my public acts: some of my relatives seem to think that I sway too much like a successor of a revolutionary upstart; while on the other hand, the duke of O and his party appear discontented because 1 do not govern enough like a revolutionary usurper. After these lamentable facts, you cannot doubt of my sincerity when I affirm, that I long for the moment when my Creator will retake this my crown of thorns, by exchanging my throne in this palace of the Thuilleries, for my tomb in the abbey of St. Dennis."

"During the whole time his majesty thus condescended speaking to me, tears were in his eyes, and his whole countenance bespoke a grief which must have been so much the more poignant, as policy must generally require its concealment. I am convinced this good prince would never have reigned so long, had he not considered it as a duty Providence has imposed on him by his birth."

VISIT OF FERDINAND VII. TO THE GENERAL HOSPITAL OF MADRID.

Translated from the Madrid (official) Gazette, of 24th Feb. 1817. The king our master, accom- | panied by his excellency the duke of Alagon, captain of the guards of his royal person presented himself at the General Hospital at 10 A. M. of Saturday 15th inst. He visited the pantry, kitchen, closet for the clothes, and apothecary's shop, examined the provisions, tasted the soup intended for the sick, and in continuation examined attentively the apartments of the patients whilst they were giving them their dinner; he asked after their health, and enquired of the

physicians the nature of their diseases: he heard with graciousness the supplications of those who implored his clemency from the bed of suffering, and like a kind and benevolent father he consoled them, deigning to receive the memorials that were presented to him, and ordering that the verbal solicitations of others should be committed to writing. He extolled the neatness and cleanliness of the rooms, and the attention paid the patients.

His majesty in going to the apartment of St. Domingo, passed by the door of the dissecting room of the royal chair of practical medicine, where was Dr. Josef Blasquez, anatomical dissector, surgeon of the royal family, and of the hospitals, co-operating as far as possible in the great designs of his majesty suggested by the indefatigable zeal of the worthy director Dr. Ignacio Jauregui, and the professors Dr. Hilario Torres, and Dr. Antonio Hernandez, in educating the scholars of said royal establishment in historical and pathological anatomy, for which purpose he had dissected in a body the nervous system of both the animal and organic life. His majesty desirous of exaamining the great work of God, entered the apartment and surprized Blasquez, who immediately covered the cavity of the abdomen and breast, supposing with reason, that the sight of them would be repugnant to the sovereign, and only left exposed the brain, showing and explaining to his majesty the whole of its anatomy. It did not escape the sagacity of the sovereign that the body had been covered, and he ordered it to be laid bare, which Blasquez did with the more pleasure as he had prepared

it for former lectures. Beginning with the upper extremities of the breast and stomach, he pointed out the several parts as he had done with the head. He proceeded to the abdomen, and with surprise and admiration the bystanders saw this great king examine with the minutest attention the source, direction, and distribution of the diaphragmatic, hepatic, spermatic, &c. arteries, as far as the last division of the internal iliacs, likewise one of the two ureters, &c. &c.

In all this time, which might be about a half an hour, his majesty asked many questions, and made various observations from which it was supposed by those present, and by the dissector Blasquez, that the theory of anatomy was not unknown to his majesty, a cir

cumstance that excited the admiration of all, and of which there is not an example in history.

His majesty had visited this hospital several times, and the public was cdified not only by his charity to the poor, but by his devotion and piety on the days of the paschal communion of the sick;— when they saw him kneeling at the foot of the bed of the unfortunate sufferers whilst they received the sacrament, and succouring them with a generous charity after the conclusion of the pious ceremony. But a fact of the nature of this anatomical examination should be transmitted to posterity; it is the most evident proof of the desire of his majesty to promote the sciences, and particularly those which contribute to the alleviation of suffering humanity, and that all Spaniards may understand what the sovereign is who so felicitously governs them, it is made known to the public for their intelligence and satisfaction. VOL. II.

ADDRESS FROM THE CITY OF SALAMANCA TO FERDINAND THE VII. AND HIS NEW QUEEN.

From the Madrid (official) Gazette, of the 19th March, 1817.

The council of the city of Salamanca represented by Don Thomas Aparecio Santin, collectorgeneral of ecclesiastical revenues, Don Josef de Cafranga, pensioner of the royal and distinguished order of Charles III. secretary of his majesty, charged with the execu tion of decrees, second officer in the secretary of state's office, and of the administration of grace and justice; the municipal authorities Viscount de Rivella, and Don Joseph de Pando, a gentleman of the same royal order, had the honour to be admitted on the 13th inst. to kiss the royal hand of their majesties and highnesses, and to felicitate them on their august alliance and the announced pregnancy of the queen; the address as fol

lows:

To the King;

