E L B 



407 



E L B 



Elba. called lucciola, from the shining of the little scales of 

 ^ which it is composed. Mines of copper, also, exist in 

 Elba, but these are not open. The opinion that the 

 island produces gold, silver, and lead, has been com- 

 mon, but Thiebaut de Berneaud maintains that it is a 

 mistake. There are quarries of loadstone, granite, and 

 marble, both white and mixed. We meet also with ala- 

 baster, steatite, asbesto?, serpentine, rocks of quartz, 

 yenite, and various other minerals. 



There are few oxen or cows on this island ; there are 

 asses, and mules and horses, and a considerable number 

 of sheep, goats, and pigs ; but the breed of all of the<e 

 animals is small, and of some of them, particularly the 

 horse, it is miserably bad. Hares, red-legged p-ir- 

 tridges, quails, wood-pigeons, rabbits, &c. are found in 

 abundance. The fields swarm with noxious reptiles, 

 such as the smaller scorpion, the blind worm, the adder, 

 asps and vipers. There is also the spotted >pider,' 

 whose bite is said to be mortal. All the insects com- 

 mon to Italy are found here. There are few bees, and 

 no silk-worms, though the situation is remarkably fa- 

 vourable tor both. There aretwo/uiiny fisheries on the 

 coast of Elba. One of them is carried on at Porto Fer- 

 rajo, the other at Marciana. That at Porto Kerrajo 

 was established first but that at Marciana is more pro- 

 ductive by two-thirds. The annual value of both is 

 estimated at L. 25CX) sterling. Sword-fish, dog-fish, 

 dolphins, and sea-calves, are sometimes killed. There 

 are also found the sole, the bearded mullet, and that 

 brilliant fish called by the Italians donzellina. Former- 

 ly the coast abounded with oysters, some of them con- 

 taining pearls of considerable size and fine colour, but 

 the greediness of the people exhausted the beds, and 

 Tarious circumstances have contributed to prevent them 

 from being again replenished. There are numerous 

 marches in the vicinity of Porto Ferrajo and Lungone, 

 from which a considerable quantity of salt is manufac- 

 tured. These marshes are accounted more detrimen- 

 tal to the public health, than they are advantageous to 

 the public prosperity. The manufacture itself is con- 

 ducted with no skill. Sixty thousand sacks, contain- 

 ing about 150 lib. each, are produced annually. The 

 magazines erected for the reception of the article are 

 naid to be fine and commodious buildings. There is no 

 machinery in the island, except that of corn mills, and 

 these are ill constructed, and unskilfully managed. The 

 importations of the island consiit of grain, cheese, cat- 

 tle, and other necessary articles ; the exportations of 

 iron ore, granite vinegar, wines, tunny, and salt. The 

 principal places in Elba are Porto Ferrajo, containing 

 alwmt .SO O inhabitants, and situated in East Long. 

 10 19' 35", and North Lat 42 49' 6"; Rio, alxjut 

 20(10; Port Lungone, about I5(K); and Marciana, about 

 1200. 



In 1808, the whole population of the island was esti- 

 mated at nearly 1 _',0<)0. It appears from a calculation, 

 that the average of births is one in twelve, and that of 

 deaths, one in twenty three The character of the El- 

 Ixiise is very superior to that of the Italians in general. 

 They are extremely attached to their country, indus- 

 trious as labourers, and brave as soldiers; simple in their 

 attire, and frugal in their mode of living ; not very fond 

 of amusements, and rather grave than lively in their 

 <li>l',sition ; ignorant and credulous ; more supersti- 

 tion * than fan.itieal ; somewhat addicted to flattery; 

 not malicious or revengeful, but irritable and impatient 

 of contradiction, The men are of a robust contitution, 

 live to a great age and enjoy good health. The wo- 

 wen are in general not beautiful. Before marriage they 

 5 



are chaste, though possessed of much sensibility ; after 

 marriage, they are remarkable for being faithful wives 

 and affectionate mothers. 



The political state of Elba has undergone many re- 

 volutions. But the most remarkable event that has 

 ever happened to the island, is that of its being assign- 

 ed to Napoleon Bonaparte as his sole dominion and re- 

 treat for life : so that the Elboise are now the only sub- 

 jects of a man who, but a few years ago, commanded 

 the destinies of Europe ; and who might still have 

 maintained that lofty eminence, had not his ambitiom 

 grown so extravagant as to render his talents useless, 

 and his oppressions so intolerable, as to unite against 

 him all the wisdom and virtue of the world. Per- 

 haps it was impossible to dispose of this extraordinary 

 personage in a better manner ; but it is not imperti- 

 nent to ask, if he be really the remorseless tyrant which 

 lie is universally believed to be, of what crime had the 

 inhabitants of Elba been guilty, that they should be 

 doomed to groan beneath his rod ? However, since it 

 was agreed that he should retain his life and his liber- 

 ty, it was surely expedient that his power of doing mis- 

 chief should be circumscribed within narrow bounds ; 

 and probably no place could answer this view so well 

 as that little island, in which the virtue of the people 

 may either teach him to respect while he rules them, 

 or deprive him of his last sceptre, if he shall employ it 

 for their oppression. See Voyage to the Me of Elba, 

 &c. by Arsenne Thiebaut de Berneaud. Tour through 

 the Inland of Elba, by Sir Richard Colt Hoare, Bart. 



&C. (r) 



ELHE, the Albis of the ancients, and the Labbe of 

 the Bohemians, is one of the principal rivers in Ger- 

 many. It takes its rise near the source of the Oder 

 and the Vistula, in that part of the Carpathian moun- 

 tains, which is called Riesengeburg, or the Mountain of 

 the Giants. In its course through Bohemia, it receives 

 several tributary streams, but particularly the river 

 Molclau, above Melnick. At Leutmeritz, above which 

 it receives the Eger from Franconia, it begins to be na- 

 vigable for small boats. After leaving Bohemia, at a 

 narrow pass at Winterberg, near Schandaw, which Wer- 

 ner conceives to have been the outlet of a great lake, 

 covering the whole of Bohemia, it enters Saxony, pass- 

 es by Dresden, and receives the Milde, not far from 

 Dessau. After receiving the Saale above Barby, and 

 the Hevel near Hevelbcrg, which form a communica- 

 tion with the Oder, by means of the Spree, through Ber- 

 lin, it pursues its way through the confines of the 

 duchies of Lunenl>erg and Mecklenburg Schwerin, 

 where it receives the Ilnienau. It then advances to 

 Hamburg, where its branches form several islands. It 

 receives the Stocr below Gluckstadt, and at the dis- 

 tance of 1 00 miles from this it throws itself into the North 

 Sea, not far from Heligoland. 



The navigation of the Elbe up to Hamburg is extreme- 

 ly difficult, on account of its numerous sand banks. 

 When a violent wind blows from the west, in autumn, 

 the waters are swelled to such a degree, that all the ca- 

 nals of Hamburg overflow their banks, fill the cellars 

 and magazines with water, and often inundate the 

 streets. An east wind produces an opposite effect. It 

 drives the waters of the Elbe towards the sea, with so 

 much force, that the canals are left dry, and passengers 

 cross them on foot. 



The Elbe is navigable for large vessels up to Ham- 

 burg, and for small craft for several hundred miles, and 

 form the principal channel of communication with th* 

 whole north of Germany. 



Elbe. 



