Imatges de pàgina
PDF
EPUB

in the midst of corn harveft, which is juft about this time, Varro placing it between the 26th of June and the 26th of July. Thefe he reprefents as fo violent, as to tear up and lav wafte every thing in their progrefs, even rooting up the corn itself, and attended with an immenfe deluge of rain. The storm likewise described by Virgil, which wrecked part of the fleet of Æneas, is related by him to have happened nearly in the fame feas with that mentioned by Polybius. and much refembles the hurricanes of hot climates, as being fudden in its rife t, violent in its effects ‡, and foon over. Modern information, at least what I have seen, agrees herein with the ancient. Abbè Toaldo §, in a journal of the weather at Venice for the year 1755, mentions two whirlwinds, and a violent ftorm refembling that defcribed by Virgil, that happened that year in the months of June and July. This is the only modern Italian journal of the weather that I have feen. It is probable that in the more foutherly parts of Italy, these aërial disturbances happen more frequently, as they are observed to be more common, as well as violent, in hot climates.'

An attempt to divide the year into months, marked by natural occurrences, according to a plan propofed by Mr. Stillingfleet, follows. This refembles, in fome measure, the new French calendar; but is lefs exact in days; for an accurate divifion of time is not required.-We fhall felect a fpecimen: • DIVISION OF THE YEAR INTO MONTHS, MARKED OUT BY NATURAL OCCURRENCES.

' REVIVING WINTER MONTH.

MONTH I.

From the firft laying of eggs by hens, to the blowing of the weft wind; viz. from January the firft, to February the fith.

Sublime expulfam eruerent: ita turbine nigro
Ferret hyems culmumque levem, ftipulafque volantes.
Sæpe etiam immenfum cœlo venit agmen aquarum,
Et fædam glomerant tempeftatem imbribus atris
Collectæ ex alto nubes: ruit arduus æther,

Et pluvia ingenti fata læta boumque labores

Diluit; implentur foflæ, et cava flumina crefcunt

Cum fonitu; fervetque fretis fpirantibus æquor. Vir. Georg. 1. 316. venti, velut agmine facto,

Qua data porta, ruunt, et terras turbine perflant. Virg. Æneid. L. I.

Eripinut fubito nubes cœlumque, diemque

Teucrorum ex oculis: ponto nox incubat atra.

Intonuere poli, et crebris micat ignibus æther;
Præfentemque viris intentant omnia mortem.

dicto citius tumida æquora placat:

Ibid...

Collectafque fugat nubes, folemque reducit. Ibid.

From the defcription of it, it appears to have been of the nature of a whirlwiud, many op ofite winds being defcribed as blowing at the fame time.

• Una Eurufque Notusque ruunt creberque procellis --
Africus.-

Saggio Meteorologico. Quarto, Padoua, 1770.'

Ibidem.

• BUD

[ocr errors]

• BUDDING MONTH.

'MONTH. 2.

• From the blowing of the weft wind, to the appearance of the fwallow; viz. from February the fifth, to February the twentythird.

'LEAFING MONTH.

MONTH 3.

From the arrival of the swallow, to the free exit of bees from their hives; viz. from February the twenty-third, to March the twenty-fourth.

• FLOWERING MONTH.

'MONTH 4.

• From the free exit of bees from their hives, to the arrival of the ftork; or from March the twenty-fourth, to May the seventh.'

The others are the fruiting, ripening, reaping, fowing, maturing, fhedding, decaying winter, and dead winter months.

