTI'FERÆ, or CLUSIA CEÆ, form a small natural order of Exogenous plants, inhabiting the hotter parts of tropical countries in both the Old and New World. They are readily known by their coriaceous opposite leaves, with very fine veins running parallel with each other in a gentle curve from the midrib to the margin; by the absence of stipules; their calyx composed of several sepals regularly overlapping each other, and bearing a definite proportion to the petals; their numerous stamens; and their superior ovary, which is in most cases many-celled and many-seeded, with a peltate radiant stigma. Their fruit is succulent, juicy, and in many cases resembling a large apple or orange. The Mangosteen (Garcinia Mangostana) is probably the most delicious of any known; but it has never been seen in a fresh state in Europe, for the tree will hardly exist out of its native humid heated atmosphere in the Indian Archipelago. In general the fruit of these plants is acrid and astringent, and quite unfit for food. The most remarkable product of the order is Gamboge, which is secreted by the branches of Hebradendron Cambogioides, and perhaps some other species. Others yield an astringent gum-resin, called Tacamahaca. 3 Clusia Posca. 1, an expanded flower; 2, a calyx seen from below; 3, the ovary, with a part of the calyx cut away; 4, a transverse section of a fruit. GUTTULI'NA. [FORAMINIFERA, vol. x., p. 348.] GUYA'NA, or GUAYA'NA, often called Guiana, is the name applied to the north-eastern portion of South America extending from the banks of the river Orinoco southward to those of the Amazon river. It is bounded on the west by the Guaïnia or Rio Negro, the natural canal of Cassiquiare, and the middle course of the Orinoco. Its surface covers an area of more than 650,000 square miles, exceeding three times that of France; but more than fivesixths of it are included within the boundaries of the empire of Brazil and the republic of Venezuela, under which articles these portions are noticed. We limit the present description to those parts which comprehend the English, Dutch, and French settlements, and which may probably cover a surface of about 100,000 square miles, or double that of England without Wales. The boundary between Brazil and the French colony is formed, according to the common authorities, by the river Oyapock, but the boundary which separates the English settlements from Venezuela has never been determined, and some modern writers extend the British territory to the very mouth of the river Orinoco, though others fix it at Point Nassau (near 59° W. long.), more than a degree farther east. The southern and western boundary are still more dubious, the district through which they run not having been visited; but it is understood that all the countries drained by the rivers which fall immediately into the Atlantic Ocean belong to the European nations, while those which are drained by the streams which fall into the Amazon and Orinoco rivers are appurtenances of Brazil and Venezuela respectively. The upper valley of the Cuyuni however forms an exception, being annexed to Venezuela. The Oyapock falls into the sea near 55° W. long. and 4° N. lat., and the Orinoco 60° W. long. and 8° N. lat., so that the sea-coast extends over more than 400 miles. The most southern branches of the Essequibo river probably approach 1° N. lat. The shores of this country are skirted by a mud bank, extending about seven or eight miles out to sea. The water on this bank decreases gradually towards the beach, so that vessels drawing more than twelve feet water stick fast in the mud about three miles from the land. The land is very low, and presents so great a uniformity for several hundred miles together that it is impossible to know what part of the coast a vessel has reached. Ships therefore which are strangers to the coast run along the land till they see a house, and then send a boat ashore through the mud to ask what part of the country it is. The sea exhibits the appearance of a dirty puddle of water, and nothing of the land is visible but the tops of the trees just above the sea; it is a perfect flat without any feature of variety. The mouths of the rivers are discovered by the difference of the colour of the fresh water, which extends a great many miles out to sea. Mud or sand has accumulated in front of them to such an extent that large vessels cannot enter them. Surface and Soil.