The Press. — London, England, 1854-05-06 00:00:00

MAY 6, 1854. not built on enduring interests, or in which signal genius has not taken part in the strife. The notes from Bishop Coplestone's com monplace-book do not occupy thirty pages of the volume. Some of them possess philologi cal interest. We extract the most interesting passage, along with the editor's notes : The affinity of words is by no means to be rejected be cause it is remote. if each step in the pedigree be clearly established, the connection is as certain as if it consisted of but one or two stages of descent. Thus Journal is un• doubtedly derived from Dies. Dies, Diurnns, Giorno, Diurnal, Journal. Lord Clarendon, in his Life, uses Diur. soli in the sense of Journals. The Arches is a vulgar name with seamen for the Archi pelago, which is itself a corruption of a:ytioc riXayo; ( Mit ford's " History of Greece," vol. i.) ; Charter-house from Chartreuz ; Postmaster, at Merton College, from Portion ista. These corruptions are similar to those in daily use among our seamen, when they assimilate the same of a ship to some word already familiar. Bellerophon, Bully Ruffian ; Bienfaisant, Bonney pheasant. So liologne Mouth Bull and Mouth ; Belle Sauvage, Bell and Savage. This is an important principle tbr the etymologist to notice. It solves many phenomena in language. E.g. Bridgewater, a town in Somerset, is corrupted from Walter de Burgh ; Sparrowgrass, from Asparagus; Coweumber, from Cucumis ; Biscakes, from Biscuits ; " please the pigs," from " please the pit," or sacred box in which the host was kept; coun try dance, from contreclarme. Quelques chores . . Kickshaws. Hoc eat corpus . . . Homo peens. Another guise . . . Another guess. Sucre Brule . . . . liarleysugar and yet the French saygmre Purge.• Buffet ier Euripus Oyez 0 yes ! Chaussee 11 Janitore John Dory. Girasole Artichoke . Chacal . . . . Jackall. Toad-eater, from the Spanish todito, a familiar diminu tive of todo (toto), one who does everything for you—a fu.to•tara+—a frequent member of the Spanish household. The word to pania (TA ',Pines) was the name of a similar personage at Rome. (See Petronius.) In the "Curiosities of Literature " there is a still more singular catalogue of the corruption of names. Amongst the sern►ons we were particularly struck by that in which the purpose of War burton's argument on " The Divine Legation" is commented on. We doubt whether Bishop Coplestone would have printed the sermon as it here stands without some further elucida tions and more qualifying remarks. We re commend the discourse to those interested about Warburton. Those occupied with the present aspects of the religious world will complain of the volume now before us as de ficient in utility, while readers of another school will complain of its tenuity of matter, and its raising questions that are not solved, notwithstanding the acuteness of the " logic " which is visible in its pages. Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Herald during the Years 1845-51. By Berthold Seemann, F.L.S. London : Reeve and Co. THE voyage of the Herald lasted from 1845 to 1851, five years and eleven months, including a circumnavigation of the globe, numerous surveys in little known seas, and even the dis covery of an arctic island. Few expeditions of longer duration or more successfully con ducted. have left English shores. The navi gators touched at Madeira and Rio—visited the Falkland Islands—rounded the Horn— thence proceeded to Lima, the Galapagos, Panama, and the Pacific coast generally, as far north as Vancouver's Island, being up to this period exclusively employed in survey ing. In April, '4B, they received orders to search for Franklin in the vicinity of Behring's Straits; and after a brief stay at Petro paulowski, in Kamschatka, entered the Arctic regions, where they remained only long enough to verify Wrangell's conjecture of the existence of a Polar land north of the Siberian continent. Returning from her brief Arctic cruise, the Herald wintered at Honololu, and in the spring of 1849 again left for the Straits. A surveying expedition in the Gulf of California • Originally it was barley-water, sweetened with sugar (a com mon remedy in coughs) boiled down to w extract. And some such is still made.—En. 4. I have heard an ingenious person object (and I think Justly) to this etymology, and derive the word from the animal " toad," which I think equally improbable. Both seem to me to have over looked a simple and obvious derivation. One element in etymo logy, which is not to he lost sight of, is the tendency to contract or otherwise alter is pristvecieffim any word of which the 'utter ance would be either profane or disgusting. E... " my life," •' cad," "Lud," and many others.