LUerari/ and Philotophieal Inlelligenee. 



1^0 



pletely prevented from escaping; no one 

 having dareil to liazard bis life luidf r the 

 arch, in order to open if. What increased 

 the dilficulty was, tiie bars had been bent 

 by the earthqnake, and the guards, who 

 liad been stationed at the gate, had perish- 

 ed in the general desolation. In this dread- 

 ful situation, wliilc numbers were perishing 

 around him, and after fervent prayer to 

 God, this gentleman prevailed upon some 

 Turks to assist him in forcinir open the 

 gate, wiiich they happily elfected by 

 means of large stones thrown against it. 

 No sooner had they rushed through the 

 gate, tiian a severe shock crumbled the 

 arch to pieces, and many were killed by 

 the fall of it. An immense multitude then 

 jiressed out, and with one accord fell pros- 

 trate on the ground, earnestly thanking 

 God for their preservation ; but, when the 

 first transports of joy subsided, the greatest 

 consternation succeeded, on the recollec- 

 tion of the many who were dear to them, 

 and who were left behind in the city, 

 either buried, or in danger of being buried, 

 in its ruins. The piercing lamentations 

 now were most overwhelming. Thou- 

 sands of Turks, Jews, and Christians, pe- 

 rished during this melancholy catastrophe ; 

 and, to increase the tale of woe, a sinnlar 

 fate had befallen Antioch, Latachia, Gisser 

 Shogr, Idlib, Mendeen,Killis, Scandaroon, 

 and (he rest of the towns and villages in 

 the Pachalat of Aleppo. All who had 

 effected their escape out of the city had 

 encamped in the gardens; but the poor 

 Europeans had not the least prospect of 

 having, for a time, a roof to preserve 

 them from the scorching rays of the sun, 

 and from the h«avy rains of autnnni and 

 ^vinter, as the few effects they had been 

 able to collect were to be sold, to procure 

 a scanty subsisti nee. — Aleppo is the chief 

 city of Syria, which is a province of the 

 Turkish empire. Withm the walls it is 

 from three to fmir miles in cncumference ; 

 but, including the houses without the 

 walls, it may be nearly twice as much : the 

 ■whole stands on eight small hills. The 

 houses are built of stone, with flat roofs, 

 and open courts in the middle ; and the 

 streets, lilie most other places in the East, 

 acquire a melancholy appearance from the 

 dead walls without windows. They are 

 also narrow, which adds to their gloomi- 

 ness; but they are kept neat and clean, 

 which is indispensably necessary in that 

 country, where they continrally tremble 

 under pestilential diseases. The streets 

 have gates at each end, which arc regu- 

 larly shut about an hour after sunset. 

 Ihe city was formerly said to contain 

 235,000 mhabitants. 



RUSSIA. 



In Russia, prejudices against their 

 language, as a barbarous dialect, are 

 disappearing, and hopes ar« entcrtain- 



[ March I, 



ed of acquiring a national literatare. 

 In the course of the last fifteen years 

 tlussia has doubled Iier literary stores. 

 In 1807 three thousand works were 

 publisiied in their language, and now 

 there are more than eight thousand. 

 These have generally issued from the 

 pens of the noblesse, the clergy not 

 having furnished above an eighth. 

 The jicoplc and bonrgeoise, just enter- 

 ed into the social order, have not yet 

 appeared on the literary arena. 



GERMANY. 



M. Besel has commenced an im- 

 portant work, which every lover of 

 astronomy will doubtless appreciate: 

 it is a General Survey of the Heavens 

 in Zones; andthefirst part of the work 

 is already in the press. 



Dr. HoYER, of Minden, has lately 

 published a detailed account of his 

 hypothesis, that the nucleus of the sun 

 consists of molten gold ! 



The Ex-King of Sweden has puh- 

 lisiied at Frankfort, " Remarks on the 

 Plicnomenon of the Aurora Borealis." 



A paper lately published, by M. 

 Kamps, of Berlin, slates the number of 

 suicides in 1817 at 51 for Copenha- 

 gen, 300 for Paris, 200 for London, 

 and 57 for Berlin. Hence the number 

 seems to be less in England than in 

 other countries. 



ITALY. 



A translation, in Italian verse, of 

 Scott's " Lady of the Lake," has 

 lately been publisiied at Palermo. 



rUANCE. 



A new religious Paris journal, 

 L'Eciaireur, has lately been establish- 

 ed at Paris. It is the first pure Ca- 

 tholic journal that has appeared. 



A publication of a Collection of 

 Biographical Memoirs of distinguished 

 Dramatists, Sec. has lately been com- 

 menced at Paris. 



Various heavy w orks arc in progress 

 in Paris, from which public attention 

 is likely to be diverted by great poli- 

 tical agitation. The French are adding 

 to their literature by compilations and 

 translations from foreign works; but 

 little can be said as to their sterling 

 character, being hastily projected, and 

 injudiciously executed. 



Among other societies establishing 

 in France, one has been formed at 

 Paris, entitled, the Circle of the Arts. 

 It proposes to decree rewards, annually, 

 to deserving artists; to provide for the 

 execution, at its own charge, of paint- 

 ings, engravings, 8cc.; to advance 



sums 



