sketches on ship-board, the same praise may be awarded. Take, for example, the subjoined description of a storm-scene. The vessel is approaching the Gulf Stream:

"The air grew warm and oppressive. We were soon in thick darkness, which was relieved, however, by continual flashes of lightning; the thunder pealed and rattled over our heads, and our ship trembled like a leaf; soon the rain came down in torrents, and sudden gusts of wind assailed us on either quarter. Fortunately, we had shortened sail, and made every prepartion for a storm, before it grew dark. The courses were hauled up, the topsails close reefed, the jib and spanker hauled down, and a storm stay-sail set. All hands had been called upon deck, except Snaggs, who, on account of his horrors, was allowed to remain below; and we all stood huddled together, on the quarter deck, that we might be in readiness to carry into execution any orders which should be given. For my own part, I enjoyed the sublimity of the scene highly, and felt not the least fear; indeed, the only thing which annoyed me, was the water running down my back, which rather damped my admiration of the tempest. The sky was pitch black, but the sea was covered with little particles of luminous matter, so numerous and so bright, that they cast a greenish glare upon our ship, and showed in strong relief all her spars and ropes against the sky; in addition to this strange and unnatural light, a ball of phosphorescent matter had gathered at each mast head, and at the ends of the yards, and gave the ship the appearance of being illuminated with goblin lanterns. These were novel sights to me; but to the sailors, and even to Captain Gunnel and the mate, they were sights of terror; these men who, on ordinary occasions, were full of ribald jests and wanton oaths, now stood with hushed voices, apparently waiting for some expected evil. They knew, from experience, the dangers which surrounded them; but I, from ignorance, was without fear or apprehension. I stood looking over the gunnel, watching the lightning as it crinkled along on the surface of the waves, when a shrill cry rising above the tumult of the elements, and the pelting of the rain, and the roaring of the thunder, caused all hands to start with fear. The sound came from the forward part of the ship, and I recognized in it the voice of Jack Snaggs; a flash of lightning the next moment showed the poor wretch standing between the night-heads, with his hands thrown above his head, as if preparing to leap into the ocean. Pear a hand forward!' exclaimed the captain, and save him!-be quick! But it was too late."

6

We do not affirm that 'Harry Franco' is without its faults; for as a 'tale,' strictly speaking, it is somewhat desultory and unconnected. But we think we can perceive that it was not intended for a progressive story proper. It has more the evidences of an unpremeditated, natural sketch of the different phases which the career of an American boy sometimes assumes. We again cordially commend these volumes to the reader, as well calculated to reward, as they will certainly provoke, an attentive perusal.

SKETCHES OF PUBLIC CHARACTERS, ETC. By HENRY LORD BROUGHAM. In two volumes. Philadelphia: E. L. CAREY AND A. HART.

THESE Volumes appear to have been got up on the plan, and with the design, of the French memoires pour servir; that is to say, as embodying materials heretofore used on divers occasions, and now worth collecting and preserving, for the use of future historians. The first volume contains notices of, and extracts from, speeches delivered by Mr. BROUGHAM, in Parliament and at the bar, on divers topics of great public interest, with short but spirited sketches of individuals who bore a prominent part in the discussion of those topics, or were otherwise connected with them, in some relation of agent or object. For example, Mr. Brougham's defence of a Mr. Drakard, who was indicted for publishing some severe strictures on the practice of flogging in the English army, is made to serve as a hook on which to hang a portrait of COBBETT, who was also indicted for the same offence. Mr. Brougham's speeches against the Holy Alliance, furnish occasion for characteristic descriptions of the Emperor Alexander and Lord Castlereagh. Mr. Brougham's great efforts in Parliament, on the subject of legal reform, are noticed in a page and a half, while in 11.

VOL. XIV.

connexion therewith, twenty-five pages are devoted to Jeremy Bentham, Mr. Dumont, and Sir James Mackintosh. Mr. Brougham's advocacy of parliamentary reform introduces portraits of Mr. Canning, Mr. Huskisson, Lord Dudley, and some others of its supporters. These sketches are vigorous, graphie, and probably correct; and we read them with double interest, on account of the subjects and the limner. The second volume contains collegiate and literary miscellanies.

