furing fix feet. In the more interior parts of South America, as appears from the accounts of Mr. Falkner *, who spent feveral years among the nations there, are tribes of a ftill greater fize. He defcribes the great Cacique, Cangapol, who refided at Huichin upon the Black River, as being above feven feet high; becaufe, on tiptoe, he could not reach to the top of his head. He adds, that he did not recollect ever to have seen an Indian that was above an inch or two taller than Cangapol, whose brother was only about fix feet high. These brethren belonged to the tribe of the Puclches, who, as well as the other Patagonian tribes, feldom refort to the fea, or the neighbourhood of the Straits of Magellan, and are therefore little known to the few navigators who touch at these places. It may appear ftrange, fays the author, that a whole nation fhould preferve this remarkable tall ftature; but we are not to form a judgment, in this cafe, from what paffes among ourfelves, where the conftant intercourfe with foreigners, and other caufes, make it next to impoffible to preferve the purity of races without mixture. The Patagonian tribes, on the contrary, live in a country little frequented by other nations, and have very little intercourfe with their neighbours, the Spaniards in Chili, and Rio de la Plata. Their food, climate, and exercife likewife concur to perpetuate the national character with refpect to ftrength and tallness, thus uninterruptedly preferved by their conftant intermarriages among themfelves. They procure their livelihood, with great facility, by the falutary exercise of the chace, and at the fame time poffefs numerous herds, in a country rich in pasture, and of immenfe extent. The author confirms his reafonings on this fubject by a curious inftance in our Northern climate. The guards of the late king, Frederick William of Pruffia, and likewise those of the prefent monarch, who all are of an uncommon fize, have been stationed at Patzdam for fifty years paft; a great number of the present inhabitants of that place are of a very high ftature, which is more efpecially ftriking in the numerous gigantie figures of women. This certainly is owing to the connections and intermarriages of the tall men with the females of that town. The author having thus ftated both the probability and reality of the existence of a tall tribe of men in Patagonia, from reafoning as well as refpectable teftimony, takes leave of the fubject with a remark, that it is as unjust as it is illiberal, to rail at those who are ftill of opinion, that fuch tall people are found on the extremity of South America.' From the foregoing extracts the reader will be enabled, in fome measure, to judge of the kind and degree of information • Defcription of Patagonia, p. 26, 11, 112. and and entertainment to be expected from the perufal of this work. Thofe in particular who take a delight in ftudying the varieties of the human form and character, and the various modifications which they receive from climate, fituation, and other lo cal circumstances, will read the author's obfervations on these fubjects with pleasure; efpecially as they are not founded on the crude and fuperficial accounts of voyagers, who have, in general, bestowed little attention on thefe fubjects; but are, for the most part, the refult of the author's own immediate inveftigation; improved however by the analogous obfervations of those writers who have treated moft fucceísfully on the Philo fophical Hiftory of the Human Species. B...y. ART. II. The Travels of Hildebrand Bowman Efq; into Carnovirria, Taupiniera, Olfacaria, and Auditante, in New Zealand, Sc. Writ ten by Himself. 8vo. 5s. Boards. Cadell. 1778. TH HE Travels of the late Mr. Lemuel Gulliver, of facetious and fatirical memory, into ftrange countries, have given the hint to Hildebrand Bowman, Efq; to travel likewife in queft of unknown lands, for the purpose of aftonishing, amusing, inftructing, or reforming us who ftay at home, by a relation of the marvellous and edifying events which befel him. He prefents himself to us in the guife of a midshipman on board the Adventure; and as one of the very party, who were all, except himself, cut off by the cannibals of New Zealand, or Carnovirria. Having escaped the fate of his companions, and lain perdue while he faw them eaten by the favages, he flies into the woods. From this æra the marvellous part of his travels commences, and he enters on the plan of his apocryphal peregri nations. This plan is principally founded on circumftances relative to fome of the fenfes. Thus, he firft finds a people who burrow in the earth, and whofe eyes resemble thofe of the mole. To the country inhabited by them he gives the name of Taupiniera. He next meets with the Olfactarians, or a nation endowed with excellent nofes, equalling thofe of our beft pointers; and afterwards with the Auditantines, who, the reader will naturally fuppofe, had good ears, or as the author thinks proper to call them, Chromatic ears. He next has the good fortune to meet with a people, on whofe manners, laws, religion, &c. he largely expatiates. Their principal fingularity, it feems, was the poffeffion of an additional, or fixth fenfe; by which the author means the fenfe of confcience, or the moral fenfe- fome ghimmerings of which there are in other nations, but they are fo light, that they have been almoft intirely overlooked." Our traveller gives the title of Bonhommica to the country inhabited by these gifted perfonages; who, the reader will readily divine, divine, are a very good fort of people, poffeffed of an excellent police, and good laws, though they have very little occafion for them; except in cafes of too great intricacy to be unravelled by the moral fenfe. Their whole code is comprised in a small octave, and the office of a judge is a perfect finecure. As an account of a people who are so very good must be rather tame and fpiritlefs, the author at laft takes care to travel in quest of a contrast to them, which he finds in the country of LuxoVolupta; the inhabitants of which poffefs the fense of tale, or guftation, as well as all the organs of fenfuality, in an exquifite degree. Here we find plenty of turtle-eaters, lawyers, quacks, demireps, with wings fprouting from their fhoulderswith perfons, in fhort, poffeffing in the highest perfection, and indulging, every fenfe except the fixth above mentioned. In fhort, the author depicts, as plainly as he can indeed too plainly and tritely-the present manners of our own dear country, under the semblance of this part of the Terra Auftralis. Though Lemuel Gulliver, it is now well known, was married, it does not appear that he