1818.] Cure for Scalds-Planting of Epping Forest. time with the parent stock? Is this the fact or not? I have heard that treacle is the best application for scalds and burns, whether the skin is broken or not, and never fails to effect a cure. It may be applied on rag or paper, or without, and should be renewed as it dries. Having never fortunately had occasion to try its efficacy, I cannot speak from my own experience; but simple remedies are frequently of great service. Though this has probably been long known, I will not apologize for mentioning it. I am, your constant reader, B. S. L. IT is by no means surprising that the inhabitants of the different parishes 27 round Epping Forest should use their utmost endeavour to prevent the inclosure of it. A wild forest so near London would be the resort of all the abandoned characters in it, and nothing could be more dreadful than to be obliged to live near it. But I think there is a method to obviate this horrid nuisance, and render it at once beneficial to the public, and to the neighbouring parishes. Let the whole forest be measured out into lanes at right angles to a centre road; on the sides of the road and the lanes let pieces of ground containing ten acres be set out, on each side let a house be built: let the lanes divide every two parcels of 10 acres as below Let a piece of land be granted to any inhabitant of the neighbouring parishes, on a lease of three lives, who will build a house and reside in it strictly complying with the following terms, viz. That he shall pay as rent 103. per acre. That he shall raise, or plant a tree of a fixed and determined kind, according to the nature of the soil, at a regular distance, over the whole of the 10 acres, carefully guarding and protecting it as long as it is required. That each house be numbered and entered in a register book kept for the purpose. That a minute survey be taken of every house and land at Michaelmas every year, to examine the state of the trees, and again in March to see that the trees ordered to be planted are properly put in and fenced. That a fine of 11. be levied for every omission in planting a tree, and 201. for cutting down one without orders, and the forfeiture of the lease. That every 200 houses be declared a distinct parish. That a church be built and a vicarage house; and that 20 acres of land be given to the vicar of each parish, with the further endowment of 5s. per quarter from each house, which with the 10s. rent abovemention ed shall be the only tax the inhabitants shall be liable to. Oaks are found to thrive exceedingly when the soil round them is cultivated and planted with potatoes. For many years, therefore, the soil may be turned to great account, and when the trees are too large to admit of cultivation, cows will graze under them and be very profitable. By the above means the forest will be rendered doubly useful; the danger will be removed; the parishes in the neighbourhood will have their poor rates almost annihilated; and government will raise the finest timber without one shilling expense. IN my last I endeavoured to prove that as the distresses of the unemployed poor might be traced to a cause neither temporary nor of partial operation, it was necessary to seek a remedy in some permanent and comprehensive system. It was far however from my intention to discourage those benevolent exertions that have since been made for the relief of immediate want, and which, being most urgent, claims our first considera tion. But while we afford assistance in these palliatives, let us not neglect the important duty of patiently examining any plan that may be brought forward 28 Remarks on Mr. Owen's plan of providing for the poor. by those who have had the superin- I Without adverting at present to Mr. I refer to his luminous report to the [Feb. 1, altogether new, and as many of them have been before unsuccessfully tried, we should be apt to pronouce a premature condemnation, as we proceed, unless the judgment is suspended until a deliberate view of the whole can be taken; for it is in their entire combination alone that the practicability of the plan consists. Our Judge Blackstone in speaking of the Poor Laws, says, "notwithstanding the pains that have been taken about them, they still remain very imperfect and inadequate to the purposes they are designed for." Is it not probable that the failure of all statesmen in their endeavours to devise a more complete system might be attributed to ignorance of the first rudiments in this branch of political economy? If we have hitherto proceeded upon erroneous data, it follows of course, that when right principles are first presented to our view, they appear paradoxical and opposed to all our previous notions. Mr. Owen having studied this subject almost exclusively for five and twenty years may be allowed to address us in the following words "And now we have only this request to make, that as we have bestowed much thought and care, not only that what we offer should be true, but also as much as is possible that it should be accessible to the human mind, though strangely beset and prepossessed; we intreat it as a piece of justice