with us. America, in 1817, legislated on this principle, and passed retaliatory acts, on account of our own exclusive maritime regulations. Russia and Prussia pursued a similar course. For these reasons there can be no hesitation on the wisdom of the measures lately introduced by Mr. Wallace for relaxing the navigation laws. Had such an important change been attempted twenty years ago, it would have excited a general ferment; but such is the progress of sound notions on public economy, that it was effected without opposition.

Retaliatory prohibitions are sometimes resorted to. The French, in 1667, imposed very high duties on a great number of foreign manufactures, and refusing to moderate them in favour of the Dutch, they prohibited the importation of the wines, brandies, and manufactures of France. About the same time the French and English began to oppress each other's industry by duties and prohibitions. In 1697, the English prohibited the importation of bone lace, the manufacture of Flanders. The government of that country, in return, prohibited the importation of English woollens. In 1700, the prohibition of importing bone lace was taken off, upon condition that the importation of English woollens into Flanders should be put on the same footing as before.

There may be policy in these retaliations when there is a probability that they will procure a repeal of the high duties or prohibitions complained of. Otherwise, they are hurtful; for it is no reason one nation should not resort to the best and cheapest market, because another, from mistaken policy, denies itself that advantage.

COVENT GARDEN.

ON Wednesday the 20th instant, a new tragedy, from the pen of the late MR. PETER BAILEY, was produced at this theatre, under the title of Orestes in Argos. The author (a man of considerable talent, and no ordinary literary attainments) died some time since, suddenly, leaving, as we understand, little towards the future maintenance of his widow and family, besides the probable proceeds of a dramatic composition, which undoubtedly possesses considerable merit, and is every way worthy of the ingenious writer of a poem which deserved more notice than it received,-we allude to his Sketches in St. George's Fields. The subject of the piece now before the public has been handled by a variety of drama. tists; but especially by Sophocles, Euripides, Alfieri, and Voltaire, the treatment of the story by the latter of which, has

evidently been consulted by the modern ; yet without neglecting the suggestions of his own prompt and original imagination, or depending, to any servile extent, on the authority even of classical examples.

The dramatis personæ are as follows:Egisthus, usurper of the throne of Argos, (MR. BENNETT,) Orestes, son of Agamemnon, (C. KEMBLE,) Pylades, his friend, (MR. COOPER,) Arcas, an old officer of Agamemnon, (MR. EGERTON,) Lycus, an emissary of Ægisthus, (MR. Evans,) Clytemnestra, reigning with Ægisthus in Argos, (MRS. BARTLEY,) Electra & Chrysomethis, daughters of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, (MISS JONES and MISS LACY,) and Nemesis, (MISS HAMMERSLEY.)

Tracing the outlines of the tragedy, as filled up by the principles, conduct, and situations of these characters, it is sufficient to state, that the first act is chiefly occupied by the developement of the policy and motives of Electra, Clytemnestra, and Ægisthus; that the second produces the arrival of Orestes and Pylades, in order to announce the pretended death of the former, and to disclose himself to his sister, Electra; and that in the third, fourth, and fifth acts, we witness the grief of Clytemnestra for the supposed death of her son, the joy of his after suspicion of the fact, Orestes' declaration to the tyrant of his real name and purpose of visiting him, his destruction of the tyrant, his subsequent condemnation to death, and release by the soldiery and people, and the subsequent death of the queen his mother, by his own hand, the relation of which parricidal deed is given by Pylades.

gisthus,

If with the historical narration of the fortunes of Orestes, as given by Lempriere, our readers connect these dramatic particulars, they will, without being fatigued with the detail of MR. BAILEY'S scenes, have a sufficiently clear conception of his main or leading points, even though, in some instances, he has taken the liberty of deviating from the severe truths of an ancient story. It is enough to remark, that the leading features of the play are the representations of the revenge justly taken of a foul adulterer, by the son of the injured husband, and the too well merited fate of the woman brought to iniquity, infamy, and perdition, by the corrupting power of his ambition and lawless lust. The piece concludes with the incident with which

schylus, in his Eumenides, commences his plot; that is, with the despair of Orestes, and his imaginary pursuit by the furies.

