threw into exertion exhibited a model," &c. It all come to this that she amused her,' &c. may be merely typographical.

Vol. ii. page 236.,

These errors, indeed,

In volume iid, page 228., O'Donnel errs in ascribing to the Egyptian Isis the motto, "I am what I am." This was the name by which the Lord announced himself to Moses; (see Exodus, c. iii. V. 14.) and the appellation which most resembles it, among those that have been given to "the goddess with a thousand names, was probably that which was inscribed on the pavement of Minerva's temple at Sais: "I am whatsoever was, is, and shall be, and no mortal as yet hath drawn off my veil."

EDUCATION.

Art. 28. The first Dictionary of two Languages, under a single Alphabet, English and Spanish. By the Rev. Don Felipe Fernandez, A.M., Native of Spain, and Founder of the Royal Economical Society of Xerez de la Frontera. 8vo. Printed for the Author. No. 26. Noble Street, Falcon Square; and sold by Lackington, Dulau, &c.

The distinguishing feature of this publication is announced in the title-page; viz. the placing of the Spanish and English words indiscriminately under one alphabet. This plan appears to have been adopted for the sake of presenting to the eye a comparative table of the two languages, and of preventing the loss of time which is often occasioned by looking out a word at the wrong end of a dictionary. Against this recommendation, must be set the disadvantage of having the work in a less divisible, and therefore less portable form. Under the present arrangement, also, Spanish words may in many instances be mistaken, at first sight, for English, and vice versa: an inconvenience which might have been avoided by printing one language throughout in italics.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Art. 29. The History of the distressing Loss and happy Recovery of little Thomas Dellow, who was stolen from St. Martin's Lane, Upper Thames Street, London, on the 18th of November 1811, and discovered at Gosport in Hampshire on the 28th of December following. 12mo. IS. Darton, Harvey, and Darton. 1812. This little tract details all the circumstances yet known, relative to a strange affair by which the public was considerably interested; and the narrative will excite sympathy in those young readers who may meet with it.

CORRESPONDENCE.

The Author of "Travels at Home" begs leave to observe to the Editor of the Monthly Review, that he has been misunderstood by the critic who noticed his work in the Number for April, when represented as assigning to Mount St. Gothard the route of Hannibal. He refers to these abodes of eternal snow," the Alps, generally, and never thought that the passage in question was that of the Punic chief. — He cannot help remarking also that, as his plan is totally dif

ferent

ferent from that of Mrs. Wakefield and Mr. Evans, and indeed that of every other preceding writer, there can be no competition between them on the ground of novelty and originality.'

We have inserted the above note just as we received it: but we shall now copy the short passage in the work on which we animadverted, relative to Hannibal, and enable the reader to judge whether the context did not justify our remark: (Vol. ii., p. 187, 188.) We must clothe ourselves in furs and flannel to mount to the frozen summit of the St. Gothard. How astonishing it is that armies should have mastered these abodes of everlasting snow! Hannibal shewed the way, whose passage has been rendered famous by the historians of ancient times.'-If the author does not mean Hannibal's troops, by 'the armies which have mastered these abodes of snow,' what armies does he mean? for he must recollect that Bonaparte's forces were led over Mount St. Bernard; — and if these abodes' do not mean St. Gothard, where is the other antecedent to which they refer?

As to the similarity of the design of these Travels with that of others, we must still observe that the leading idea of forming imaginary excursions is the same; and as to minor shades of difference, we did not mean to discriminate them.

The request in the (perfumed) letter from Wells is partly answered in this Number: but the writer attaches too much importance to his (her) favorite departement' of reading, and expresses his (her) wishes with an amusing importance.

We have not yet seen the work respecting which A. F. H. appears to be particularly sollicitous.

The subject of the communication from Preston, as well as the plain-speaking in the note, would have led us to doubt that a lawyer was our correspondent: but, when we observed that his partiality was for a preamble, and when we scrutinized the hand-writing, we submitted to the truth of the writer's description of himself. We shall attend farther to this letter when we have more leisure than we have at this moment.

Mr. Flower wishes us to observe that the Essay on the Character of Charles I., by Mr. Towgood, which we recommended in our account of Mr. T.'s Tracts, (Rev. for April,) is published in a separate volume, at the price of 3s. 6d. - We must decline the notice of the pamphlet mentioned by Mr. F., being so much pressed by new publications. He will see that Mr. R.'s works have a place in our current Number.

Matilda will excuse us for differing totally with her, on both the points of her second letter.

The APPENDIX to Vol. lxxiii. of the M. R. is published with this Number, and contains, as usual, Foreign Literature, with the General Title, Table of Contents, and Index, for the Volume.

THE

MONTHLY REVIEW,

For JUNE, 1814.

ART. I. Voyage round the World, in the Years 1803, 1804, 1805, and 1806, by Order of his Imperial Majesty Alexander I., on board the Ships Nadeshda and Neva, under the Command of Captain A. J. von Krusenstern, of the Imperial Navy. Translated from the Original German by Richard Belgrave Hoppner, Esq. 2 Vols. 4to. pp. 718. 21. 12s. 6d. Boards. Murray.

1813.