at the hands of mankind, if they would judge of any thing we deliver, either from their own sense, the cloud of authorities, or the forms of demonstration, which now prevails as so many judicial laws, that they do it not on the sudden and without attention, but first master the subject; by degrees make trial of the way we chalk out; and accustom themselves to that subtilty of things which is imprinted in experience; and lastly, that by due and reasonable perseverance, they correct the ill habits that closely adhere to the mind; and when thus they begin to be themselves, let them use their own judgment, and welcome." Lord Bacon's Introduction to Novum Organum. When an individual, who has devoted his whole life to the investigation of causes from which the miseries of his fellow-creatures proceed, and has not admitted the truth of any theory until he has confirmed it in practice, first announces to the world the result of his laborious and persevering enquiries, if his character for veracity and unbound 1818.] Palarmo-Torre de Azizza-Torre de Baida. ed benevolence will not only bear the test of the severest scrutiny, but has elicited from his opponents the highest eulogium, surely such a philanthropist is entitled to our attention at any time, but more particularly at a period when the difficulties of our domestic policy are felt with unprecedented and increasing severity. AMICUS. RAMBLES IN SICILY IN 1816. BY AN ARTIST. ... we Girgenti, June 17, 1816. YESTERDAY, my dear V. arrived safely at Girgenti, the ancient Agrigentum. I have still the whole journey hither from Palermo to relate to you, or rather to tell you of Palermo itself, whence my last was dated. If I am not mistaken, when I broke off, we were in the Garden of Flora, were we bathed. As I can assure you that I have suffered no inconvenience from the fatigue of travelling, and that the climate agrees very well with me, you need be under no concern about my health. I shall, there fore, proceed in my narrative, and inform you that this celebrated bath invigorated us much against the sirocco, the enervating influence of which has been, for some days past, universally experienced. At Palermo it is more oppressive than in any other place: the reason of this is because it is obstructed and shut up, as it were, by Monte-Pellegrino in the valley in which that city is seated. Another sirocco, which is very sensibly felt by the purse of the traveller, is the high price of the necessaries of life. At our hotel, indeed, we found every thing of good quality; the Sicilian wine in particular was excellent, though we could not drink much on account of its strength: but we had only a very frugal dinner for half a piastre. Upon the whole living at Palermo is about twice as dear as at Rome. Of late years, when Sicily has been more frequented by the English, some good hotels have been established. Palermo itself is tolerably lively, though great complaints are made of the badness of trade, for which the situation of Messina is certainly more advantageous. After dinner we went to Torre del'Azizza, an ancient Saracen palace, which an Emir of Palermo erected for his daughter Azizza. It is chiefly noted for its magnificent view of the town and the sea, and resembles in its architecture many other buildings here of the 9th century. A fertile plain conducted us through the most delicious fields towards Torre di Baida, which lies at the foot of 29 the southern mountain. The road led across corn-fields where the merry reapers were busily employed; and through gardens where orange, fig, chesnut, walnut-trees, and vines stood so close and so luxuriant as to have all the appearance of a thick, dark wood. At some distance we took a drawing of Torre di Baida, at the foot of Monti Reale. The present Prince Royal has here displayed great taste in the formation of beautiful pleasure grounds. The road, bordered with all sorts of flowers and shrubs, winds in small terraces between rocky crags to the upper villa. The prospect from the latter is indisputably the finest in this part of the country. The eye embraces the most fertile portion of the island. Alleys which run towards the city, and roads which you trace to the bottoms of the valleys, are encompassed by the richest and most productive fields: villas and thickly planted gardens break the uniformity of the level country, which is bounded by lofty mountains washed by the azure sea, in whose glistening bosom the widely extended metropolis is reflected. The setting sun gave the last finish to this enchanting picture, and tinging it with the loveliest hues, presented a landscape such as imagination would conceive of a country combining all the advantages that plenty, beauty, and a happy climate can bestow. I almost doubt whether I shall find any thing more exquisitely beautiful in Sicily at least I have not yet met with any thing to compare with this view. Unfortunately, the high gratification derived from scenes of such extraordinary beauty is dashed by the conscious feeling, not to be repressed, that a country resembling a Paradise is under such a wretched management. Here, too, the same system prevails as in many