The merit of this tragedy is such as,

in some respect, to recall the departing character of the age as a dramatic one. Most of the scenes are highly spirited in their dialogue, and many of the situations are striking, and full of effect. With respect to the language, it is remarkably simple and unassuming. The only stamp of affected poetic elevation that struck us, was contained in the curse pronounced in the fourth act by Orestes on the tyrant Egisthus. But we are far from meaning to intimate by this remark, that the lauguage is in any instance mean or flat. On the contrary, its general style is bold, glowing, and powerful; and the characters are so strongly marked and distinguished, as to manifest much mastery in the art of dramatic colouring.

This is all well-all judicious: but we cannot say so much of the choice of the story. In our opinion, its epoch lies too far back in the recesses of ancient history, to greatly interest the generality of the play-going public. When events, from their locality and period, are beyond the limits of general anxiety or solicitude, they are wanting in that effect which their representations produced in times less remote from those in which they happened. To the ancient Greeks, and even to the Romans, the history of the heroes of the Trojan war, and whatever was connected with the most ancient prowess and glory, was both familiar, and forcibly appealing. Eschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides might select and treat such subjects with the greatest advantage that dramatic poetry can enjoy; and over and above this, a kind of religious awe attended such topics, a sort of sanctimonious faith-that at once excited an unfeigned reverence, and a secret

admiration.

SOCIAL ECONOMY.

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We have read a little elementary book on this subject which cannot be too exEcotensively known. It is called the familiar exposition of the leading points in nomy of Social Life," and comprises a the writings of Smith, Ricardo, Mill, Torrens, and other distinguished economists. The author is Mr. Marshall, vicepresident of the Leeds Mechanics' Institution, and had he been a writer by profession, instead of the first linen manuexecuted his task with more ability facturer in England, he could not have' It might, perhaps, have been a little more copious and illustrative; but for clearness, judicious arrangement, and selection of topics, it cannot very well be improved. The price is only sixpence, and it may be had of Messrs. Longman and Co., or any other bookseller.

ANSWERS TO QUERIES.

(Circulator, No. XIV.)

We have great pleasure in having an opportunity afforded, by an inquiry respecting the poker, of correcting a thoughtless act, still repeated with confidence, on account of the want of a proper circulator of useful knowledge among the public at large. When the poker is laid upon the coals, (at least if closely applied,) it renders the part impervious to air, and consequently, prevents combustion, the air which would have rushed through that part, passing by its sides, and as such may, so far as it is not entirely superficial, increase a little the combustion of those parts, but as a current of air passing uniformly through the combustible matter, must obviously be the best, the opposing effect of the poker must be injurious. To comment upon the assertion that a poker thus applied "draws up the fire," must at this day be quite superfluous.

Another Correspondent attempts the explanation thus:

The vividness or dulness of a fire is in proportion to the quantity of air consumed by it.

Fluids rush much more rapidly through a narrow than through a wide passage. A poker laid across the grate, over the fire, divides the wide draught of the chimney, near the embers, into two narrow ones,

his pupils was drawing sparks from the prime couductor of an electrical machine and happening to touch the exposed nerve of one of them with his scalpel, he observed that a sudden contraction of its limbs occurred. Similar contractions took place in the limbs which were hung upon iron hooks, and it was found that by placing one part of a frog upon one metal, and another upon a metal of a different kind, and connecting them by a metal, a still more active motion of the limbs was produced. These remarks were exemplified by placing the lower extremities of a frog in contact with a piece of zinc, the crural nerve of the animal being armed with a coating of tinfoil, and it was seen the moment the tin was made to touch the zinc, the limbs began to move as if the animal was living. The same effect was produced by touching the tin-foil and zinc at the same time with an arched piece of silver wire; and thus they may be made to Occur even twenty-four hours after the death of the frog. Now this convulsive action occurring in the limbs of a coldblooded animal, was called by Galvani animal-electricity; which he considered ceived that something in the nerves or as a property of living matter, and conmuscles themselves occasioned their con

traction.

