1822.] - 
Political Facetia, and other Picces, 
by the author of “the Political House 
that Jack built,” collected by himself 
into a handsome volume, with 120 
cuts, and a preface, will appear in a 
few days, and the author’s portrait 
will be prefixed. 
A very interesting experiment has 
been made of steam vessels on canals, 
in the Union Canal at Edinburgh, 
with a large boat, twenty-eight feet 
long, constructed with an | internal 
movement. The boat had twenty-six 
persons on beard; and, although 
drawing fifteen inches of water, she 
was propelled by only four men at the 
rate of between four and five miles an 
hour, while the agitation of the water 
was confined entirely to the centre of 
the canal. ‘ 
The School for Mothers, or the Po- 
lities of a Village, a novel, is printing 
in three volumes. 
Information has been received that 
the enterprising pedestrian, Captain 
CocuraNneE, had reached the Altai 
mountains, on the frontier of China. 
Further accounts from this extraordi- 
nary traveller have since arrived, 
dated from the mouth of the Kolyma, 
and from Okotsk, in June 1821. He 
had_ proceeded to the neighbourhood 
of the north-east cape of Asia, which 
he places half a degree more to the 
northward. ‘No land (he says,) is 
considered to exist to the northward 
of it. The east side of the Noss is 
composed of bold and perpendicular 
bluffs, while the west side exhibits 
gradual declivities; the whole most 
sterile, but presenting van awfully 
magnificent appearance.” From the 
Kolyma to Okotsk, he had, he says, a 
“dangerous, difficult, and Sai EAP 
journey of three thousand versts,” 
great part of which he performed, ne 
foot, in seventy days. After such an 
adventurous expedition from Peters- 
burgh to the north-eastern extremity 
of Siberia, we regret to find that. the 
shores of Kamschatka are likely to be 
the boundary of his arduous and. peri- 
lous enterprise. After gratefully no- 
ticing the generosity and considera- 
tion which he every where experienced 
at the hands of the Russian govern- 
ment and of individuals, he adds,— 
“that government has an expedition 
in Behring’s Straits, whose object is 
to trace the continent of America to 
the northward and eastward.” It 
consisted of two ship corvettes, which 
Jeft Spithead in 1819. In July 1820 
Literary and Philosophical Intelligence. 
6 
they reached Behring’s Strait, and 
were supposed to have passed it in 
that year; they returned, however, in 
the winter to some of the Russian set- 
tlements on the coast of America; 
and, as now appears from Capt. Coch- 
rane’s statement, were again in that 
neighbourhood in June 1821. 
An Abridgment of Blackstone’s 
Commentaries on the Laws of Eng- 
land, in a series of letters froma Fa- 
ther to his Daughter, is printing. 
The Political Life of George the 
Fourth is announced. 
Capt. N. R. Patmer, of the sloop 
James Monroe, lately arrived at Sto- 
nington, from South Shetland. Capt. 
P. proceeded from the Shetland Isles 
to the southern continent, and coasted 
it to the eastward, as far as 44. W. long. 
At some places he could coast along 
shore; at other parts he could not 
approach nearer the shore than from 
one to five or six leagues, owing to the 
ice. In 61. 41. S. lat. 45. 27. W. 
long. they discovered a fine harbour, 
lying about a mile within the entrance 
of Washington Strait. He found not 
the least appearance of vegetation on 
the land, excepting the winter moss. 
Neither did he discover any animals, 
only a few. sea-leopards, beautifully 
spotted. Of birds there were pen- 
guins, Port Egmont or sea-hens, white 
pigeons, and gulls. Capt. Palmer 
could discern mountains covered with 
snow, in the interior, as he sailed along 
the coast. 
Mr. WILson, teacher of dancing, 
and author of several works on danc- 
ing, has in the press, the Daneiad, or 
Dancer’s Monitor, being a descriptive 
sketch in verse of the different styles 
and methods of dancing quadrilles, 
waltzes, country-dances, reels, &c. 
In the present month will be pub- 
lished, A new System of Arithmetic, 
on a plan entirely original, by J. 
WALKER; also a Key or Exposition of 
the New System. 
A translation of Legendre’s Ele- 
ments of Geometry is in the press, and 
will be published in a few weeks. It 
will be edited by Dr. Brewster, under 
the sanction of M. Le Chevalier Le- 
gendre, who has communicated. seve- 
ral important additions. The diagrams 
are engraven on wood, soas to accom- 
pany the propositions, a great supe- 
riority over the original work, where 
they are given in copper-plates at the, 
end of the book. 
About the middle. of last year, « 
sailor, 