Next follow an account of the feasons at Aleppo and Nice, from Dr. Ruffell and Dr. Smollet; tables of the time of wheat harvest, in different parts of Italy, published by Dr. Symonds in the Annals of Agriculture; of the foliation of trees in this country for feveral years, from the Gentleman's Magazine; of the leafing and flowering of fome trees and plants in Italy in 1768 and 1769, by Dr. Symonds, from the Annals of Agriculture. Two ruftic calendars, yet remaining engraven on stone at Rome, next occur, taken from Gruter's infcriptions; and this is followed by a table of hours for every month in the year, taken from Palladius. This laft is a fingular relic: it confifts of a particular number of feet, correfponding to each hour in different months, and is fuppofed to be intended to inform the husbandman of the time of the day, by measuring with his foot the proportion, which the length of that bears to the length of the fhadow of his own perfon. The numbers anfwer tolerably well in this way; for, though the heights of different perfons vary, the length of the foot varies nearly in the fame proportion.

Next follows a table of the days, on which the fun enters into the different figns of the Zodiac, according to the Roman, Grecian, Conftantine, Ptolomaic, and modern computations. A comparative table of the rainy days, in each month, in different countries; a table of the quantity of rain which falls in different places of Italy, compared with Great Britain, averaged in different places from obfervations of many

years.

years. Six places in England average 28 inches nearly: in Italy, the fix leaft rainy places average 36 inches; the fix, most rainy, 531 inches.

The two next tables, or dictionaries, are the most extensive and important of the whole collection. The first contains the Greek names, with thofe of Cafpar Bauhine, Linnæus, and the English names: the fecond contains the Linnæan, names, with the correfponding ones of the Greek authors, and Bauhine. These gloffaries are of the highest importance to the medical ftudent, who, from the Greek writers, might employ medicines of the fame name, but very diffimilar properties-We know a phyfician of confiderable abilities, who wrote a commentary on an antient medical author, without knowing that fuch a work as Cafpar Bauhine's exifted-Pudet hæc opprobria, etc. Thefe gloffaries might furnish some subject of remark; it is, however, fufficient to obferve, that we have discovered no material error. We perceive many marks of found judgment and accurate research. The modern travellers, who have difcovered fome of the plants in their old ftation, are particularly mentioned.

A Picturefque Tour through Part of Europe, Afia and Africa: "containing many new Remarks on the prefent State of Society, Remains of ancient Edifices, &c. with Plates, after Designs by James Stuart, Efq. Written by an Italian Gentleman. Small 4to. 15s. Boards. Faulder. 1793.

THIS ingenious foreigner has improperly ufed the word

picture/que in his title-page; for in works of that denomi nation the prints ought either to be very numerous, or the defcriptions to relate chiefly to picturefque beauty. The present work is in truth only a small sketch of a tour through fome few parts, or rather skirts, of the three continents; with five charming prints of Athenian fubjects, from drawings of the late Mr. Stuart, author of the Antiquities of Athens: and one fupernumerary print of the Naumachie at Palermo, copied from that of Howel in his Voyage Pittorefque.

We fhall begin with the five prints, which form the chief charm of this elegant little work. It is difficult to fay whether the drawer or engraver (chiefly Barret) have moft merit, but a more exquifite little fet we never beheld. No order is marked in our copy, and there is no advertisement to inform the readers how the drawings were obtained, but we shall enumerate them as they lie before us.

*We averaged the five obfervations in Londen, and reckoned it. as one place.

1. View

[ocr errors][merged small]

1. View of the Temple of the Winds at Athens. The Acropolis forms a fublime back-ground. The children at play, the women, the fpirited horfes, the ftartled girl clinging to her mother, the richnefs of the architecture and fcenery are extremely pleafing.

2. A View of the Temple of Jupiter Olympius at Athens. The figures, architecture, and fcenery, excellent, though not equal to the former.

3. The Monument of Lyficrates, commonly called the Lanthorn of Demofthenes, at Athens. This ftands in the garden of a monastery, and a monk is fitting looking on a skull: but the head of the monk is too large, apparently the fault of the engraver, Porter.

4. Howel's View of the Naumachium at Palermo.

5. The Ionic Temple on the Iliffus at Athens, built of white marble, vulgarly called St. Mary on the Rock. Turks hunting. Beautiful in all its parts, though not fo highly finished as fome of the others.

