would further proceed; and the castle was shortly after buried in silence." P. 151.

We conceive that our readers patience will be as much disconcerted as Mr. Wolfred; we shall therefore give them no more of these "horrible horrors," which exceed any we can remember, excepting those in Tom Thumb the great.

ARCHITECTURE.

ART. XVIII. History of the Cathedral Churches of Great Britain. Illustrated with a Series of highly finished Engravings. By James Storer. 8vo. 31. 3s. Rivingtons.

1814.

This is the first volume of a work which is intended to illus trate the history and antiquities of all the Cathedrals in the Kingdom. Of all the works which have been published exhibiting the views, the ground plan, the history, and antiquities of our English Cathedrals, we know of none more calculate to afford general pleasure than the volume before us. The plates are very prettily executed, and the various points in which the views are taken shew great judgment and taste; and are peculiarly calculated to present the mind with that admonitus locorum, or association of pleasing ideas, which is often attached from various causes to these ancient and venerable piles.

Mr. Storer has given us eighteen plates of Canterbury; nine of Chichester, ten of Lincoln; nine of Oxford; nine of Peter borough, and nine of Winchester. They have all considerable merit, but we particularly admire those of Lincoln, Peterborough, and Winchester. The plans of the ground work are accurate, and the measurements precise. The history attached to each Cathedral is given with much fidelity, and cannot fail of satisfying the curiosity of those who feel an interest in antiquarian researches. Though it will not supersede the more splendid plates of Mr. Buckler, or the architectural beauties of Mr. Britton, yet we recommend this volume as an admirable accompaniment to these works which are upon a larger and a grander scale and fastidious indeed must the taste of that man be, who is not gratified with the miniature beauties which this volume exhibits.

ART.

MISCELLANIES.

ART. XIX. Memoirs of General Moreau. By J. Philip part, Esq. Maps and Plates. 8vo. pp. 294. Colburn. 1814.

The splendour of the events, which emblazon the memory of the past year have so dazzled our sight and bewildered our ima gination, that we are almost unable to recur to those sad realities which attended the earlier stages of its accomplishment. Among these melancholy events, we know of none which deserves a more conspicuous place in the records of a grateful world, than the fall of that brave General who is the subject of these memoirs. We are therefore pleased to see the public attention recalled to this heroic spirit, by a volume which presents a full and satisfactory history of his whole life, and of all the campaigns in which he served. Various pamphlets professing to give a full history of General Moreau appeared about the time of his death, but all of them were miserable performances, and tended rather to disgust than to attract the attention of the public. This publication is of a very different cast; the authentic records which have been searched with industry and reported with fidelity, render its information in the highest degree satisfactory. By its perusal the mind of the reader will be recalled to the various campaigns in Germany and Italy since the year 1794 in which General Moreau took so active a part; he will also find a detailed and accurate account of the seige of Kehl, and of the passage of the Rhine effected by General Moreau in the environs of Strasbourg. The account of this last transaction we shall extract, as it may give the reader a favourable idea of the entertainment, which he may meet with in these memoirs.

"About the middle of April 1797, the French Directory, acquainted with the critical situation in which the present ruler of France was placed, then entangled amidst the Styrian mountains, and hearing of the approach of two numerous armies, the one from Suabia under Laudohn, and the other from Hungary, commanded by Alvinzi, with an intention to act on his rear, was desirous of a prompt and powerful diversion, and therefore gave directions for the immediate march of general Moreau.

"The safety of the army of Italy, the interest of his country and his glory, all imperiously demanded that the opening of the campaign by the army of the Rhine and Moselle should not be delayed, and the passage of the Rhine promptly effected.

"On the 19th of April, all the army under general Moreau quitted its cantonments, which extended from Huninguen to Langau, and marched towards the Rhine, which the general designed passing on the following night.

"The

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"This distinguished officer, whose masterly retreat had acquired him a greater proportion of the confidence of the French people, than could have been obtained from a succession of victories, had no bridge over the Rhine, and but one set of pontoons. To establish promptly and with safety a bridge, it was necessary to obtain a footing on the opposite- bank. General Moreau, therefore, in order to embarrass his enemy by harrassing him on several points at the same time, and prevent him from directing his force to that, which was actually in danger, prepared several false attacks, calculated to conceal the real one, which was to take place a little below Strasbourg. He intended to effect the passage of the river before break of day, but the difficulty of assembling sufficient boats retarded the embarkation of the troops till six o'clock, and for more than two hours before, a heavy fire had taken place all the way from Brisach to fort Louis, either from the opposite bank of the river, or from the little islands possessed by the hostile parties. The advanced posts of the Imperialists being put on their guard by these attacks, it became necessary for general Moreau to attempt his passage by open force.

"The attacking force, consisting of 15,000 men, he divided into three bodies, under the command of generals Jordis, Davoust, and Duhesme. The latter with five battalions first set out from where the little river Ill joints the Rhine, and advanced towards the opposite bank. The Austrians perceiving their approach, fired briskly upon the boats, but the French, partly covered by the islands, did not suffer much, and made good their landing on the island nearest the right bank, from which they forded a narrow branch of the river, and established themselves on the German side. It was defended by the ordinary advanced picquets, who, seeing so superior a force coming against them, fell back to their reserve; and before sufficient force could be assembled to attack the French, their boats had time to return to the left bank, and to bring over fresh troops.

