are still shining in their courses, clear and young, as when the shepherd first noted them on the plain of Shinar.' As this wondrous planet, earth, is journeying with its fellows through infinite space, so are the wondrous destinies embarked on it, journeying through infinite time, under the same high guidance. How many will be irrevocably fixed, before the sun shall again be darkened by that shadowy eclipse!

'POTTERS' FIELD.'- Few readers in the country, we may believe, know what is the reality of that town receptacle, par excellence, the Potters' Field.' Nor had we a full sense of its character, until, some months since, on a fine dewy summer morning, we accompanied a friend to the spot, a little way from the northern suburb of the metropolis. 'The sun was warm, the sky was clear,' and as we entered the gate that opens into the spacious enclosure, the wind at first came fresh and balmy from the west; but as we arose a gentle green swell, and saw before us the long dun-colored ridge that marked the place where the latest victims had been laid, a pungent smell of mortality' was borne to us upon the breeze, insomuch that the boldest held his breath for a time. We presently stood beside the place of deposit,' for that is the term. A trench, a little wider than the average height of man, and some five feet deep, is dug along the entire field. Cross-wise of this, are laid the coarse coffins of the needy and the destitute, who, having fought with poverty and affliction, until death made it a drawn battle, here repose from the unequal contest. As we were scanning the rude coffins- some long, others short, the intervening chinks filled in, in rigid economy of space, with infants, in their smiles and innocent age cut off'the low murmur of decay came to the car, from beneath the lime-sprinkled surface, dimly-sombre, like meeting snow upon a dark ground. We could not but call to mind, as we gazed upon this scene, the lines of the lamented BRIGHT:

6

"Yet it matters not much, when the bloom is fled,

And the light is gone from the lustrous eye,

And the sensitive heart is cold and dead,

Where the mouldering ashos are left to lie;

It matters not much, if the soaring mind,

Like the flowers' perfume, is exhaled to heaven,
That its earthly shroud should be cast behind,
To decay wherever a place is given.'

--

Surely, thought we, our departed friend, when he wrote these beautiful stanzas, had never beheld a spot, a place that is given,' like this! Ridge beyond ridge, to yonder fence-paling, lie, in 'cold obstruction,' the thick swaths of humanity! Sometimes a violent rain washes away the earth, when the ends of the coarse coffins, the mouldering and the new, tier above tier, are bared to the day- an awful spectacle! Yet the walks and grassy avenues of Washington Square, along which flit the light feet of the beautiful, the young, and the gay, cover a close succession of these ribbed trenches, full crowded with their myriad sleepers! Apart from these long reservoirs of death, is a grassy corner, a priviledged spot, where, for one almighty dollar,' a shallow grave may be purchased. Four or five rude and ill-shapen excavations, of some three feet depth, were here yawning for their tenants; and in the damp corners of one or two of them, were squatted three or four bright green toads, the precious jewels in their heads' sparkling in the falling light, and their semi-recumbent bodies bathed in the morning dew. No one can turn from scenes like these, and think lightly of the disposition of the body after death. The rural cemetery arises to the mind, in palpable contrast; and the beholder, as he passes from the field of promiscuous burial, exclaims with the poot:

VOL. XII.

.

SCIENTIFIC BURLESQUES.-The Torch,' a clever London periodical, for late numbers of which we are indebted to the kindness of a friend in England, has an amusing report of an Association for the Advancement of Science,' held at Newcastle, England. The subjects discussed are somewhat unique. In the departinent of mathematical and physical science, a committee reports in favor of instituting a prosecution for libel against Sir JOHN HERSCHELL, for making observations' on the moon; and another proposes a reduction of the stars, in consequence of the more economical diffusion of gas-light.' The mineral logical and chemical section have an animated discussion of 'quarts;' and a learned member reads a very interesting paper on the chemical combinations of half-and-half,” observing, that if the one liquor should predominate over the other, it would be a misnomer; and illustrating the theory, by combining the fluids together in such nice proportions, as to enable him to swallow then both together, without the company present being able to pronounce which first arrived at its destination! A second describes an experiment which he made with Cordialis Hodgesii,' which we take to be 'Hodges' Best,' in the spiritual way. He reports, that he took a bottle of the fluid, and poured upon it barely as much cold water as was sufficient to prevent its being what is technically denominated 'neat,' expecting thus, of course, to procure a saturating solution. This he continued to imbibe, until it began to diminish in specific gravity; and he was much astonished to observe, that on a second experiment being made, his gravity appeared to diminish with it; and it was found that each succeeding solution diminished in quantity, and smelt less of the Cordialis Hodgesii,' in proportion as the bottle was emptied of its contents. He was not aware, until apprised by a police constable, that the Marquis of Waterford had noticed this action of a small quantity of water on the same liquid, before!

