1826.] 



Domestic and Foreign. 



183 



among the monocotyledones nor dicotyle- 

 dones. Its reproductive force is astonisli- 

 ingly great; the pulp of the fruit has an 

 agreeable, but a very astringent, flavour, and 

 affords a good spirituous liquor; it likewise 

 yields a sediment resembling sago. The 

 kernel, when taken without precaution, is 

 a strong emetic ; when boiled it is plea- 

 sant and nutritious : the female tree se- 

 cretes a large quantity of gum, in its proper- 

 ties very similar to gum-dragon. M. Ma- 

 thieu de Montmorency has been elected 

 member of the French Academy in the 

 place of the late M. iJigot de Preameneu. 



Arras. — It is highly creditable to the 

 Royal Society of this city to have proposed 

 for the subject of one of their prizes for the 

 last year — " The law of Nature and of Na- 

 tions violated by the Barbary States, to the 

 disgrace of Christendom." The success- 

 ful candidate was M. A. Moufle, whose 

 poem was honoured with the gold medal. 



RUSSIA. 



St. Petershurgh. — The institution for the 

 deaf and dumb, which was founded by the 

 Empress Mother in 1806, is meeting with 

 well - deserved patronage ; its revenues 

 amount to 31,000 rubles per annum; and 

 some members of very eminent families are 

 to be found among its inmates. 



POLAND. 



Warsaw. — A meeting of the members 

 of the university of this city was held on the 

 1st of October last, to celebrate the anni- 



versary of its foundation. An interc8tin|( 

 paper connected with Polish literature, and 

 another on a metaphysical question, was 

 submitted to the assembly, together with 

 the annual report, from w'hich it appears 

 that during the last year 660 students were 

 on the books of the establishment, viz. 21 

 in theology, .379 in law, 120 in medicine, 55 

 in philosophy, and 129 in the fine arts, while 

 in every department of science the most 

 strenuous exertions were made, and are 

 making to place this institution on a level 

 with the most distinguished seminaries of 

 which Europe can boast. 



From an exhibition of tlie produce of 

 Polish industr)', which took place at the 

 same time, it apjjcars that great jirogress 

 has been made in the manufacture of cloth 

 and kerseymeres of a superior quality, to- 

 gether w^ith that of carpets, as also philo- 

 sophical instruments, and various orna- 

 mental articles of dress. 



ITALY. 



Turin Rot/al Socieh/ of Agriculture. — 

 Among the communications to this so- 

 ciety at its last meeting, the following are 

 worthy of notice : The Marquis de Lascaris 

 presented two models of bridges of iron 

 wire ; many specimens of flax prepared 

 without being steeped, and of paper which 

 had been prepared from the ligneous 

 parts of this plant ; and Mr. Bonafous ex- 

 plained a simple and cheap method of ex- 

 tracting more, and better, oil from the fruit 

 of the olive than by the orduiary processes. 



MONTHLY REVIEW OF LITERATURE, DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN. 



Tbb Life of Erasmus, with Historical 

 Remarks on the State of Literature, between 

 the Tenth and Sixteenth Centuries, bj/ C. 

 Butler, Esq., of Lincoln' s-Lm. — The 

 learned and able author of this work had 

 long contemplated a life of Erasmus. It 

 does not appear that he has fulfilled the 

 task in so complete a manner as he wished. 

 We have not his "Reminiscences" at hand, 

 in which work he has expressed his inten- 

 tion ; but we have before us the minutes of 

 a conversation held some years ago with 

 him, which will answer our purpose as \vell. 

 We use them without scruple, since the 

 ■words of the learned and the good are trea- 

 sures which should be stored up, and dif- 

 fused as opportunities offer. 



It will be seen from the following, that 

 Mr. Butler has only given a comprehensive 

 outline of the great work he desired to ex- 

 ecute, and which we sincerely regret he 

 has not added, as a crown, to his useful 

 and erudite compositions. 



In the conversation alluded to, he pro- 

 posed the Life of Erasmus as a work of 

 consequence and much wanted. The plan 

 of the work to be similar to that of the 



Abbe Barthelemy's ' Voyage >du Jeune 

 Anacharsis,' and to contain a liistorj- of 

 Erasmus and his times. The traveller was 

 to start from Dantzic, or Prague, cross the 

 Vistula, correspond with Baron Lasco, the 

 Pole, who purchased his library ; visit the 

 Hans Towns, which opened a way to a dis- 

 sertation on the Hanseatic Confederation, 

 and the literary and commercial state of that 

 part of Europe. So great a scope would 

 have permitted of the introduction of the 

 controversies of the doctors of the Sorbonne 

 — remarks on Buxtorf, and notices of some 

 of the councils. The Medici would have 

 formed a prominent feature, and the ques- 

 tion be discussed, if the Illumines of Ger- 

 many were jacobins or not ; and which ex- 

 amination would lead to researches relating 

 to the ' Secret Tribunal' in Germany, of 

 which but little is known. The history of 

 algebra and the rise of literature, &c. The 

 learned ^vriter thought, that the labour of 

 five hours a-day for ten years would com- 

 plete the work ! — Alas, how few there are 

 possessed of the erudition necessary to exe- 

 cute so great a task ! how few have means 

 and leisure ! These reflections make us 



