136 



Edinburgh Review, No. LXVIIL 



[Marcli 1, 



little is known as that of electricity, 

 every new view that can be opened, is 

 a matter of hi^h interest and impor- 

 tance ; and no fact should be disregard- 

 ed, which may give fiirtlier insight into 

 a field .still so imperfectly explored." 



For some time the PIdinburgh Re- 

 view has been evidently falling into the 

 hands of English writers ; this accounts 

 for the particular attention which the 

 works of the obstreperous genus so ge- 

 nerally receive in it. The tenth paper 

 is concerning Mr. Hazlitt's Lectures 

 on Dramatic Literature. Mr. H. is 

 undoubtedly a sliewy writer, and, often 

 most ingenious; sometimes he even rises 

 to elofiucnce ; but he has great and of- 

 lensive peculiarities. His fault is not 

 owing to any deficiency of ability — he 

 has, in fact, loo much genius for hisjjor- 

 tion of good taste, and is precisely one 

 of those authors whom, in its golden 

 age, the Edinburgh Review would have 

 delighted to chastise, confident thatiiis 

 virtues were such as in tiic end would 

 enable him to survive its "iron scourge 

 and torturing hour," and shine forth in 

 their true and eminent lustre. 



The eleventh article confirms our 

 observations on the last. Here is Mr. 

 Barry Cornwall's conceited tale of Mar- 

 cian Colonna, figuring amidst a splen- 

 did troop of commendations. Nothing 

 is so clearly a proof of the dwhidling 

 spirit of this once pitiless journal, than 

 its tender-heartedness towards juvenile 

 and jejune poeticals. Mr. 15. (,'oinwall 

 is of this stamp — whose " soul," accord- 

 ing to the reviewer, " seems fille.l to 

 overflowing, with images of love and 

 beauty, and gentle soriows, and tender 

 pity, and mild, and holy resignation." 



The twelfth and last paper is on par- 

 liamentary reform, and bears the mark 

 of Sir J. Macintosh's pen. Upon such a 

 subject, from such a hand, it would not 

 become us, in our narrow limits, to en- 

 ter upon any particular comment. But 

 Sir James and the Edinburgh Review 

 belong to a party who hi.ve a perfect 

 knowledge of what is called the state 

 influence of particnlar families, and 

 any refoim that they will advocate 

 must leave that untouched. This, how- 

 ever, will not satisfy the people. The 

 reform which the country requires is to 

 give political influence to its immense 

 floating wealth, and all that can be 

 said about cu.'tiug up rotten boroughs, 

 — paring the corns of the state — is, we 

 humbly conceive, worth uo more than 

 tlie common oratory of a parliamentary 



patriot, on the subject. The floating 

 wealth of this country surpasses the 

 value of the fee simple of the kingdom, 

 and yet it is no where represented in 

 any effectual manner,and all the copy- 

 hold property in the land is unrepre- 

 sented. The Wliigs must look a little 

 deeper than to chojjping and changing 

 that .species of state influence from 

 which their own power is derived — if 

 they expect to restore the pristine vi- 

 gour of the British chara<'ter, and the 

 energies of the laws and constitution. 



We hope, for the sake of its liberal 

 piinclples, that the Edinburgh Re- 

 view M ill take a new lease in the ta- 

 lents of the Empire. 



To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 



SIR, 



IHE subject of the divining rod, as 

 connected with the discovery of 

 springs and minerals, having been very 

 little discussed or understood in this 

 country, and being in possession of the 

 " gift " of working it, I wish, through 

 the medium of your excellent Miscel- 

 lany, to call the attention of scientific 

 men to a subject that may probably, by 

 the light of science, be ultimately ren- 

 dered more useful, as well as more spe- 

 cific in its practical application. It is 

 extremely dirticult in some situations 

 to obtain a supply of good water, and 

 in many cases a great expense is in- 

 curred, which might be avoided by 

 recourse being had to the divining rod. 

 In the summer of ISlJi I wished to dig 

 a well to obtain a supply of water for 

 some building lots 1 owned in Cyn- 

 thiana Kentncky State, North America; 

 my neighbours informed me, that by 

 employing a man of the name of Ran- 

 kin, to point out where the springs ran, 

 much expense would be saved. The 

 novelty of the idea induced me to send 

 for this man, without having any faith 

 in an experiment apparently so myste- 

 rious. He came, and appeared to be 

 a low, cunning, .sottish fellow. He cut 

 a forked stick from a peach-tree, and 

 walked over the ground, holding the 

 prongs of the stick in his hands, when 

 he had proceeded about 40 feet, the end 

 of the stick suddenly pressed down- 

 wards, and he pronounced that a spring 

 of water ran under that spot at only a 

 few feet depth. The mean appearance 

 of the operator, and having never be- 

 fore heard of the divining rod, I sus- 

 pected imposture, and told him that 

 unless it vtould uork iu my hands, I 

 $hould 