-The low and flat country extends from 40 to 70 miles inland, and is mostly on a level with the sea at high-water. When these lands are drained, banked, and cultivated, they become consolidated and sink fully a foot below the level just mentioned, and consequently it requires unremitting attention to the embankments and sluices to keep out the sea. The greatest part of this low plain is covered with an alluvium of strong blue clay, highly impregnated with marine and vegetable salt, and vegetable matter in the finest state of comminution. It is of great fertility, and as the first crop fully pays the original cost of embanking and cultivating the soil, the cultivated land in Guayana is rapidly increasing. At a distance from the rivers however there are in some parts tracts of land which in their natural state are without trees or shrubs, and overgrown with fern; these tracts are entirely unfit for cultivation, but they are not numerous nor extensive. In other places there are savannahs of considerable extent, which afford good pasture, but by far the greatest portion of the surface is covered with trees and fit for the growth of every kind of grain and tropical products. The high land which lies at the back of this plain was till recently almost entirely unknown. In the year 1835 the London Geographical Society send out Mr. Schomburgk, a naturalist and experienced traveller, to examine this region, and to his industry we are indebted for our acquaintance with the principal natural features of this extensive region, as far as it is included in the British dominions. Those portions of the high land which are annexed to the Dutch and French settlements have not been visited and are almost entirely unknown. The high land does not rise immediately from the plain to a great elevation, the hills on its southern edge attaining only a height of from 50 to 200 feet above the plain. Behind these hills the high land stretches out in level or undulating plains, rising here and there into eminences; but farther south ranges of hills appear running north-west and south-east parallel to the coast, or rather to the northern edge of the upper region, and south of them the surface is again depressed and extends in plains. The most elevated of these ranges is that which, near 5° N. lat., runs along the southern banks of the river Mazaroony, and on the east approaches the river Essequibo, where it is called the Twasinkie Mountains; they rise 1100 feet above the river, which here breaks through the range, forming several rapids. On the other side of the river the range continues east-south-east to the banks of the river Berbice, where Parish Peak rises to 910 feet above the sea, near 4° 50' N. lat. From this point it runs south-east to the great cataracts of the river Courantin, situated 4° 21' N. lat. This chain seems to form the boundary of the first great terrace. South of it the country again forms a level or undulating plain, but somewhat south of 4° N. lat. is the Sierra Pacaraima, which farther west constitutes the boundary between Brazil and Venezuela, separating the rivers which fall into the Rio Branco from those joining the Caroni. In Guayana it separates the basins of the rivers Rupunoony and Siparoony (both affluents of the Essequibo), and terminates near the mouth of the Rupunoony with the Makarapan Mountains (3° 55′ N. lat.), which rise boldly to the height of 4000 feet. The general elevation of the range does not exceed 1500 feet. This chain does not appear to continue east of the Essequibo. Farther south there is a third range, which cuts the parallel of 3° N. lat. obliquely, running west-south-west and east-north-east between 58° and 59° W. long.: it is called Sierra Taripona, and rises from 500 to 1000 feet above the plains which surround it; the summits are of a conical shape. The fourth longitu- | dinal ridge in the upper region occurs farther south (2° N. lat.), and is called the Carawaymee Mountains. On its northern declivity the Rupunoony rises, and it seems to form the western extremity of that chain of mountains which on the Portuguese maps is called Sierra Acaray, and in which the Essequibo and Courantin probably have their sources. Farther east this chain has not yet been visited by travellers coming from the north. All these ranges, as far as is known, occupy an inconsiderable width, and the plains between them are of great extent. Through the plain extending between the Sierra Pacaraima and the Sierra Taripona there is a natural communication between the rivers which traverse British Guayana and the Rio Branco, which falls into the Amazon river. The Rupunoony flows near some of the upper branches of the Rio Branco, and is separated from them by a low and level tract (near 59° W. long.). This tract contains the lake Amucu, which in the dry season is of small extent, but after the rains have fallen inundates the adjacent low country, and its waters run partly eastward into the Rupunoony and partly westward into the Rio Branco. In the dry season its waters are discharged only into the Rio Branco by the small river Pirarara. The plains south of the Pacaraima range are in general very level and form extensive savannahs covered with grasses and plants; the winding course of the rivers alone is marked by a fringe of trees, and some swampy tracts of small extent are overgrown with the Mauritia vinifera. In some places the savannahs are without any vegetation, but a broad belt of good soil extends along the foot of the mountains. The country north of the Pacaraima range has a different character. Its surface is less level and more diversified by eminences and depressions. The belt of wooded and rich land along the water-courses is covered with high forest trees, which are separated from the savannah farther inland by a tract of bushes rising about twelve feet high, but displaying a great luxuriance of vegetation. The savannahs