A member of the section of Medical Science' read a curious paper on the quantity of air required by a member of Parliament during the progress of a debate;' and submitted a new method of raising the wind, which had met with the cordial approbation of many of the Irish members. He also noticed instances in the House of Commons, where the air which had been pure and fit for human respiration, previous to a speech of Mr. Daniel O'Connell, had, subsequent to an oration of that individual, become fetid, and unfit to enter the lungs of a Christian. The learned member was followed by a medical gentlemen, who exhibited to the meeting the skull of Eugene Aram, when a school-boy, and a second son of Galen presented another of the same individual, when at a more advanced age!' The innocence of the boy, contrasted with the criminality of the murderer, as clearly developed in the two existing heads, was highly corroborative of the incontrovertibility of skullology. An illiterate by-stander, who interrupted the meeting by asking how Eugene Aram came to have two skulls?' was immediately taken into custody, and lodged in the county gaol. The business of the section of Zoology, was confined to an account of a short-sighted fish, which had been seen with barnacles, on the coast of Surinam! And thus terminated the eighth quarterly meeting of the Newcastle 'Association for the Advancement of Science.'

Since the above was placed in type, Boz's latest Report of the Second Meeting of the Mudfog Association for the Promotion of Everything,' has reached us. The reporter dates his communications from the Blackboy and Stomach-ache' inn, Oldcastle, (a palpable hit at the ridiculous tavern-signs in England, such as the Bull-and-Mouth,' the Cat-andSalutation,' etc.,) where, considering the immense throng of strangers in Mudfog, he has succeeded in obtaining very comfortable accommodations, on very reasonable terms, having secured a sofa in the first-floor passage, at one guinea per night, which includes permission to take his meals in the bar, on condition that he walks about the streets at all other times, to make room for other gentlemen similarly situated!' He finds, also, that equally felicitous accommodations may be obtained at a rival hotel, 'he Boot-jack and Countenance,' where have already arrived, among other distinguished savans, the Hon. and Rev. Mr. Long Eers, Sir Hookham Snivey, Mr. X. Misty, and Prof. Pumpkinskull. The section of Zoology and Botany is opened with a paper on the disappearance of dancing bears from the streets of London, with observations on the exhibition of monkeys, as connected with barrel-organs. The former, i should seem, had gradually fallen off, until not one remained, to create a taste for natural history in the breasts of the poor and uninstructed;

and of the latter, the proportion, in the year 1829, it appeared by the parliamentary return, was as one monkey to three organs! In the department of Display of Modes and Mechanical Science,' a member exhibited a most beautiful and delicate machine, of little larger size than an ordinary snuff-box, manufactured entirely by himself, and composed exclusively of steel; by the aid of which, more pockets could be picked in one hour, than by the present slow and tedious process, in four and twenty. Another presented a treatise, entitled, 'Practical Suggestions on the necessity of providing some harmless and wholesome relaxtion for the young Noblemen of England.' A space of ground was to be enclosed, in which should be erected stables for such as affected ostlering; streets, also, should be provided with cheap houses, and door-bells, whose handles could be easily pulled off at night; lamps, which could be broken at a comparatively small expense per dozen; footpavements, for gentlemen to drive their cabriolets upon, with pedestrians from the workhouse, who might be knocked down and run over, for a trifling charge per head; and a police office, with automaton officers, should be attached, furnished with an inclined plane, for any nobleman or gentleman who might wish to bring in his horse as a witness! An admirable satire this, upon the Marquis of Waterford' class of the nobility, and the ease with which they escape the penalty of their misdemeanors. We can allude to but one more specimen : Mr. Blank exhibited a model of a fashionable annual, composed of copper-plates, gold leaf, and silk boards, and worked entirely by milk and water! Mr. Prosee, after examining the machine, declared it to be so ingeniously composed, that he was wholly unable to discover how it went on at all;' to which the exhibitor replied: 'Nobody can, and that's the beauty of it!'