—En. THE PRESS. filled up a subsequent interval of time; and early in 1850 a third visit was paid to the north-west coast. In October, 1850, the homeward voyage began : it ended in June, '5l, when the Herald's crew returned, with (as we understand) the loss of only two men, after one of the most protracted cruises on record. We do not know the circumstances under which Mr. Seemann has written his narrative, or how far the undertaking to do so was a volunteer over on his part. If it were so, we cannot commend his discretion; for he was only present with the ship during a part of her voyage, and his account is often meagre through insufficient information, while a compilation from the journals of various officers, such as this work professes to be, seems not the form of writing best calculated to convey a clear impression of what has been seen and done. But it would rather appear that the duty devolved officially on the narrator,—Captain Kellett being absent somewhere in the neighbourhood of the North Pole, and in this case we cannot find fault with one who has certainly made the best use of such materials as were at his disposal. Of Vancouver's Island, and its principal settlement, Port Victoria, the voyagers give a favourable description. The harbour is in different, and water scarce; but this latter defect may be remedied by more scientific boring. The country is described as beauti ful ; " a natural park ; noble oaks and ferns " are seen in the greatest luxuriance; thickets " of the hazel and the willow, shrubberies of " the poplar and the alder, are dotted about." Cultivation had begun with success, though (in 1846) only three years had elapsed since the settlement was made. " All the necessaries " and most of the comforts of civilised life " already existed." The fort is a square stockaded enclosure, protected by towers on which artillery is mounted, and strong enough to repel all native aggressors. One attempt had been made upon it, which was easily defeated, and a speedy reconciliation effected. The natives are dirty, indolent, but not dangerous ; especially as the Hudson's Bay Company wisely refuse to supply them with spirits. The half-caste population increases, and may in the end prove troublesome, having much of European energy, but little desire to adopt civilised habits. All trade being in the hands of the company, prices are exorbitant; the more so as its customers are almost always in debt. (It must be remembered that these statements refer to the year '46, since which time considerable changes have taken place.) Peculiar interest attaches to Mr. Seemann's notes on the Panainese Isthmus, which he visited, and in part explored. As regards the physical features of the country, recent ob servation has superseded his discoveries ; but we know no better account than his of the native races inhabiting this district. Here is a sketch of the state of agriculture : In a country like the isthmus, where nature has supplied nearly every want of life, and where the consumption of a limited population is little felt, agrioulture, deprived of its proper stimulus. cannot make much progress ; it is there fore, in the isthmus, in the most primitive state,—our first parents could hartUy have carried it on more rudely. A spade is a curiosity, the plough has never been heard of, and the only implements used for converting forests into fields are the axe and the machete (or chopping-knife). A piece of ground intended for cultivation is selected in the forests, cleared of the trees by felling and burning them, and surrounded with a fence. In the beginning of the wet season the field is set with plants by simply making a hole with the machete, and placing the seed or rout in it ; the extreme be-at and moisture soon call them into ac tivity, the fertility of a virgin soil affords them ample nourishment, and without the further aid of man a nch harvest is produced. The mute ground is occupied two or three years in succession : after that time the soil is so hard, and the old stumps Lave thriven with so much enerKv, that a new spot has to be chosen. In most coun tries this mode of cultivation would be found impossible; but in New Granada all the unoccupied land is common property, of which anybody may appropriate as much as he pleases, provided he encloses it either artificially or by taking advantage of rivers, the sea, or mountains. As long as the land is enclosed it remains in his possession; when ever the fence is decayed the land again becomes the pro perty of the republic. Colonial produce, such as sugar, coffee, cacao, tamarinds, etc., which require more attention than the inhabitants are wont to bestow, are merely raised for home consumption ; and although the provincial government has tried to encourage this branch of industry by uftering premiums for growing a certain number of plants, and the soil and climate are favourable, I yet none, except a few enterprising toreigners, have taken 425 a prominent part in the cultivation ; and there is reason to believe that, while the country remains thinly populated, the high price of labour, consequent