1828.] 



Varieties. 



431 



tacked by the same sort of enemies, and 

 its tongue, like that of the crocodile of the 

 Nile, being immoveable, it has no means of 

 getting rid of them but by the assistance 

 of a small bird, which renders a similar 

 assistance to that mentioned above. These 

 facts explain the passage of Herodotus, 

 and show that the bdella was not a leech, 

 but a flying insect, similar to our gnat. It 

 appears, indeed, that at the time of Hero- 

 tus, bdella signified that which sucks, and 

 that its signification was afterwards re- 

 stricted to denote a leech and it can be 

 inferred that the historian was unacquaint- 

 ed only with the nature of the animal that 

 tormented the crocodile : had it been other- 

 wise, he would have named them XOVOTTSJ, as 

 he does in cap. 95, when speaking of their 



number and annoyance -it seems probable, 

 therefore, that his account was the result 

 not of his own observation, but of the in- 

 formation he had received from the priests 

 of Memphis. The above anecdote, related 

 by the father of history, does not stand 

 alone Aristotle, Pliny, Elian, Philo, and 

 many writers during the first years of the 

 Christian sera, have spoken of the circum- 

 stance with more or less attention to par- 

 ticulars the moderns alone have ques- 

 tioned its truth. Of the nature of the 

 understanding between this small bird and 

 the crocodile, or how it was effected, it 

 would be impossible to offer a conjecture; 

 but it exists at the present day a wonder- 

 ful instance of the economy of nature. 



WORKS IN THE PRESS AND NEW PUBLICATIONS. 



WORKS IN PREPARATION. 



In a few days will be published, the First 

 Part of the Bibliographer's Manual ; being 

 an Account of Rare, Curious, and Useful 

 Books, published in, or relating to, Great 

 Britain and Ireland, from the Invention of 

 Printing ; with Bibliographical and Critical 

 Notices, Collations of the rarer Articles, 

 and the prices at which they have sold in 

 the present century. By William Thomas 

 Lowndes. 



The Holy Bible ; comprising the Autho- 

 rised English Version, with the Marginal 

 Readings; the various Renderings of the 

 most approved Translators ; Critical and 

 Explanatory Notes ; and Devotional Reflec- 

 tions. Also, Specimens and Refutations of 

 the most specious of the Roman Catholic, 

 Unitarian, and Antinornian Annotations ; 

 and comparative Views of every important 

 Scriptural and erroneous Doctrine. To be 

 completed in 3 vols. 8vo. 



A Comparative View of the Social Life of 

 England and France, from die Restoration 

 of Charles the Second to the French Revo- 

 lution. By the Editor of Madame du Def- 

 fand's Letters. 



A History of the Council of Trent, com- 

 piled from the most authentic sources. This 

 work will contain numerous facts and state- 

 ments illustrative of the Roman Catholic 

 System, and the Ecclesiastical History of 

 the period (A.D. 15451563), derived 

 from scarce and valuable books. 



Italy under Napoleon ; being a History of 

 that Country during the Consulship and 

 Imperial Government of Buonaparte. By 

 the Author of the Life of Joanna, Queen of 

 Naples. 



An Abridgement and Translation of 

 Viger, Bos, Hoogeveen, and Herman, for 

 the Use of Schools. By the Rev. J. Seager, 

 Author of " The Critical Observations on 

 Classical Authors." The four, works will 



form about 220 pages each, and may be 

 purchased separately, or together in 1 vol. 

 8vo. 



The Medea of Euripides, on the plan of 

 the Hecuba. By the Rev. J. R. Major. 



Tales for My Young Friends. Translated 

 from the French of M. Bouilly. 



A Translation of Moliere's Bourgeois 

 Gentilhomme. By the Translator of M. 

 Jouy's "Sylla." 



Mr. Noble proposes to print immediately 

 his Dramatic Poem, entitled " Spartacus, 

 the Gladiator." 



The Second Volume of the Works of 

 Arminius. Translated from the Latin, 

 with illustrative Notes. By James Nichols. 

 In 8vo. 



An Introduction to the Literary History 

 of the Bible. By James Townley, D.D., 

 Author of " Illustrations of Biblical Litera- 

 ture," &c. In 1 vol. 12mo. 



The History of Ireland, Civil, Military, 

 and Ecclesiastical. With the Lives of the 

 Stuarts. From authentic Documents in the 

 Native Irish Language, and from rare State 

 Papers. Translated and compiled by Lieut. - 

 Col. Keene. In 3 thick vols. 8vo. 



Every Boy's Book : designed as a Pre- 

 sent for Youth, and forming a complete 

 Encyclopaedia of all their Amusements, 

 Games, Sports, Pastimes, and Recreations. 



A Historical Account of the Representa- 

 tion of the Commons in Parliament, from 

 the Earliest Times to the present. 



The History of every County, City, Uni- 

 versity, Borough, and Port, in England, 

 Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, returning 

 Members to Parliament, in regard to the 

 Representation. 



The Law of Elections to the Commons 

 House of Parliament. 



%* The three preceding subjects will be 

 treated of separately, and form each a dis- 

 tinct work. The three together, with the 

 Tables now published, will comprise the 