4

PORTRAIT OF 'Boz'-PICKWICK IN AMERICA.-A large and finished portrait of the author of the Papers of the Pickwick Club,' the only one in America, flashes upon the passer-by, in the window of the publication office of this Magazine, Messrs. WILEY AND PUTNAM, Broadway. The countenance is that of a young man of some twenty-three years, and its general expression, the reader will scarcely be prepared to learn, is that of melancholy. A profusion of fair hair is parted gracefully over an ample forehead, replete with the best intellectual organs,' and falls carelessly over the ears. The mouth is expressive and well cut, and that invariable accompaniment of talent, a full-rounded nostril, is a conspicuous feature. We had secretly promised ourselves the pleasure of being enabled to present our readers, during the progress of the present volume, with original articles from the pen of the author of the inimitable Pickwickian records; but we must postpone the gratification, it should seem, until it can be enjoyed in an enhanced and double Mr. DICKENS writes, under date of August 31st: 'I should be very happy to write for the KNICKERBOCKER, but I do assure you, that I have scarcely time to complete my existing engagements. So I think I must defer this pleasure, until I visit America, which I hope to do before very long, and then I shall be more independent and free, which will be more in keeping.' Mr. DICKENS has doubtless learned, from the unanimous testimony of his countrymen, who have travelled among us, that the Americans, as a mass, are a humorloving people. Should he journey through, or tarry within our borders, for a brief space, he will find the best proof of this verdict, in the fact, he is himself, as an author, unicannot resist the remark, that

sense.

versally 'endenizened in the national heart.' And he the writings of Boz,' volumnious and various as they have been, and continue to be, rather increase than flag in interest, as they advance. The latest number of Nicholas Nickleby,' which reaches us by the Great Western,' fully sustains the promise afforded by the previous portions of the narrative. The affection of the Nickleby family, the fondness and weakness of the mother, the high spirit of Nicholas, and the confiding loveliness of his sister Kate, are clearly depicted, and in fine artistical contrast. The interior of the miliner's shop of Madame Mantalina, with its interesting and amiable forewoman, the once young and pretty, but now old and sycophantic Knag, and the assemblage of heartless puppies of the town, Mr. Verisopht, and kindred worthies, at the house of the cold and unprincipled worldling, Ralph Nickleby, are not less felicitously drawn, and vigorously executed. We make a long arm' across the Atlantic, and confidently, in behalf

of some fifty thousand KNICKERBOCKER readers, grasp the unreal hand of our author, and bid him welcome among us, whenever it shall suit his convenience and pleasure to turn his face hitherward.

THE CITY OF ROCHESTER.

We had prepared for the present number an elaborate notice, with liberal extracts, of a work of some four hundred pages, entitled Sketches of Rochester, with Incidental Notices of Western New York.' It is a collection of various matters, designed to illustrate the progress of Rochester, during the first quarter century of its existence; including a map of the city, and some representations of scenery, edifices, etc. Arranged by HENRY O'REILLY.' The great length to which the department of 'Literary Notices' has extended, must be our apology for presenting a mere synopsis, rather than a review, of the contents of the work. It opens with a brief sketch of the rise, progress, and present condition, of the city of Rochester; gives the geology and medical topography of the town and its vicinity; a history of the lands of the original Six Nations, with some particulars of the principal tracts in the subdivisions of Western New York, the progress of improvement from the Hudson westward to the Genessee and Niagara rivers, together with complete statistics of the city, and sketches of the recent Indian occupants of Western New York, and some of the prominent founders of the town, and promoters of its unrivalled growth and prosperity. The work is full and ample, in all these details, and arranged with much clearness and tact. We can heartily commend it to the reader, as a succinct history, not only of Rochester, but of Western New-York. He will learn, especially, from its pages, what that young town has become, which Capt. BASIL HALL described as a place where the streets started up in the forest of their own accord; as if a great box full of new houses had been sent by steam from New-York, and tumbled out on the half-cleared land.' Where he heard the anvils and hammers ringing, and the saws and axes flashing amid the woods, he would now find a noble city of brick and stone, with its spacious well-paved streets its numerous steeples rising heavenward, and its inhabitants rejoicing in its deep and wellfounded prosperity. When the Great West shall have filled up, and New York has become a London, what will Rochester- a town which has reached its present estate, not through the aid of immense capitalists, or incorporated companies, but by the industry and integrity of those who, like the city itself, have worked their way up from the stump'-what then, we repeat, will Rochester, with its inexhaustible natural resources, become, and what the other noble towns of middle and western New York? The engravings of the volume are clear, and strikingly correct, and the letter-press is handsomely executed, on good paper.

BONAPARTE. -The two volumes from the press of Messrs. CAREY AND HART, entitled Napoleon and his Times,' by CAULINCOURT, Duke of Vicenza,' as might naturally be inferred, possess, in portions, absorbing interest. The details, however, have but one tendency to magnify, alike peace war, the character of a selfish and ambitious man, whose fame, like a statue of snow is slowly melting away beneath the sun of truth. Great indeed was Napoleon, in one' but good in none. The more conspicuous human instruments by which he worked out his large designs, were slaves to his iron will, not less than the countless thousands who were bound with the brave amid Victory's sheaves;' yet they delighted to serve him, so long as he knit up their chains into ornamental festoons, even while laboring, as he always did, to elevate himself above the rest of mankind, by stifling all feelings which he partook in common with them. Such are the real evidences, malgre the transparent glosses, which these volumes afford. It should be added, that they are not written by CAULINCOURT, Duke of Vincenza, but are the recorded conversations of that distinguished nobleman. The work has had a rapid sale, the American edition being already exhausted, although scarcely a week has elapsed since its first publication. Its externals of paper and typography are superior to the 'general run' of similar republications.