Volta, Fowler, Robison, and other philosophers, have differed in opinion as vanism are to be considered as nervous or to whether the effects produced by galelectrical phenomena, and very singular discoveries have resulted from their contests upon these points. The human body has been subjected to similar excitations, and it is found, that if a plate of silver, such as a half-crown, be placed upon the tongue, and a plate of zinc below it, upon bringing the anterior edges of the two metals into contact a sharp and peculiar taste is experienced ; the tongue in this case appearing to act as an electrometer. If the zinc be placed beneath the tongue, and the silver between the lips and the gums near the eye-tooth, a distinct flash of light is seen when the metals touch each other. If they are applied to a part of the body, from which the cuticle has been removed by means of a blister, the sense of touch, like that of taste, indicates the presence of this active power. Some connoisseurs in porter consider that it has a superior flavour when drank from a pewter pot; and the pewter being composed of two different metals, the effect has been attributed by professor Robison to galvanic influence. Robison has also observed that snuff, when taken from a tin-box, in which part

of the iron has become exposed, has a different flavour from that which it possesses when in contact with tin alone. Solder, which consists of an admixture of metals, corrodes and tarnishes sooner than the pieces of metal it is used to unite; and in the same manner, when the cop per sheathing of vessels is fastened with iron bolts, the sheathing corrodes, and becomes loose, for which reason it is found necessary to fasten copper sheathing with bolts of copper instead of iron. In this state the subject remained till Volta, in the year 1800, communicated to sir Joseph Banks, in a letter from Como, the extraordinary discovery which had resulted from his endeavours to increase the activity of galvanic influence, by combining several pieces of metals. He took a number of pairs of zinc and copper-plates, which he placed upon each other, separating the pairs by discs of moistened paper, and found that by applying a moist ened finger at each end of the series, he immediately received a smart shock. This apparatus, which is called the voltaic pile, led to many discoveries in England; and though its principle is like that of galvanism, the range of power obtained by its means is so extensive, that in honour of Volta, the science in which its agency is employed, has been denominated voltaic electricity, or voltaism, while the term galvanism has been limited to that part of the subject which relates to mere animal motion. The mode of constructing the voltaic pile was then experimentally illustrated by placing a series of discs of copper, zinc, and moistened paper in succession. The first important result of the accumulation of galvanic power by the voltaic pile, was the decomposition of water, which effect was observed, by Messrs. Nicholson and Carlisle, to take place when the wires were made to communicate with that fluid. They also observed that one end of the wire became oxidated, and furnished no gas, while it was freely supplied by the other end; and they found it difficult to conceive in what manner the oxygen was communicated through the water from one point to the other, when the wires were two or three inches apart. As a more convenient method of constructing the pile, Volta placed his discs in cups of water; and Mr. Cruikshank of Woolwich introduced the plan of soldering the plates of zinc and copper together, and fixing them in grooves in a mahogany trough; each division containing two metallic plates, the plates of zinc being thicker than those of copper. Between each of these cells a fluid was introduced, generally containing a portion of nitric, sulphuric, or muriatic

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acid, or two of them; and by this arrangement, the galvanic action, when once commenced, might be continued to a great extent. It was afterwards thought an improvement to make the pair of plates movable, so that they could be raised from the cells when they were not in use, and sunk into their places when necessary. The Wollaston arrangement consisted in surrounding the single plates of zinc with copper; the power of the zinc being obviously increased by placing the plates of copper on each side, and a corresponding increase of effect was by this means obtained.

A list of the various metals, exhibiting their different degree of oxidability, was then referred to, commencing with the most oxidable, or zinc, and concluding with silver. They were arranged in the following order, each metal being positive or plus with reference to that which succeeds it :

Zinc.

Iron.

Tin.

Lead.

Copper. Silver.

The mode of constructing a voltaic pile was then experimentally illustrated by placing a series of discs of copper, zinc, and moistened paper in succession. A battery was afterwards put into action, and various metals deflagrated.

The decomposition of water in separate vessels was explained by a diagram, and the chemical effects of galvanic electricity briefly adverted to.

Dr. Birkbeck here observed, that the four supporters of combustion are electronegatives, and the forty-eight combustible bodies, together with azote, are electropositives. If some compound fluids are subjected to an operation similar to that which had been performed on water, a further decomposition will take place, of which examples were quoted; and the mode of exhibiting the transference of parts of the decomposed substance, through matter of different kind with which it would otherwise have combined, yet without any combination occurring, was particularly described.