parts of Italy where the farmer has no property in the soil which he cultivates, and where the middling class, as it exists among us, is scarcely known. The barons of the country revel in superfluity, while the husbandman pines in want. It is easy to imagine how backward agriculture must consequently remain. Sicily, once the granary of Italy, has now, through mismanagement, scarcely corn enough for itself: all kinds of provisions without exception are extremely dear, but especially bread. In some parts the inhabitants have even been obliged to emigrate to escape starvation. Upon the whole, the fertility of Sicily is said to have considerably decreased during the last twenty years. In the valley of Palermo alone, the soil is said to produce thirty-fold; in 30 Convent of Maria e Giesu. other districts sixteen-fold is represented to be the highest proportion. The ecclesiastics, on the contrary, are here, as all over the island, more than a thousand-fold. We returned by moon-light, and found the city very lively; for it is just at this time, after the heat of the day is over, that the people of Palermo go abroad. The street of Toledo and along the seashore are the principal promenades, where files of the most splendid equipages are to be seen. We could, however, no where discover that beauty for which the women of Palermo have been so highly extolled. Instead of supper, it is customary here to go to an ice-vault, where you may have from ten to fifteen different sorts of ices mixed with fruit. In hot countries ice seems to be an indispensable necessary, and even people of the lowest class cannot live without ice-water, which is sold at the corner of every street. For a large glass of icewater, into which the juice of a lemon has been squeezed, you pay 4 gran, or about a halfpenny. It is a refreshing beverage, but great caution is requisite in the use of it. Early on the 7th, I went to the convent of Maria e Giesu, which stands on the south-eastern mountain, four or five miles from Palermo. The garden of the convent commands delicious views marked with all the characteristics of a southern clime. Cypresses and pines were intermixed with whole alleys of flourishing aloes, the lowest leaves of which I have often seen eight feet long, woods of Indian-figs, almond-trees, &c. Monte Pellegrino forms an enchanting background. The following day, when the rain prevented us from repeating our visit to St. Rosalia, the weather did not clear up till evening. We walked along the strand. The moon, like an orb of gold, issued from among dark blue clouds, to the edges of which it gave a fiery tinge: the atmosphere had a glow of which no conception can be formed in our northern regions and which none of our colours is capable of imitating. The whole scene was reflected in the calm expanse of the sea, the waves of which appeared like a moving mass of liquid gold. To us this was such a sight as we had never beheld, but which, as we are told, is here very common. Early on the following Saturday we made an excursion to Bocca di Falcone and the convent of San Martino. The road, steep and rugged, was bordered by [Feb. I, aloes and fig-trees. Notwithstanding the acclivity and the stony soil, the land is every where cultivated. The exterior of the convent does not promise much; but as you approach it becomes highly romantic from the fruit-trees, pines, and cypresses which surround it, and the magnificent view of mountains, valleys, and sea which it commands. The interior is richly and tastefully embellished with arabesques, stuccoes, and marble. This convent possesses a yearly income of about 100,000 piastres, and it is particularly celebrated for its benefactions. At the entrance you see a representation of St. Martin on horseback, giving his mantle to a beggar, by Marabiti, the sculptor, of Palermo, but in our opinion of far less merit than some writers have ascribed to it. It is a vulgar group, without taste or truth, in the style of the St. Nepomuck on many German bridges. Thus, too, Barthels speaks with rapture of the master-pieces in the museum of this convent. We found not a single one worth mentioning. Stollberg also, to whom we might give credit for more taste and skill in ancient art, often falls into the most absurd panegyrics. This is an additional proof how little reliance the artist ought to place on the opinions of scholars. In the library we were shown some very fine manuscripts of the ancient Italian poets. There is likewise a fine collection of Etruscan vases. Here, too, I saw the first basilisk. The place contains many knick-knacks in the monastic style; but since its foundation they seem to have received very little attention. The lions and wolves are eaten by moths, and the infants preserved in spirits are left balf dry. We took an interesting drawing in the rear of the convent. In the fore-ground, where our jovial company partook of a frugal dinner, goats and sheep were cropping the bushes of rosemary; the monastery with beautiful groups of trees was in the centre below us; and above it appeared the tops of mountains and undulating hills with roads winding over them; while the dark azure of the sea, of which you catch glimpses between the summits of the mountains, contrasts with the grey masses of rock and the brownish yellow pines. The beauty and vividness of the tints strongly reminded us of an exquisite landscape of Titian's, belonging to Camuccini, of Rome. We saw, moreover, a whole troop of boys, and in the refectory covers for 210 of these poor children, who are at an early age destined by their parents to languish out their lives within the walls 1818.] Corrections and additional Particulars respecting Canada. 