themselves are of comparatively small extent, and contain many wooded tracts and elevations. The proportion of rich and cultivable land in this region is very great. which the island of Gluck is 7 miles long, but narrow. Fifty miles from its mouth occur the last rapids, which, though not high, are numerous, and render the ascent of the river impracticable for larger barges: up to this point the tides ascend. Five miles lower down the river enters the low plain, and is here from 1 to 1 mile wide, growing continually wider until at its mouth it forms an æstuary 14 miles wide. Within the plain it receives from the west the waters of the united rivers Mazaroony and Cuyuni, which at the point of junction are more than a mile wide. The course of the Mazaroony is parallel to the lower course of the Essequibo, and has been examined to a considerable distance; its bed is full of rocks, and the rapids are numerous. The Cuyuni runs east and west, having its source in a ridge of rocks situated a short distance from the banks of the Orinoco, and no great distance from the mouths of that river. It is said that it may be navigated for about 300 miles, but the greater part of its course lies within the republic of Venezuela. The Mazaroony and Cuyuni unite 8 miles before they reach the Essequibo. In the wide æstuary of the Essequibo there are numerous islands, some of which are extensive. Hog Island is large and well culti vated. Across the entrance of the river are three islands. Wakenaam the largest, which lies in the middle, is from 7 to 8 miles long; east of it is Leguan, 6 miles long, and half as many broad; it is in a high state of cultivation; the most western of the three islands, Tiger Island, is the smallest, and not cultivated. The entrance of the Essequibo is very dangerous and difficult, even for small craft, on account of the banks of mud and sand. The best and safest of the four channels formed by the three islands is between the east shore and the island of Leguan. The course of the Essequibo from the point where it unites with the Rupunoony to its mouth, taking its windings into account, is about 240 miles, and when the Rupunoony is added, 460 miles, which exceeds the course of any river of France. East of the Essequibo and parallel to it runs the Demerara, whose sources have not been visited, but they are probably a little south of 5° N. lat. At 5° 25' N. lat. it forms a great cataract, and below it becomes navigable for small craft. As far as Lucky Point (5° 57′) it may be ascended by square-rigged vessels. Towards its mouth it widens to a mile, and where it enters the sea it is more than a mile and a half across. A bar of mud extends 4 miles out to sea, and can only be passed, by vessels drawing 9 feet, at half flood; but the channel along the eastern shore has 18 feet of water at high tide. This river runs more than 200 miles, and as it affords an easy means of transport for goods, there are many settlements on its banks. Farther east runs the Berbice, whose source probably is situated near 3° 40′ N. lat. It has been ascended as far as a great cataract, which is south of 4° N. lat. Several other rapids and cataracts follow, but they cease at 4° 50' N. lat., and from that point the river is navigable for 165 miles, measured along its numerous windings. The influence of the tide is perceptible nearly to this distance. Towards its mouth the river widens, but south of New Amsterdam it is not more than half a mile across. North of the town it gradually widens to 4 miles, where it meets the sea, in 6° 24' N. lat. [BERBICE.] Rivers. The largest river is the Essequibo, which tra- The Courantin river forms the boundary between the verses nearly the middle of British Guayana. It has been Dutch and British possessions. It has been ascended to ascended to 3° 14′ N. lat., a distance of about 230 miles 4° 21′ N. lat., where it forms two cataracts 100 feet high, and from its mouth in a straight line. At that point the river called Smyth Barrow Cataracts. Above them the river is is still some hundred yards wide, and forms a great cataract, still 900 yards wide, and hence it is inferred that its sources called King William's Cataract. From this point it runs are much farther to the south, probably in the Sierra in a north-by-west direction, and receives, near 4° N. lat., Acaray. From the great cataracts the river runs north the waters of the Rupunoony, a large river whose course and north-east till it reaches 5° N. lat., and in this part of has been investigated nearly to its source in the Carawaymee its course there are several rapids. Near 5° N. lat. it turns mountains (2° N. lat.). The Rupunoony runs first north-east, and 12 miles from this point the rapids cease, and the west, and, after passing the western extremity of the Sierra river becomes navigable to the sea, a distance of about 150 Taripona, north-east, turning gradually to the north, and, miles measured along its windings. It runs 40 miles east where it approaches the Sierra Paracaima, to the east, in nearly in a straight line, and then turns north. The remainder which direction it continues along the foot of the range till of its course is very