In the hands of sir Humphry Davy, such important discoveries were not confined to theory alone, but were directed to the improvement of the arts. He has applied these principles to the contrivance of a mode of obviating the injurious effect of sea-water upon copper. It is well known that the copper sheathing of vessels becomes covered with a green coating, which is succeeded by another till the metal is entirely corroded. Now

it occurred to the enlightened mind of Davy, that if he could render the copper electro-negative by the addition of another metal, he should deprive the ocean, which is electro-positive, of its corrosive power, and render it inert and innocuous. He succeeded in keeping the copper bright and uncorroded by covering a small portion with tin, zinc, or cast iron; and thus, by a simple application of scientific knowledge, this illustrious chemist protected our vessels against an evil for which no remedy had been previously discovered. The first lecture was concluded by the following beautiful remark, that, as the researches of science had made us acquainted with the mode of governing the lightning, and placed at our disposal the irresistible agency of steam for controlling the power of the winds and the tides, the power of man over the material universe had been so greatly extended, that if he should succeed in arresting the turbulent movements of the restless ocean and who could assert that he would not succeed-the dominion of man over the world of waters might be pronounced effectual and complete.

Dr. Birkbeck commenced his second lecture by observing, that it was a favourite object of recent philosophical speculation, to reduce the varied energies which are traced in the events of material nature, to the influence of one all-pervading power; and the philosophers of antiquity also entertained an opinion, which was sanctioned by sir Isaac Newton, that there is in reality only one kind of matter in the universe, and that all the diversified appearances it assumes, result from different arrangements of its particles. If the existence of the former principle be admitted, the latter follows as a necessary consequence. Some have endeavoured to discover this principle by examining the nature of the various kinds of attraction, such as the attraction of cohesion, of gravitation, &c. while others have maintained that all the approximations thus character ised, have resulted from peculiar applications of the same force, or have succeeded the operation of matter, visible or invisible, in the exercise of appropriate impulses during ordinary motion. The late professor Playfair, of Edinburgh, observes, "that if we consider how many different laws seem to regulate the other phenomena of the material world, as in the action of impulse, cohesion, elasticity, chemical affinity, crystallization, heat, light, magnetism, electricity, and galvanism, the existence of a principle more general than these, and connecting all of them with that of gravitation, appears highly probable. The discovery of this great principle may be an honour reserved for a

future age: and science may again have to record names which are to stand on the same level with those of Newton and La Place. About such ultimate attainments," he adds, and they are the concluding words of the last treatise which science received from his enlightened mind,-"it were unwise to be sanguine, and unphilosophical to despair.”

Since the period when these observations were made by Playfair, two of the powers particularized by him, viz, electricity and magnetism, have been more closely linked, if not with gravitation, yet with each other. It has been for several years supposed, that the two imaginary fluids producing their respective phenomena materially influence each other. Lightning has been found to reverse or destroy the polarity of the magnetic needle, and also to communicate polarity. In consequence of these observations, the identity of electricity and lightning having been established, attempts have been made to communicate magnetism by means of ordinary electricity; but these attempts may be considered to have been imperfect, as the resulting effect was merely analogous to that produced on pieces of steel, by twisting, filing, &c. Ordinary electricity having thus failed to produce the desired effect, recourse was had to galvanism, and an ineffectual attempt was made with the gigantic battery of Mr. Children, to affect the magnetic needle. This failure was attributable to the mode of making the experiment; for if the needle had been brought near his platinum-wire, instead of being placed between the poles of the battery, electro-magnetism would have been, in all porbability, more early developed.

The discoveries of Oersted were afterwards experimentally illustrated, and the origin of the science of electro-magnetism faithfully traced. The persevering industry of Mr. James Marsh was then eulogized, and the lecturer introduced him to his brother mechanics.*

The lecturer then experimentally illustrated the first revolving apparatus constructed by Mr. Farraday; it consists of two glass cups, e h, filled with mercury,

The introduction of this ingenious young man was accompanied by the warmest demonstrations of respect from every part of the room; and we cannot but feel highly gratified by a result which appears likely to advance his future prospects in life. To do good, is a godlike employment, and it is highly worthy of the philanthropic individual thus to step forward, and be the foremost to whose labours we are now chronicling, patronise modest merit, in whatever rank of life it may be found.