31 of the convent in prayer for their fa milies. We pursued our route through Monti reale, a small, cheerful town, surrounded by woods of orange-trees; rows of fruittrees of every kind run down to the lower valley, above which Greek colonists have formed a settlement; golden fields thence extend to Palermo and the azure sea. Every plant here receives from nature extraordinary vigour. We found the oleander a high, thick bush, and its rosy flower protruded from among aloes and myrtles. The noble road to Palermo is bordered by the most luxuriant plants of this kind. It was covered on our return with country-folks and towns-people repairing to their respective homes. We heard the words Signori Forestieri incessantly repeated, though there was nothing whatever in our dress to distinguish us from the citizens of Palermo. Nearer to the town, there was a horse-race-a diversion of which these people are passionately fond. Soon after we reached the city, we saw the horse which had won the prize, richly caparisoned, paraded through the streets, with music and the firing of guns. Troops of boys ran before with torches and all sorts of fire-works, while the Turkish music did its duty. Every thing noisy is pleasing here, especially the firing of guns, which is carried to such a length that the reports continue without ceasing for half an hour together. Thus, too, the ringing of the bells has none of the solemnity that it has with us; it is a merry jingle, but yet in proper time, so that I have often danced the tarantula to it. THE account of Canada by a Naval Officer, in the NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE for last December, is in several particulars incorrect, in consequence, apparently, of a short sojourn in, and hasty survey of, the country. There has been no census of the population made public since the conquest; but from an estimate made from provincial militia returns, it is supposed to exceed 400,000 souls for the lower province, and not quite half that number for the upper. Indeed, from a cursory view of the settlements, which form a continued line of townships of 200 miles on both sides of the river, one would be led to conclude that the country contains more than a million of inhabitants. But as the white population has increased beyond computation, so has the standard of the aboriginal natives proportionally declined. There are not more than 2000 domiciliated Indians in the lower province; these are chiefly the remains of the Mohawk and Huron tribes. A village of the latter is in the neighbourhood of Quebec, and of the former opposite to La Chine, in the island of Montreal: it is called Cognawaga, and is the principal Indian settlement in the country. As to the Esquimaux, they do not properly be long to the Canadian Indians, being a distinct race, the same as the Greenlanders. They subsist wholly on fish, and frequent in their canoes the Straits of Belleisle and the coast of Labrador. They are an inoffensive people, and are put to death without mercy whenever they are so unfortunate as to fall in with the Canadian tribes. These Nomades are still considerable on the north side of the river; the chief tribe is that of the Micmacs. Wolfe's Cove is no longer the bottom of the steep precipice, which was scaled by the British troops. There is a road leading down to it, which may be traversed on horseback; and the cove is a depot for timber, which is floated down the river in rafts from the upper country. In comparing Quebec with Montreal, your correspondent observes, that the scenery of the first, like Virgil's poetry, is beautiful, and that of the latter, like Homer's, sublime; but the contrary is the fact. Quebec is built on a bold promontory, which projects into the St. Laurence, whose stream it narrows from three to less than one mile. The rock itself is composed of black slate, interspersed with detached masses of granite. The face next the river has a perpendicular elevation of near 500 feet, and is called Point Diamond from its abounding with crystals of feldspar. The country round Quebec is formed of high, rocky, irregular ground, with cascades (of which the fall of Montmorency is the principal), pouring down into the immense channel of the St. Laurence; the whole being surrounded by a magnificent amphitheatre of mountains. The city of Quebec, perched on the summit of the rock, appears with great grandeur on approaching it, with its churches and public buildings covered with tinned plates glistening in the sun; but the illusion vanishes on entering a dirty, crowded, irregular place. On the whole, no spot in the world presents a greater assemblage of |