6. A View of the Doric Portico at Athens in its present ftate. The cranes with their nefts, the Turks and Europeans, the exquifite antique figure of the Greek girl at the fountain, enrich this little print.

As to the work itself, it confifts of fifty-three fhort and fuperficial letters, on the coafts of the Mediterranean: and is amufing, but without the fmalleft claim to information or inftruction. This being the season of light fummer reading, a few extracts fhall be given. From Argentiera, an ifle in the Archipelago, our author writes thus:

[ocr errors]

These people are all failors, and the greater part excellent pilots. Befides their own language, they speak Italian, French, and even English. The women knit cotton ftockings, with which they fupply the neighbouring iflands. Their natural fprightlinefs, added to a defire of difpofing of their commodities, made them fo familiar, that feveral of them took us by the arm, and pressed us to go home with them, This behaviour has given rife to a report, that their virtue is not proof against feduction, which indeed I understand to be fo far true, when they are enabled by the sale of it to procure the price of an abfolution, the refufal of which they confider as a great calamity. In general they are neither handsome nor ugly; they have a great deal of embonpoint, and very thick legs, which they efteem a beauty, and, to increase their natural fize, they wear several pairs of stockings. Their drefs is curious and neat: over a shirt, which buttons down the breaft, and defcends to the middle of the leg, they put a gilt waistcoat with a red boder, which, while it confines the breaft, does not hinder it from rifing: to this they add a fort of handkerchief which floats behind; they wear white stockings, 3

ings, and little boots, with yellow Morocco flippers, and turbans of various forts.

• All the children of the village afked us for paras, a Turkish coin worth about three farthings. The country is truly wretched: nevertheless great crimes are rare in it.

The inhabitants pay an annual tribute to the grand signior of five piaftres per head, which amounts nearly to a crown. The women and pricfts, it feems, are not computed in this capitation.'

Sometimes our traveller's account prefents neither grammar nor fenfe, e. gr. p. 34. The hundred and fifty columns of the building, manufactured with a lapidary's wheel, were fufpended from a peculiar machine, and might be turned by a child.' In p. 125, Iflambul is put by our learned author as the Turkish name of Conftantinople, and derived from Islam, faith; instead of Istambul, the name given by all former travellers.

The following extract is from a letter, dated Conftantinople, Dec. 1788:

• The true believers have lately celebrated the birth-day of their prophet; and there have been every night fuperb illuminations in all the minarets. As the grand fignior intended to go in state to one of the mofques, we went and fecured places, early, that we fee him pafs. You cannot imagine what numbers of people were in the ftreets, and at the windows. Among the fpectators were several poor perfons, who feemed to entertain no bad opinion of us, for they came in crowds to folicit our charity. A great concourfe now gathered round us, fome of whom viewed us from head to foot, examined our drefs, and then burft into a fit of laughter. Others extended their curiosity so far as to touch us, and to lay hold of our sticks, and we were then obliged to have recourse to the janissary to fend them away. It was a long time before the grand fignior made his appearance, but the people waited for him with great patience. At laft the janiffaries appeared, followed by the ciocadars, the public officers, the principal men of the court, the mufti, the kaimakan, the kılar aga, or chief of the black cunnichs, and two dwarfs; these were all on horseback, and advanced two by two, to the number of four hundred. In the middle of this cavalcade appeared the grand fignior magnificently dreffed; his turban was enriched with a fuperb aigrette of diamonds. He is near fixty years of age, and has a majeftic figure, which infpires refpect, without exciting fear. As he paffed, all the spectators bowed very low, and obferved a profound filence. He was followed by two of his children; one of them, who had a filk umbrella, turned towards us feveral times, and gazed at us with an air of wonder and furprise. Next came a man, who threw away money; and the chief of the black eunuchs, C. R. N. AR. (XI.) June, 1794•

P

who

« AnteriorContinua »