"To shelter themselves from the fire of artillery and a great superiority of force, it became necessary that this body of troops should make themselves masters of Diersheim, and which they readily effected. The Imperialists several times attempted to retake it, but in vain. The French received continual reinforcements, either by their boats or flying bridge, which they had established and by means of the latter, some pieces of cannon and some hundred horse joined them from Strasbourg. Whilst this enabled the French to make a more orderly arrangement of their force, the Austrians perceived that every hour diminished the possibility of obliging them to repass the river; and therefore attacked, with the greatest intrepidity, Diersheim, into which village they penetrated. The French, however, knowing that every thing rested on their keeping possession of the village, brought up all their force, and a most sanguinary engagement took place.

"During the contest, the reinforcements sent to the French by means of the boats followed each other so rapidly, that they became

in a short time, greatly superior to their enemies, who were there•fore obliged to give up the attack of the village; they lost also that of Honau, where the French lodged themselves. On the left the Austrians made another attack, which was also frustrated by a superior force and during the night the French established a bridge of boats across the river, and brought over such an abundance of ammunition, artillery, and fresh troops, that on the following morning they were in sufficient force to defy all the efforts of the Imperialists.”

P. 132.

The volume is accompanied with a very good map of the course of the Rhine, which illustrates the operations of the army at the seige of Kell and the passage of the army across the river. A fac simile of Moreau's last letter is also given, and a very to. lerable portrait of the General in his younger days.

ART. XX. An Introduction to Geology. By Robert Bakewell. 8vo. pp. 362. Harding.

1813.

: To those who are desirous of becoming acquainted with the science of geology this volume will be a useful and an intelligible companion. The arrangement of the subject is sufficiently scientific; but the principal recommendation of the volume is its practical simplicity. Mr. Bakewell does not enter so much into chyinical disquisitions, as upon those descriptions of strata, &c. which are evidently founded upon experience. His knowledge of English geology appears extensive. His account of the coal mines and their accompanying strata appears to be just and

accurate,

"Mineralogists have enumerated many different kinds of black .coal: several of these pass by gradation into each other in the same mine. The most important varieties in an economical view are the hard coal, like that of Staffordshire, and bituminous or caking coal, called in London sea coal,

"Black coal is composed of charcoal, bitumen, and earthy matter. The latter forms the ashes which remain after combustion; these vary in proportion in different coals, from 2 to near 20 per cent. The proportion of bitumen 'varies from 20 to 40 per cent. and the charcoal from 40 to more than 80 per cent.

"The most common repository of coal is argillaceous sand-stone; it is never found in chalk or roe-stone, and very rarely in lime-stone. Coal exists in strata, which vary in thickness from a few inches to several yards. The stratá are of limited extent: they occur over each other, separated by strata of clay, or stone. The series of strata existing in one situation is denominated a coal field.

"Each coal field has its peculiar series of strata that appear to have no connection with any other; hence they are denominated

by

by Werner "independant coal formations." The different strata which accompany coal, consist of beds of clay, some of which fre quently contain fresh-water muscle-shells, beds of sand-stone of various qualities, argillaceous shale coloured with bitumen, called coal shale, loose stones called rubble, and strata of iron-stone. Many of these strata abound in vegetable impressions of ferns, and of other plants which are either unknown genera or belong to tropical climates..

The different strata under a bed of coal are frequently similar to the strata over it, and the same series is again repeated under the lower beds of coal. Sometimes a single bed of stone of vast thickness separates two beds of coal. In other instances only a very thin stratum of shale or elay lies between coal beds.

"Numerous beds or seams of coal occur in one coal field, but very rarely more than three of these are worked. The thickness of coal seams or beds varies from a few inches to several yards; but each of these generally preserves the same thickness throughout its whole extent, when not broken by dislocations of the strata. Instances to the contrary sometimes occur, in which the same bed will be narrower or wider, and sometimes divided by a stratum of incombustible earthy matter in different parts of its course. Few beds of coal are worked to any great depth which are less than two feet in thickness. The stratum lying over a bed of coal is called the roof, and the stratum under it the floor. The facility of getting coal depends, very much on the compactness of the stone which forms the roof, not only on account of the security from falling, but for keeping out the upper water and preserving the pit in a dry state. The great expense incurred in supporting the roof when it is loose, frequently prevents a valuable bed of coal from being worked, or absorbs all the profit. In some situations the roof is indurated clay, impregnated with bitumen and pyrites. When this falls down, and is intermixt with water and small coal at the bottom, it takes fire spontaneously; on which account the miners close up the space with clay where the coal has been worked, to prevent the access of air to the combustible matter. This kind of clay is called 'tow,” it is common in the Ashby de la Zouch coal field, and in Staffordshire. Coal strata are frequently bent in concavities, resem bling that of a trough or basin, dipping down on one side of the field and rising on the other." P. 141.

ART. XXI. Political Portraits, Historical and Biographical. By W. Playfair. 2 vols, Svo. 1. 4s. Chapple.

1813.

We should not suspect this to be the work of Mr. Playfair of Edinburgh for various reasons, but especially because the principles are such as we generally approve. To those who are desirous of attaining a bird's eye view of the characters of those political men, who within these last twenty years have appeared upon the

stage