454 
finifhing, and which he probably worked 
on at Venice while he was ftudying 
‘Titian; a proceffion and thetower of 
Babe! by Breughel, paintings which ex- 
cite aftonifhment by the details and the 
infinite variety of figures, which feem all 
in motion, 
The fkeleton of the famous cetaceous 
animal which was driven afhore alive laft 
year on the coaft of the ifles Mar- 
gueriie (department of Var), is now to be 
feen in the Cour des Fontaines at Paris. 
A detailed defcription has not been hi- 
therto given of it by the naturalifts. It 
appears however, that this animal be- 
longs to a fpecies of whale very rare and 
unknown to fuch of the Greenland and 
Norway fifhers as have feen it at Paris. 
When alive, its body was 22 metres long, 
by more than 15 in diameter. It had 
no teeth; but on each fide of the palate, 
it had very thin lamingz of horn, dif- 
pofed one befide another ina parallel fitua- 
tion. The eyes were about twice as big 
as thofe of the ox, and covered with hairs 
and lids.—On the fummit of the head, 
were found two vent-holes formed as 
noftrils, feparated from each other by a 
cartilaginous partition, and by means of 
which it threw up water at a prodigious 
height, with a hiffing fotind like that of 
a cannon ball—nothing remarkable ap- 
peared in its voluminous ftomach—it 
could not be diffected accurately, as there 
was an immediate neceffity to cut away 
and inter the flefhy parts; the large mafs of 
fiefh exhaling an odour which might have 
become infectious to the whole country. 
The commiffion charged to defignate 
the French artifts that merit encourage- 
ment, has lately terminated its labours. 
The minifter had authorized the com- 
miffion to lay before him their opinion 
relative to the moft juft partition to be 
made of the fum of 100,000 francs which 
he had to difpofe of in favour of the fine 
arts. This fum has been thus divided ; 
to the painters 63,000 francs; to the 
{culptors, 20,000 francs; to the engra- 
vers 7000. . Thus nearly two thirds of 
the fum have. been devoted to painting, 
and the remaining third will be for the 
other three arts. 
The celebrated Prccinr, who even in 
old age does not fuffer his lyre to repole, 
is now ufefully employed at Paris in com- 
pofing ajournal of pieces for the voice 
and the piano torte, which will doubtlets 
be well received in France and foreign 
countries. The fongs and the accom- 
paviments for the flute, violin, and bafs, 
are by PICcINi ; the accompa: iments for 
Foreign Literary Intelligence. 
[July 
the piano-forte, areby DEsORMERY and 
BovrFetT, whofe talents on this inftru- 
ment are well known. Every number is 
to contain an Italian air, a fong, or a 
French romance, and a piece tor the 
piano ; at leaft, thefe are found in the firft 
number which has juft appeared. 
It appears from the laft computation 
of the regifters made at the houje of edu- 
cation at Stockholm, that of 1,227 chil- 
dren entered there, 1026 have died; that 
is to fay, nearly 5 out of 6, This enor- 
mous mortality, fo particularly witneffed 
in children of the frit year, has attracted 
the attention and excited the alarms of 
different philanthropxHts in Sweden, with 
a view to point out to public notice the 
too probable caufes of a misfortune fo 
afflicting and which is ftill perpetuated. 
Profeffor Fucus lately read to the 
Academy of ufeful Sciences, of Erfurt, a 
treatife on the compofition of a varnifh 
for pottery ware, in which no lead enters. 
The difcovery of this varnifh, which com- 
bines all the requifite qualities, is the 
fruit of a long feries of experiments. Let 
there be melted, and kept in fufion for a 
quarter of an hour, a mixture of an ounce 
of fire-ftone, anounce of pounded glafs, 
two drams of salt, half an ounce of to- 
bacco-pipe earth, and an aunee and a half 
of borax. Let the pots be plattered over 
with this matter, after they have been 
already in the fire, and put them again 
in it, for about 17 or 18 hours. , 
That able and {kilful naturaliftt Fre- 
DERICK HUMBOLDT, had lately quitted 
Paris, to pass over to Algiers, in order 
to commence his f{cientific travels in 
Africa. —The object of the great journey 
which he had propofed to make, was to 
pafs to Algiers, in the, Swedifh frigate, 
the Jaramas, to ftudy Mount Atlas, and 
the defart called Saarah, to pafs over the 
defart with the earavan which goes from 
Tripoli to Mecca, and at lait to join the 
French naturalifts in Egypt.—Circum- 
ftances, however, have prevented this 
defign; the frigate has fuftered thipwreck 
in a port of Norway, and the Dey of 
Tripoli has prohibited the caravan fron, 
fetting out.—M. Humboldt, however, 
has not been deterred by thefe difcourage- 
ments, from his project of quitting En- 
rope, and tranfporting himfelf, with all 
his inftruments, into the Torrid Zone. 
He has repaired, therefore, to Spain, from 
whence he will pafs to Mexico, to Peru, 
to Chili, and to the Philippines. He is 
on the eve of fetting out for the Havannah, 
irom whence he will repair to Vera Cruz. 
The king of Spain wifhed to have fome 
, difcourfe 
q 