SIRE: The legitimate succession of kings is the greatest support of monarchies, and the love of the people the best patrimony of princes. Thus it is, that even if your majesty were not the greatest king on earth by your vast and numerous dominions, all the nations would regard you as the most favoured by providence, since they have seen your majesty adored by his subjects, and the queen about to perpetuate the offspring of your majesty upon the throne of Spain. Our nation ought to sing hymns of thanks and praise to the All-Powerful for his merciful recollection of them in restoring the best of monarchs, and delivering them from the cruel yoke of their own countrymen, and of strangers, and for rendering fruit2 M

ful the beautiful vine which is to extend its robust roots over all the thrones of the world. The city of Salamanca which we have the honour to represent, the first to suffer the devastating scourge by which the tyrants took vengeance | on their loyalty, their love, and the profound sighs which marked their grief, at the painful absence of your majesty; now full of joy at such prosperous events, blesses the designs and inscrutable decisions of the Most High; it felicitates your majesty in multiplied congratulations, announces the entire redemption of the Spanish people, prognosticates the resuscitation of those master works by which the Herreras, the Covarrubias, the Berruguetes, and other celebrated artists have rendered Salamanca illustrious: it sees abundance diffused over its fertile soil by the indefatigable arm of noble and pure agriculture, and by the industrious hand of an active commerce; resting on the heroic virtues which shine resplendently in your majesty and in the queen; it presages the happy events which must transmit from age to age your august names as an example to sovereigns and a consolation to the people.

To the Queen;

MADAM:-The city of Salamanca, in which the bold project of Columbus was first welcomed, saw, through the obscurity of future ages, the necessity of a new world for the defence and preservation of the most precious jewel of the house of Braganza;* and by one of those happy prognosti

Meaning her majesty, and alluding to the flight of the house of Braganza to the Brazils.

cations, the success of which is assured only by the progress of time, inspired the catholic kings with the desire of protecting an enterprize whose principal result was to be the holy union of Ferdinand and Isabel,t the best means for the mutual support of the two kingdoms. Her flattering predictions being now accomplished, Salamanca reposes in peace and joy; contented, she felicitates your majesty, &c. &c.

To the King's brother;

MOST SERENE SIR:-The city of Salamanca, in which there is scarcely to be found a family that has not sealed with the martyrdom of some one of its members its ancient and ardent loyalty to the sovereign house of Bourbon, when it saw your highness a prisoner to the worst of men, who dared to deprive us even of all hope of the return of your mild and pacific government; by one of those transformations so rare in history, found itself converted, from a city of learned men,‡ into an army of combatants: it deserted the altars of Apollo to rush in crowds to the temple of Mars. The satellites of the tyrant are not ignorant of it, and are enraged against Salamanca as if it was the only city destined to be the prey of their rapacity and violence.

When Salamanca confiding in its own impoverishment and the strength of the friendly armies, thought that it might be left to lament over its past misfortunes, it saw itself again assailed, sacked, and devastated.

But why relate such sad and la

mentable scenes in days of rejoicing, of joy and gladness, when the arm of the Omnipotent confounds the genius of ruin, consoles innocence, strengthens the throne of Spain, and binds it to perpetuity by ties as strong as indissoluble. We approach you with no other object, most serene Sir, than to make known to your highness, that your marriage with the most serene Dona Maria Francisco de Braganza, and the hopes entertained of its fruits, fill all Salamanca with joy, that this joy is no less constant than lively, and that we now congratulate your highness with transports of content, great as were those of the grief of the inhabitants at the captivity of your highness.

Their majesties and their highnesses manifested their satisfaction with the goodness, dignity, and sweetness which characterize them.

From the Gibraltar Gazette. Extract of a letter from Messina, in Sicily, Dec. 14, 1816.-" We were all witnesses of an event which might have produced fatal consequences. On the 10th the communion cup, with the host, was plundered from the church of St. Auforne. The whole town was in movement; the people ordered the gates to be shut; neither coffeehouse, nor shop, nor theatre were left open. The streets were crowded with processions, and the church-bells set a ringing. The populace obliged the old infirm archbishop to accompany the processions; he had, at last, the good fortune to escape in a convent. The people were absolutely furious; they passed through the city with

torches, menaced to set fire to the houses of the unbelievers, and committed a thousand extravagancies which would have ended it is impossible to say where, if some of the municipality had not adroitly spread the report, that the communion cup, &c. had been found. The whole population exclaimed: Nostro Signore si è trovato, and returned to their own abodes. Some houses were pillaged, and some individuals ill-treated. The day after, when the falsity of the report was known, the people, who showed symptoms of wishing to recommence the preceding scenes, were restrained by the presence of the troops of the line, and the campagnott or militia, who had been prudently assembled. The processions, however, continue every day, nor do they dare to open the tribunals or shops, to work in the port, &c. Even the soldiers have covered their arms with crape."

"A letter from Messina, of a later date, announces, that the cup has been really found, and tranquillity entirely re-established.”

NEW FRIGORIFIC POWDER.

Professor Leslie, whose philosophical labours and discoveries are well known to our readers, has lately made an important addition to his curious and beautiful discovery of artificial congelation. He had found by his early experi ments, that decayed whinstone, or friable mould, reduced to a gross powder, and dried thoroughly, will exert a power of absorbing moisture scarcely inferior to that of sulphuric acid itself. But circumstances having lately drawn his attention to this subject, he caused some mouldering fragments of porphyritic trap, gathered from the