THE

THE discovery of Kamtschatka took place, with other discoveries in Russia, in the reign of Peter the Great, and dates from the year 1696. In subsequent years, expeditions were undertaken to examine the position of the Kurile islands, a long range which stretches from north to south, and almost connects the southern point of Kamtschatka with the northwest point of the Japanese island of Jesso; and, with his usual ardour for maritime enterprize, Peter, shortly before his death, prepared the well-known expedition from Europe to Kamtschatka, which was commanded by Commodore Behring, one of the objects of which was to ascertain the distance between the respective continents of Asia and America. Though that point was not attained, a considerable additional stock of information was acquired with regard to the navigation of the eastern ocean; and a farther voyage being undertaken by Behring in 1741, the western coast of America was discovered in the high latitudes of 56°, 57°, and 58°, together with the island since known by the name of Aleutic or Aleutian. Since that time, successive attempts have been made by the Russian government to extend their knowlege of these seas; and the Petersburg merchants have been animated by a strong desire to establish a trade in furs and seal-skins, between these northerly regions and China. The high price given in China for these articles induced speculators to persevere, amid the innumerable difficulties which are encountered in carrying on the trade: the Chinese being accustomed to alter their dress on the occurence of slight changes of weather; and even at Canton, which is near their southern frontier, they wear furs in winter. We need not wonder, therefore, that the Russians were tempted to VOL. LXXIV.

I

cultivate

cultivate this branch of traffic; though their shipping, and their skill in navigation, were of so deficient a nature, that in general they annually lost one ship in three.

In the year 1785, the Russian merchants engaged in the trade of furs and seal-skins were combined into a joint-stock association under the name of the American Company; and their chief factory was fixed on the island of Kodiak, a central situation between the Aleutic islands and Kamtschatka to the west, and the coast of America to the east. Nothing, however, could be more imperfect than the condition of these factories, with regard either to defence or to the means of equipping ships for sea. Their supplies had been received by land along the almost immeasurable length of Asiatic Russia; a journey which, taking in the deviation by the town of Irkutsk, has been calculated at the almost incredible extent of eight or nine thousand miles. Heavy commodities, such as cables, were cut into pieces of seven or eight fathoms in length, and spliced together at the end of this most tedious peregrination. Anchors it was almost impossible to transmit, but they also were carried thither in pieces, and afterward joined together. The mode of conveyance, being over a frozen surface, was, for land-carriage, comparatively easy: but the distance was so very great, that European merchandise of all kinds was sold at twenty times its original cost; so that it evidently became indispensable to relinquish the plan of journeying by land, and to export commodities from the Baltic by sea, round Cape Horn, or the Cape of Good Hope. Obvious as this course was, the resolution to attempt it was first taken by Russia so lately as in 1803, and proceeded from Captain Krusenstern; who had served in the English navy from 1793 to 1799, and had been strongly impressed with the advantages which would accrue to Russia from the extension of her traffic with China.

Captain K. visited Canton in 1799, and had ocular observation of the large profits which were obtained by the English and the Americans, who brought furs from the north-west coast of America. On returning to Russia, therefore, he made repeated attempts to interest government in the support of the projected traffic: but he met with a series of discouragements, and had almost relinquished the hope of success, when in 1802 he was apprized that the Russian cabinet had at last come to an affirmative determination, and had fixed on him as the commander of the expedition. The limited extent of the Russian marine not supplying two vessels of a proper construction, persons were dispatched to purchase them at Hamburgh: but, none being found there of a suitable description, they proceeded to London, the only place,' says Captain K., where we can reckon

reckon with certainty on having a choice of good vessels.' There, at last, two ships, one of 370 and one of 450 tons, were purchased; at an expence, including repairs, of 22,000l. sterling. They were forthwith honoured with Russian appellations, the larger being named the Nadeshda, or the Hope; and the smaller, which proved the better sailer, being called the Neva. In the mean-time, the Russian cabinet resolved to superadd to the nautical objects of the expedition, one of a diplomatic nature, viz. an embassy to the court of Japan; hopes being entertained that, by the transmission of a flattering letter, and the display of pomp in the embassy, an impression might be made which would be favourable to the opening of an intercourse with that otherwise forbidden territory. M. Resanoff, a man of rank, was accordingly appointed ambassador; and valuable presents were prepared for his Japanese Majesty and his ministers. With this envoy, and with respectable associates in the capacity of physician, surgeon, astronomer, draughtsman, and naturalist, Captain K. set sail from Cronstadt in August 1803. Excepting the scientific men, the whole of his companions, officers as well as sailors, were Russians. I had been advised,' he says, to take some foreigners among my crew; but I knew too much of the spirit of Russian sailors, whom I prefer to all others, even to the English, to listen to this proposition.'

After having passed some time at Copenhagen, and subsequently at Falmouth, the Nadeshda and her consort proceeded to the Canaries, the coast of Brazil, Cape Horn, and finally to the Washington islands, which lie towards the middle of the immense Pacific Ocean, about nine degrees south of the equator. They form part of a large groupe of islands which have long been known by the general name of Marquesas; and the separate cluster which they constitute received the appellation of Washington from the Captain of an American merchantman, who first visited them in 1791: but French and English navigators; not considering in the light of a discovery this visit to a portion of an assemblage of islands, of which the general position was previously known, have declined to give them the name of the American legislator. Captain K. came in sight of Nukahiwa, one of the Washington islands, on the 6th of May 1804, and steered along shore in quest of the harbour called Port Anna Maria :

The whole coast appears like an uninterrupted line of perpendicular rocks, connected with a chain of mountains, streching quite inland. These craggy barren rocks have a gloomy appearance, which is only enlivened by beautiful cascades, falling near each other, from the rocks into the sea, from a height of at least 1000 feet.