ever had any legitimate offfpring. Be that, however, as it may, we cannot honestly afford Squire Bowman any higher praife than that he may poffibly be one of his diftant kin. Lemuel shot with a much longer and ftronger bow than Hildebrand, though his travelling name be Bowman. B..y ART. III. Relation ou Notice des derniers Jours de M. J J. Rouleau, TH HOSE, and certainly their number is not fmall, who have taken pleafure in perufing the works, and contemplating the fingular, though cftimable character, and the various fortunes, of the late celebrated philofopher of Geneva, will think themfelves obliged to the joint authors of this publication, for gratifying their curiofity and feelings, by the communication of fome authentic particulars refpe&ting the laft fcenes of his chequered life. For the first part of it, they are indebted to M. Du Prefle, who appears to have been his confidential friend, and to have been induced to draw up his Relation with a view, at leaft in part, of putting a stop to the injurious reports propagated, either through malice or ignorance, to the disadvantage of his deccafed. friend. The latter part contains other interefting particulars, for which the public are obliged to Mr. Magellan, a gentleman well well known throughout the philofophical world, who had the pleasure of paffing fome time with M. Rouffeau, at his laft retreat at Ermenonville, the feat of the Marquis de Gerardin; who bas there realised thofe precepts, on The Compofition of Landfcapes, which he laid down in a work that furnished an article for our laft Appendix *. To gratify, in part, the curiofity of our English readers, we fhall extract a few circumstances from both these relations, beginning with those communicated by M. Du Prefle. M. Rouffeau, feeling himself not fo well qualified as formerly to copy mufic neatly, and with expedition, and finding his abode in Paris too expenfive, had accepted of a delicious retreat, worthy of him and of the propofer, generously offered him by the Marquis de Gerardin, at his country-feat above mentioned, where he had established himffelf in May laft, together with his wife, and their maid-servant. In this happy afylum, and in the fociety of an amiable family, he enjoyed a ftate of tranquility both of mind and body, to which he had long been a ftranger, paffing a great part of the day in botanifing in the extenfive and various grounds of the Marquis; at other times affifting at the family concerts, or teaching the Marquis's children to fing fome of his compofitions, &c. Happy in his new refidence, he had engaged the author to bring him fome books of travels, to amuse his wife and maid during the long winter nights, when the family would be in town; and meditated the profecution of fome works which he had begun, particularly the Opera of Daphnis, and the continuation of Emilius. He had not enjoyed this retreat, and these prospects, fix weeks, when, preparing to go out, after having breakfasted on fome coffee, of which his wife and maid partook, on the second of July laft, he was fuddenly feized with pains, particularly in his head, which came by fits, and put an end to his life in an hour and a quarter. On being diffected, as he had particularly requested, a large quantity of ferum was found extravafated between the brain and its membranes +. The following extract from Mr. Magellan's part of this performance contains an affecting narrative, and at the fame time exhibits a characteristical fpecimen of the well known and extreme fenfibility of M. Rouffeau. The converfation, fays Mr. Magellan, happened to turn on the misfortunes of human life; and on this occafion, I men • See Appendix, vol. lviii. p. 561. + We have been informed by a gentleman who has vifited Ermenonville, fince the death of M, Rouffeau, that his Urna fepulchra. fis, or Mausoleum, will adorn one of the fine groupes or islands of that agreeable spot, tioned the terrible events, of which I had been an eye-witnefs, that attended the great earthquake at Lisbon, in 1755; where I faw all ranks and conditions confounded in an initant, the intire ruin of fortunes, and a great city univerfally plunged into mourning and defolation. M. Roufieau fixed his eyes upon me, What, fays he, Were you there at that time? Yes, anfwered 1; and I never recollect this dreadful event without fhuddering with horror.' -The fight of fome of my own particular friends, involved in the public deftruction, aggravated my grief to a degree which I am incapable of expreffing. Among others, I recollect one particular accident, the remembrance of which retraces the most affecting picture to my imagination. A citizen of Lifbon happened to be from home, when the third fhock brought down the greater part of thofe houfes, the walls and foundations of which had been loofened by the two preceding fhocks. As foon as he had time to reflect, he haftened to the relief of his wife and children,, whofe fate he dreaded. Agitated by this apprehenfion, he climbs over the ruins with which the streets were choaked up; and his courage was redoubled on finding his houfe ftill ftanding, though the doors and windows were clofed up by the ruins of the buildings oppofite to it. He called out aloud to his family, and had the pleasure of being answered by them; though they had it not in their power to get out, as every opening was blocked up. The unfortunate man immediately fell earneftly to work, to remove the rubbish; intreating those who pafied by to affift him, in making a hole through which his family might effect their escape from this kind of tomb. Unhappily, the flames burst out from a house so near his own, that nothing remained for him, but to join his cries and tears to thofe of his family, who were burnt alive in his fight.-At these words, M. Rouffeau, who had been very attentive to the whole of this recital, made a fudden turn to one fide; and, as if he had been struck by lightning, remained motionlefs for fome time. It is impoffible for me to give the reader any idea of his phyfiognomy at that inftant: it perfectly expreffed what was paffing within him.' We are forry to learn from this publication that, though M. Rouffeau may have left behind him fome flighter performances, he had not finifhed any confiderable work, excepting one, under the title of his Memoirs, or Confeffions; in which he has not concealed, fays M. du Prefle, any of his thoughts or actions, whether praife-worthy or blameable.' But the publication of this performance is not foon to be expected; unless thofe perfons who are in poffeffion of copies of it fhould betray their trust, by publishing it before the time which had been fixed by the writer. B...Y. ART. |