on such a state of society, will be a lasting impediment to the establish- ment of plantations on a large scale. The oerealia grown are rice and Indian corn : the former was introduced by the Spaniards ; the later was known before the conquest to the Aborigines, who raised it extensively, and used to prepare from it their bread, and chirAa, a kind of beer. Some successful experiments with wheat have been made on the mountains of Varaguas which will doubtless lead to an extrusive cultivation of that grain. Apathetic indolence characterises the people —a peculiarity not to be wondered at in such a climate, and in a state of society where luxuries are unknown, while necessaries can be obtained without trouble. The rains con tinue during three-fourths of the year ; in some parts of Darien it even rains eleven months out of the twelve. The heat is exces sive, and debilitating, from the quantity of moisture with which the air is loaded. The following sketch of a day on the isthmus shows both accuracy of observation and graphic power : During the dry season the climate agrees tolerably well with a European. But a summer day in lurope and one in the Isthmus—what a difference ! Night and day, from the vicinity of the country to the equator, pre nearly always of equal length. Scarcely has dawn commenced when every body is in action—it is the hour of business and bodily exercise ; nature stands refreshed, and drops of dew hang on every leaf. Amidst a profusion of flowers, the stately palm waves its foliage, and gay-coloured birds, strongly contrasting with the azure sky, diffuse animation and life ; in vain however does the Northman listen, — instead of the sweet melodies of nightingales and robins, the disagreeable cries of parrots and macaws strike his ear. Towards eight o'clock the heat begins to be felt, and that lassitude, fur which the tropics are so well known, seizes everything. The further the day advances, the more is this influence perceptible : the leaves droop, the wood pigeons, which all the morning sent forth their mono umous notes, are silent, the inhabitants have sought shelter front the scorching rays in the interior of their dwellings, all living beings are reposing, and • still ness prevails almost as profound as that of midnight. Ily degrees the heat becomes less oppressive, the breezes in crease, and the cool air of the evening soon calls forth a new life. The forests now glitter with fireflies, crickets chant their merry times, and here and there are seen groups of people chatting and enjoying themselves. But nothing can exceed the beauty of the scene when the full moon rises, shedding its silvery light over the broad foliage of the tropics ; whatever may have been the fatigue of the day, whatever the body may have suffered from heat and languor, all is forgotten in the presence of this spectacle. Such nights indeed baffle description—they are the quintessence of equinoctial life. Concerning the Indian tribes little is known: the Creole population treat them with con tempt, and they themselves repel all efforts at approximation between the races. There lives in Veraguas a chief who annually sends envoys to Santiago, the capital of the pro vince, asserting his right of independent so vereignty, and denying the territorial claims of Spain. In some parts of the country monu ments are found whose immense antiquity is attested by the detrition of the granite which forms their material. These, however, appear only in certain localities, the majority of the Isthmian Indians being poor and savage races, always at war, and acknowledging no general or supreme head. Not much is told of the Polar coast. Seen far off, it appeared high, very rocky, and broken, and stretched out to a considerable distance. Its existence was traditionally reported among the Siberians, who add that it is inhabited by a race wholly unknown, and who never quit it for a more southern latitude. Beyond the bare fact of land being there we know nothing. The Plover, a ecompanyin g the Herald, passed one winter (that of 1$19) in Kotzebue Sound, and during this interval of inaction an officer attached to her was despatched to tho Russian fort of Michelowski. Here be heard native rumours, confirmed also by the Russian commandant, of white men having been seen on a river in the interior, badly supplied with provisions, and who had parted with their guns to obtain food. As these men could scarcely be officers of the Hudson's Bay Com pany, the place where they were seen being far within the limits of Russian America, the presumption arose that they might belong to Franklin's party. Captain Moore, however, discredited the report, and no farther explora tion ensued. Not the least interesting part of this work is a resume—brief and very clear—of the various searching expeditions sent out after Sir John Franklin. Mr. Seemann considers it certain that the missing expedition, if ever destined