tortuous, except towards its mouth. it meets the Essequibo. Its course is 220 miles. After Seventy miles from the sea the tide rises 30 inches. At this junction the Essequibo continues in a north-western Oreála, 40 miles from its mouth in a direct line, it enters direction nearly up to 5° N. lat., receiving in this course a the low plain, and here it constantly preserves a width of a great tributary, the Siparocny, whose course has not yet mile, which towards its mouth increases to 4 miles. North been examined; and forming a great number of rapids and of 5° 55′ N. lat. it forms an æstuary, which is 10 miles cataracts, which can only be passed by small vessels, and across where it meets the sea. South of the estuary is with danger. North of 5° its tortuous course is in general Parrot or First Island, which is 7 miles long and 1 wide, to the north; here too there are several dangerous rapids, and divided from the eastern bank by a channel only and a great number of rocky islands in the river, among 3 cables wide, but 9 feet deep at low-water. Along the western shore is a mud bank, with 7 feet water over it at low tide, but in the middle of the river a channel with 8 feet of water at low tide. The upper course of the river Surinam, which traverses the middle of the Dutch territories, is not known; but if we may judge from the size of the river, its source cannot be much south of 4° N. lat., or in the parallel of the sources of the Berbice. It enters the low plain at about 4° 40' N. lat., and so far it is navigable for river barges. Towards its mouth it increases to a mile in width, and north of Paramaribo it is still wider. Vessels of considerable size can enter it and sail up to that town. The Marony, which divides the Dutch and French Colonies, resembles the Essequibo. Its upper course and origin are not known, but its size justifies the supposition that it rises at a great distance from the sea, probably in the Sierra Acaray. It is known that many rapids and cataracts occur in its bed south of 4° 45′ N. lat., the most northern of which is above Armina. From this place, to which the tide ascends, as far as its mouth, it is not less than 1 mile wide, but full of islands. Large river vessels can ascend to Armina. Agriculture is principally directed to the cultivation of the articles of export. The sugar plantations are hardly inferior in extent to those in Barbadoes or Jamaica. Coffee and cotton are also cultivated to a great extent. Tobacco and indigo are at present less attended to. Ginger is one of the minor articles. Pepper, cloves, and nutmegs have been introduced by the French; the two first have succeeded, but the nutmeg-tree does not thrive well. The plant which produces castor oil grows wild, as well as the cacao-tree, and the tree from which arnotto is obtained. The domestic animals are the same as in England. Black cattle grow to a greater size than in Europe, but their flesh is not so tender nor of so fine a flavour. The wool of the sheep is converted into hair. Among the ferocious animals are the jaguar and couguar. Other animals are the armadillo, agouti, ant-bear, the sloth, and a great variety of monkeys, and among them the howling monkey. Lizards are numerous and of various kinds; the iguana is common, and its flesh esteemed a delicacy, as well as its eggs. Alligators of great size are found in the larger rivers, and the manati, or sea-cow, is also sometimes met with. Among the bats, which are twice as large as those of England, are the vampires, which are said to suck the blood of persons when asleep. [CHEIROPTERA, p. 22.] Among the snakes, which are of different kinds and numerous, some are poisonous, and others distinguished by their size, as the boa constrictor. The pipa, a kind of frog, is remarkable for its hideous aspect, and for other peculiarities. [FROGS, p. 493-4.] Birds of several kinds are very numerous, as different species of parrots, mackaws, humming-birds, the flamingo, Muscovy ducks, toucans, spoon-bills, peacocks, &c. Of insects, as the scorpions, centipedes, cockroaches, termites, and other kinds of ants, the chigoe, or sand-flea, and the mosquitoes, are very troublesome. The Oyapoc, which divides the French_territories from Brazil, has lately been explored by some Frenchmen, but satisfactory details of the survey have not yet been published. Climate.-Guayana has two rainy and two dry seasons. The long rainy season sets in about the middle of April with frequent showers of short duration, which however increase as the season advances, until in the middle of June the rain pours down in torrents. In the beginning of July the rain begins to decrease, and in August it ceases entirely. The long dry season continues from August to November. December is showery, but in January much rain falls. February and March constitute the short dry season, but they are not quite so free from showers as the long dry Inhabitants.