Literary and Miscellatieous Inlelligence. 75 



1S24.] 



day. During the night, that in tlie 

 . valley lowered to one degree below 

 zero, that is, to 33° below tiie freezing 

 point ; whereas that on the hill, though 

 200 feet higher, fell only to 17°, or 15° 

 lower than the freezing point. On the 

 following morning, that in the vale 

 ■was at 10°, while the elevated thermo- 

 meter was at 22° ; so that the difl'er- 

 ence of cold between the two situa- 

 tions was at one lime 18° less above 

 tiian below ; and through the whole 

 frost continually 10" or 12°. Tliis 

 variation in temperature was eonfirmod 

 by the total destruction of the forest 

 evergreens in the valley, those on the 

 hill remaining unhurt. 



RUSSIA. 



M. Martinoff is the first author 

 who his attempted to introduce into 

 tlie Russian language the classical 

 beauties of the ancient Greeks ; he has 

 prepared for the press, and is now 

 publishing, the Iliad of Homer, the 

 first rhapsody to be accompanied with 

 a literal translation ; also the Tragedies 

 of Sophocles, the Hymns of Calli- 

 luachus, with philological remarks, 

 and the Fables of Esop. 



A Bible Society has been established 

 at Kuffa, wliich has already distri- 

 ■Jiuted an immense number of copies of 

 the New Testament among the Rus- 

 .sians, Cossacks, and Americans. A 

 Museum of Antiquities has been lately 

 founded there, containing objects 

 found in the vicinity. Certain specu- 

 lative virtuosi pretend to have disco- 

 vered the tomb of Mithridatcs, at tlie 

 distance of some leagues from KafTa. 

 Pallas has described the region of the 

 Tauride as rich iu antiquities. Among 

 other recent improvements at Kafila, 

 are a Greek theatre, a public library, 

 and a botanic garden. 



GKRMANY. 



The number of students at present 

 in Gottingen is 1419. Among them 

 are four princes, — the Prince of Bruns- 

 wick, the Prince of Lcinsingen, and 

 the two Princes of Solms ; and also 

 seventeen counts. Of the students, 

 270 study theology, 730 jurisprudence, 

 224 medicine, and VJf) devote them- 

 selves to physics and general philo- 

 sojiliy. 



A plan is in contemplation to unite 

 the Danube with the lilbe, by means 

 of a canal to bo cut from Liniz, and 

 intended to unite; with tlic Moldau, 

 vvhicli falls into the Elbe, in the circle 

 of IJiilzhiu. M. Von Gi'iisTNUK, of 

 llic Polytechnic School at Vicuna, 



surveyed the Elbe to Hamburgh, by 

 order of the Austrian government, last 

 autumn. Tliere is every reason to 

 expect the speedy execution of this 

 important measure. 



FRANCE. 



A new machine has been invented 

 as a substitute for the Scaphander, and 

 to preserve from drowning. It is 

 made of tin, in the form of two cones 

 lengthened, as a distaff, and strongly 

 joined together. It is so contrived, as 

 to come under the arm-pits; a river 

 may be safely crossed with it by any 

 individual, though loaded. It has 

 been successfully tried for half an 

 hour together, before numerous spec- 

 tators, and bears the name of Rouanette, 

 from its inventor M. Rouan, of Paris. 



At the last annual meeting of the 

 Asiatic Society of Paris, at which the 

 Duke of Orleans presided, it appeared 

 from the Secretary's report, that the 

 following works had been printed at 

 the Society's expense, during the 

 preceding twelve months: — A Japa- 

 nese Grammar, a Mantchou Diction- 

 ary, certain Fragments in Sanscrit, a 

 Collection of Fables in the Armenian 

 tongue, and a Grammar of the Geor- 

 gian, accompanied with a Vocabulary. 

 In the same sitting were read, among 

 other specimens of Asiatic literature, 

 a Fragment of a very curious Chinese 

 Romance,' translated by M. Fresnel ; 

 some extracts from the works of Hairi, 

 a famous Arabian writer, translated by 

 M. de Tassy; and certain Idyls and 

 Fables, translated from the Persian 

 and Sanscrit by M. Chezy. 



NORTH AMERICA. 



Capt. Cochrane h.as ascertained 

 that there is no junction between the 

 continents of Asia and America. He 

 had been foi* two years exploring the 

 north-eastern coast of Siberia, to settle 

 this point. 



In the United States, the proportion 

 of marriages to the popidation is cal- 

 culated as one to thirty ; that of births, 

 as one to twenty ; and of deaths, as one 

 to forty. The number of males to 

 tliat of females, as collected from the 

 census, has been rated fron) twenty- 

 six to twenty-five; also the proportion 

 of male infants under ten years, to 

 that of females of the same age. hns 

 been found, at dilfcrent periods, from 

 twinty to nineteen, and from nineteen 

 to eighteen. 



iu Ukingier, cr((. of Louisiana, has 

 l)ul)lishc(l observations on the region 

 of the Mississipj)!, and shows that thou- 

 sands 