THE NORTHMEN IN NEW-ENGLAND, or America in the Tenth Century. By JOSHUA TOULMIN SMITH. In one volume. pp. 364. Boston: HILLIARD, GRAY AND COMPANY,

THIS is a praiseworthy attempt to present, in a popular dress, the accounts which have recently attracted considerable attention, of the early voyages of the inhabitants of the north of Europe to the shores of the American continent, at a period long anterior to their discovery by Columbus. Mr. SMITH has diligently studied the volume published a short time ago at Copenhagen, containing those accounts in the original language in which they were composed, with Latin and Danish translations; and by adopting the form of dramatic dialogue, has succeeded in producing a work well fitted to interest the youthful mind, in a subject extremely curious and entertaining. We cannot say that we agree with him in all his conclusions, or admire the taste of all his methods of illustration; but at the same time, we owe it to him to say, that he has made a valuable contribution to the stock of general information concerning the early history of our continent,

The discovery and colonization of Iceland and Greenland by the people of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, not to say of Great Britain, led to the discovery of America. Nobody doubts that colonies were planted in Iceland as early as A. D. 875; or that Greenland, west of Cape Farewell, was settled from the same quarter in the following century. Is it probable, that having thus advanced more than two thirds the distance from Europe to the American coast, these enterprising mariners of the north stopped short in the progress of discovery? In a few years after establishing colonies in Greenland, they explored the shores of the new world, from Labrador to Long-Island. They sought to establish themselves at several points of the coast, but met with great opposition from the natives. Their adventures on these expeditions are recorded in the Sagas of Iceland, to which the historians of northern Europe are indebted for much of what is known respecting the early annals of their own country; and it is to that source Mr. SMITH is indebted, through the publications of the Danish antiquaries, for the interesting relations contained in his book. There are some trifling matters in the volume to which we object. We differ from the author, for example, in regard to the propriety of calling CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS Christoval Colon. The latter was a Spanish corruption of his real name, which is still applied to him by the writers of old Spain; his original name being Cristofero Colombo, which assumes the Latin form of Christopherus Columbus. As the Latin has come into universal use in English and American books, why undertake to substitute the Spanish, as our author has done, throughout his volume, except now and then, when he forgets the affectation? But he has somehow or other got a crotchet in his head that COLON was the original name. There is more reason for writing Knud instead of Canute, and Svend instead of Sweyn, as it is more correct, according to the Danish original; but still we dislike the change, especially in the case of the former word. The victorious monarch who subdued Britain at the commencement of the eleventh century, known to the Danes as Knud, is equally well

known to English readers as CANUTE. We heartily commend this handsome volume to the notice of all our readers, who have a curiosity to examine traces of the primitive condition of this vast continent. To such, it must prove a work of rare interest.

POPULAR LECTURES ON GEOLOGY. By K. C. VON LEONHARD, Counsellor of State, and Professor at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. With Illustrative Engravings. Translated by Rev. J. G. MORRIS, A. M., and edited by Prof. F. HALL, M. D., formerly of Washington College, Conn., and afterward of Middlebury College, Vermont. Part First. pp. 100. Baltimore N. HICKMAN.

We have no hesitation in warmly commending these Lectures to our readers; since we are well assured that they will search in vain elsewhere for equally comprehensive tracts, or even volumes, upon the subjects of which they treat. We have been especially interested in those portions of the lectures which describe the operations of mining, discovery of ores, the modes of descent into various mines, in the old world, with the utensils employed, etc., etc. Our author depicts a mine at Falun, in Sweden, where, in a subterranean chamber, twelve hundred feet under ground, the officers of the establishment hold their meetings, when the works are examined. It is ornamented with wainscotting, furnished with seats around a table, and from the ceiling is suspended a magnificent chandelier. The names of many crowned heads are here to be seen. An ancient custom obliged every king of Sweden to visit the chamber, at least once during his reign. At Presberg, the downward ladders, conducting from one projecting rock to another, lead the workman 'down to darkness,' which, at the depth of five hundred feet, becomes total; and for a long interval, immense buckets, suspended to rattling and clanking chains, ascend and descend, in this dense and dim obscure medium. The persons of the workmen, in their descent, soon become moist, unpleasant bodies;' the steps of the ladders being covered with damp clay, as well as ice; and if the foot slip, the victim is suspended by his hands over the horrible pit and miry clay' below. In Peru and Sweden, rich mines are worked, in vast excavations, under populous towns, the streets of which sometimes rock under the feet of pedestrians. The temerity and industry of miners often lead them to subinarine operations, far under the bed of the sea, as in the coal mines of Cumberland, and the copper and tin mines of Cornwall:

"In the mine Huel-cock, in the parish of St. Justus, in Cornwall, which is now almost entirely abandoned, because of the danger, the workmen at some places had only eighteen feet of rock between them and the water of the sea. In clear weather, they could distinctly hear the noise of the waves; and during a storm, the roar of the ocean, and of the masses of rocks violently dashing against each other, was awful. At one place, where the ore was very rich, the workmen were imprudent enough to dig it away to such an extent, that there were but four feet of rock between them and the bottom of the sea over their heads. Here the roar of the waves was so alarming, that the miners, apprehensive of the water breaking through, several times hastily betook themselves to flight. Another, called the Levant mine, at Landsend, in Cornwall, which constantly yields the most productive tin and copper ores, lies very near the coast. In 1834, the shaft was 960 feet, and the galleries branching off, extended more than 900 feet under the bed of the sea. The most remarkable enterprise of this kind, which many regard as fabulous, was accomplished in 1778, near the harbor of Penzanze, in the sea. When the water was low, a porphyritic rock, containing rich veins of tin, was observed above the surface. It was 120 fathoms from the shore. Even in summer, the wind occasioned violent breakers, and in the winter, the sea dashed so strongly against the rock, that every attempt to obtain the ore was fruitless. Notwithstanding these formidable difficulties, Thomas Curtis, a poor miner, whose courage and enterprise deserve honorable mention, undertook the task. He spent three summers in sinking a shaft. Only two hours a day could be devoted to the work, and every time he recommenced it, the excavation was found full of water, which it was necessary to bail out. Curtis erected an enclosure of twenty feet high around his shaft, supported by strong iron bars, and made

water-tight; then neither breakers, nor the waves, which rose only eighteen feet high, could seriously affect his operations. A bridge connected the rock with the shore. For a long time this mine was more productive than any in Cornwall. An American vessel, breaking loose from her anchor, was dashed against the enclosure and machinery, and all sunk to the bottom. We may suppose that many years hence, when other deposites shall have been exhausted, submarine mines will be extensively worked.”

Other dangers, such as one sometimes encounters in horrid dreams, not unfrequently fall to the lot of these moles of the rocks, 'slaves of the dark and dirty mine:'

“Earthquakes sometimes expose the lives of the miners to danger, and are occasionally destructive to the subterranean operatives. The effects of the terrible earthquakes, which nearly destroyed Valparaiso, were particularly injurious to the gold mines of El Bronze de Petorca, in Chili. When the catastrophe occurred, there were some workmen in the pits, which are many hundred feet deep. Their situation was awful. The mountain quaked so violently, that the ladders could not be mounted without the greatest exertion. Large masses of rock broke loose from all sides; it was every moment expected that the sides of the shaft would fall in. Several miners were struck down by the falling masses, or so hemmed in, that they could not possibly be rescued. One of them reached the mouth of the shaft, but here the dust was so dense that he could not see his hand before his eyes. Immense blocks of stone were separated from the sides of the mountain, and these he heard rumbling down, without being able to see which way to fly, to avoid the danger."

We should not omit to add, that the excellent engravings leave nothing to be desired, to a complete understanding of the wonderful and interesting facts recorded in the well-printed pages.

FIRST GREEK Lessons. Containing the most Important parts of the Grammar of the

Greek Language, toge her with Appropriate Exercises in the Translating and Writing of Greek. For the use of Beginners. By CHARLES Anthon, LL. D. One volume pp. 190. New-York : HARPER AND BROTHERS.