-Guayana is inhabited by Europeans, Afriseason. During the rainy season it rains daily for some hours cans, and native Americans. The Europeans are mostly without cessation, and the remainder of the day is fine. descendants of Dutch settlers, but some are descendants of A few days occur in the course of the season during which Englishmen and Frenchmen. The Africans were brought it does not rain at all. The heat is not so great as might over to cultivate the country as slaves, and are much more be supposed, considering the position of the country near numerous than the whites. In British Guayana there are the equator and the lowness of the coast. The trade- six tribes of natives. The Arawaaks surround the settlewinds, passing over the whole breadth of the Atlantic, ments on the Demerara and Berbice rivers; the Accaways reach this coast loaded with moisture, and both the wind live on the banks of the Cuyuni and Mazaroony, and also and the moisture render the heat less oppressive. Besides on the Essequibo, north of 5° N. lat. Between the Sierra this, there is the alternation of land and sea breezes, and as Pacaraima and Sierra Taripona are the Macoosie, and south the sea-breezes are colder and blow in the day, and the land- of them the Warpeshana. The Warrows occupy the coast breezes during the night, both greatly contribute to main-between the Pomaroon and the mouth of the Orinoco. Setain a more equal temperature and to diminish the differ- veral Carib tribes are dispersed among the natives, and some ence between the greatest and least degree of warmth within of them are said to be cannibals. (Lond. Geog. Journal, vol. the twenty-four hours. The mean temperature of the low | ii., p. 71.) coast may be between 80° and 84°. The thermometer, even in summer, seldom rises above 90°, and it does not often descend below 75°. Though Europeans are subject to some diseases on their arrival, it is now well known that the climate of Guayana is more healthy than that of most places in the West Indies. Thunder-storms occur only during the rainy seasons, and are violent, but rarely do any damage. The hurricanes so destructive in the West Indies are entirely unknown. Slight shocks of earthquakes sometimes occur, but they never cause any damage. The more elevated parts of the country have the same seasons as the low coast, but they take place a month later, and the rains fall in much greater abundance. Productions. Few countries on the surface of the globe can be compared with Guayana for vigour and luxuriance of vegetation, which shows itself especially in the great number of indigenous plants and the large forest-trees which cover perhaps not less than one-half of its surface. Many of the trees produce excellent timber, others are used for furniture, as the mahogany, or afford dye-wood, and others are valuable on account of their fruits. Some are valued as being very ornamental, as the silk-cotton tree and the Mauritia vinifera. Indian corn and rice are cultivated, and in some instances three crops of the former and two of the latter have been obtained in one year from some fertile pieces of ground. Wheat does not succeed, and Humboldt seems to have conceived a just idea of the country, when he says that no portion of the high lands in Guayana rises to such an elevation as to be fit for the cultivation of our cerealia. The roots which are most cultivated are cassava, or mandiocca, yams and sweet potatoes, and arrow-root. The chief fruits are the banana, the pine-apple, and the cacao-nut; the cabbage-tree grows wild. The natives of Guayana are much more civilized than the aboriginal tribes who inhabit the adjacent countries. They cultivate Indian corn, cassava, and some other roots, but they are still much attached to a wandering life, and a slight inducement, or sometimes only fancy, leads them to abandon a well cultivated piece of ground, and to remove to a wilderness, where they undergo much toil in rooting out the forest trees and in preparing a new piece of ground. The Arawaaks visit the British settlements, where they work in the wood-cutting establishments for daily wages, and are preferred to the negroes, as steady labourers. Some of the tribes are almost as fair as Spaniards or Italians, while those who live near the sea-coast are of a very dark brown, sometimes resembling the yellow-skinned negroes. But the straight, strong, black hair, small features, and well-proportioned limbs, always distinguish the Indian from the African. Guayana is, as we observed, divided among Great Britain, Holland, and France. I. British Guayana comprehends the countries extending from the Courantin river westward to the Orinoco, and from the sea-coast to the sources of the rivers Essequibo and Courantin, which have not yet been visited by Europeans. Its area probably does not fall short of 50,000 square miles. The most western portion, lying between the Orinoco and Pomaroon, a small river which falls into the sea about 20 miles west of the mouth of the Essequibo, is only inhabited by the tribe of the Warrows, and no European family is at present settled here. The settlements on the Pomaroon and Essequibo are few in number and not large; but the settlements along the banks of the Demerara and Berbice, as well as along the sea-shore between these rivers, are numerous, and extend from 30 to 50 miles inland." On the Courantin there are only a few settlements, but they are |