THE ARTICLE ON LOCKHART'S LIFE OF SCOTT, in the present number, was intended by the writer to have formed an original paper, in the body of the work. Arriving too late, however, to occupy this advance position,' we have been compelled, contrary to our custom, to permit an unofficial document to lead off' in our own department. We mention this fact, to save any good-natured friend the trouble, by reference to a past volume of this Magazine, of ferreting out that which, unexplained, might strike him as something very like a discrepancy.

THE DRAMA.

PARK THEATRE. - The first month of the new season has passed off brilliantly. POWER, whose unapproachable delineations of Irish character have, from previous visits, become so familiar, has again gone through his round of laughter-moving eccentricities, with unabated effect. It is almost too late in the day to attempt to add any thing, in the way of praise, to the full measure of commendation which has been bestowed upon the efforts of this admirable performer. Mr. POWER has presented, during this engagement, four new pieces, which require some notice. The first and most important of these, is the play entitled 'Rory O'More,' dramatized from the celebrated novel of that name, by the gifted author. The principal incidents of the tale are effectively introduced, and work together well and naturally enough, in the drama, and make up a plot of more than ordinary interest. It is enough to say, in recommendation of the comedy of the performance that the two principal characters, De Welskein' a French Smuggler, and 'Rory O'More' an honest, follicking, light-hearted son of the sod, are in the hands of PLACIDE and POWER; the bad English of the one, and good Irish of the other, being brought continually (as Mrs. Malaprop would say) in beautiful juxtaposition.' Mrs. RICHARDSON added much to the serious interest of the piece, by her effective acting in the part of 'Kathleen.' There was much pathos and beauty in some scenes, especially in her meeting with O'More and Shan Dhu. Mrs. VERNON rattled through the very short scene allotted her, with all that vivacity and spirit which characterise her efforts. This lady, like Mrs. WHEATLEY, slights nothing. In her hands, a character of little importance meets with the same care and justice, as would the prominent heroine of the piece. Mr. RICHINGS, as Shan Dhu,' was the picturesque villain that any modern Salvator would fall in love with. In such characters, Mr. Richings is without a rival. His costume is always in 'horribly good' taste; his walk, action, and utterance, bespeak altogether an individual of a description decidedly on the north side of amiable. It is a commonly received opinion, that the devil is less ugly than he is painted; this may be the case with those of his insinuating agents whom Mr. RICHINGS Occasionally represents; but whether his studies are from copies, or from Nature herself, his pictures are perfect specimens of that sort of personage which a traveller of tolerably delicate nerves would willingly avoid encountering alone on a heath at midnight. Those who have read the book - and wi.. has not?-need not be told of the racy portraits of Irish character with which it abounds, nor be advised of the interest of the plot. The scenes between De Welskein and Rory, are full of fun. The Fox story is a whopper,' and comes off at the end with a twang, which contrasts quite dramatically with the previous jest.

sh

་

We are not able to say much in praise of the piece entitled ' Confounded Foreigners,' the principal humor of which seems to consist in the bungling efforts of a Frenchman to pass for an Irishman, and of an Irishman to hide his brogue under a Fren affair, and hardly worth the trouble of a rehearsal. T the broad humor of the first scene interspersed as Irish wit, made the most of by the modus loquendi' of the nothing by comparison with the last. McIntosh and Co.' is

--

disguise. It is rather a silly comes next, and excepting with some original scintillations of

TYRONE this piece will gainch better. PLACIDE and POWER, together, however, can hardly fail to infuse some spirit into the dullest dramatic compound. There is almost as much improbability in the story of this piece, as in the Irish Lion,' and no in crease of originality. It is, however, more deserving of the exertions of the 'dram. per.,' than either of the two last. The wit is less farcical, and the situations more dramatic, than is generally characteristic of such ephemeral trifles.

'MADAME VESTRIS,' (now Mrs. C. MATTHEWS,) and her husband, have been of course the greatest features' of the month. Public expectation was more than usually aroused to witness the most celebrated English artist ofer time, and extravagant notions of her merits, both as a singer and actress, existed. Madame VESTRIS has sustained some of her most varied and favorite characters; and perhaps the greatest commendation we can bestow upon her, is to declare, that public expectation has not been much disappointed. It is possible that the diversity of talent which she has displayed, is after all the greatest wonder. Some one has said, that she is the