EXCELLENT as were the Latin lessons, which were lately published under the direction of the same able and accomplished scholar, and of which we have already spoker. in terms of unqualified commendation, these Greek Lessons, the eighth of the classical series, are yet superior to them. The system is the same as that which this great teacher has adopted throughout all his works; of explaining, namely, every thing as he goes along; of leaving no one subject, till it is absolutely mastered ; and thus of conducting the learner, step by step, by a process of simple induction, from the very earliest rudiments to the most absolute perfection of the language. The method, however, of these, as of the Latin lessons, is so far new, that in the single volume are combined the three functions of grammar, exercises, and dictionary. The advantage of this combination is manifold : First, that it is much more easy to induce a boy to refer from one page to another of the same book, than to induce him to turn over tome after tome, first looking out the word in his lexicon for the sense, and then hunting up the rule in his grammar for the construction; and secondly, that by these means every part of the theoretical grammar, as it may be called, is practically explained to the learner, even in the outset. The utility of these Greek lessons we indeed consider almost incalculable. The great error in all teaching, and more especially in all American teaching, is the pushing forward, or forcing system; the hurrying, or to speak more correctly, jumping to the conclusion, without having learned sufficiently the first elements of whatever science or art is the subject of study. Thus our artists paint historical pieces as large as life, wh they ought to be patiently learning to draw from the antique ; and our classical scholars are pushed into Homer and the orators, when they ought to be working might and main at grammar and prosody. The best cure for this, is the creation of good first books; and these Greek Lessons we think the best First Book of the Greek language ever published, here or elsewhere.

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EDITORS' TABLE.

AMENDE HONORABLE. - We yield, and with pleasure, a conspicuous place to the subjoined Amende Honorable to the Memory of a Hero of the Revolution, GENERAL WOODHULL;' and would embrace the occasion to request the editors of the various journals of the Union, who have copied 'The Battle of Long-Island,' to give place to the substance of the accompanying correction.

TO THE

EDITOR OF THE KNICKERBOCKER.

SIR: In opening the pages of your Magazine, some two months since, to the memories of the past, you doubtless relied upon the correctness of the historical narrative they embodied. I sincerely believed that the sketch of 'THE BATTLE OF LONG-ISLAND,' derived from authentic sources, and verified, so far as possible, by a collation of the authorities, and a comparison of its details with their various localities, to be an exact and faithful narration; and yet, the annexed correspondence developes the injustice of an imputation on the patriotism and subordination of General WOODHULL, into which I was led, through confidence in the accuracy of others. I allude to the passage wherein that martyr of the twenty-seventh of August, 1776, is accused of having been one cause of the disasters of that unfortunate day, in neglecting to guard the road from Bedford to Jamaica, by which the British succeeded in turning General SULLIVAN'S flank. The interesting documents which follow, will show that this was not a portion of General WOODHULL's duty; he having been detached upon an expedition of a different nature, and with so inefficient a body of men, that, even had he been aware of so important an occasion for cooperation with the American army, his efforts, unsustained by the necessary troops, would have proved inadequate to the defence of that pass.

I marvel that the life of this interesting personage should not, before now, have been preserved in the various records from which rising generations have to learn the heroism of their forefathers. Few of our illustrious dead lived in a more eventful period than the half century, or more, comprised between the years 1722 and 1776, which respectively saw the birth and death of General WooDHULL; and none were associated in enterprises more numerous or more adventurous. Reared, like many a hardy spirit of our revolution, amidst the healthful and fortifying influences of agricultural pursuits, he obeyed the summons which, in 1759, called him to the ranks, and appointed him a major in the New-York provincial forces. He shared in the vicissitudes and triumphs of the French war; was at Crown-Point and Ticonderoga, at Frontenac and, it is believed, at Niagara; and finally beheld at Montreal, in 1760, the conclusive reduction of Canada.

After some years of repose, we find him, in 1769, elected a member of the assembly of our State, which had already protested against taxation, and maintaining, during the six ensuing years, the rights of his constituents. Deputed from Suffolk, in 1775, to the Convention which gathered together here on the tenth of April, to choose delegates to the Continental Congress, General WOODHULL headed the delegation which represented the same county on the second of May, in the Provincial Congress, of which body he