The Sun.
London, England, 1814-07-11 00:00:00

THE SUN REVIEW:

(co. Vtlt.)

A VOYAGE to the ISLE of ELBA, with Notices of
the other Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sca.

Ttat ',laird from the French of Anst:NxE TuIIIIWCT m r,F.II-
NE.tep, Emeritus Secretary of the Class of Literature,
Ilis-
tory, and Antiquities, of the Italian Acat:einy, &c. Pub-
lished by LONGMAN, HURST, .BEES, 0101E2 and BROWN,

Fp; 163, price 7s.
This volume, one of the earliest fruits of our
renewed intercourse with France, has appeared
very opportunely, to afford us some information
respecting a spot rendered so peculiarly interest-
itig-,• at This moment, and of which so. little is
known It is accompanied by an excellent map,
prphatty the only one extant, which furnishes,
-from Actual survey and ob9ervation, a correct idea
of the iiew Empire of the Emperor .1?oz. A De-
dication ro CHARLES LONG informsus, that,
in the Transistor's opinion,,Elha might have slum-
bered among the onnotedislets of the ocean, had
it 'not been for the political tenets of the School
of PITT, and the firm and persevering adherence
of the country to this Right-Hon. Gentleman, and
such of his frknds at the bead of affairs as main-
tained these doctrines, and rallied round them the
Sense and spirit of Grer,t tritain, against an over-
weening and presumptuous combination, pre-
tending to the possession of all the talents in
the empire. •

Aa intrnduction of M. rrg BERNEAUD'S deve-
lopes the character of the ,Writer, his theoretic
opinions,. the nature of his travels from 1801 to
so.late a period as 1807, and the objects he had
in view in visiting 14:11iA.

The work consists of fite chapters, subdivided
into sections, of which the following is an ana•
lysis :—Chap. I. A general View
.of the Island, its
geographical Situation, Names, and their Ety-
mology.—Chap 11. POpniation, Natural History,.
Agriculture, Industry, and, including. the Man-,
hers of the People, their possessions in Mines,
Botanical Productions, Animals. ComMerce, &c:
&c Hr. Political History, Ancient
end Modern.---Chap. IV. Geology, as deduced
from a consideration of the physical Constitution,
Mountains, Climate, and Waters of the Island.—
Chiip. V. Torography, with Notices of the chief
Vlaces, such as Porto Feriajo, Rio, Porto LlM-
gane, Capo Luciri, Campo, St. Ilario, San Pietro,
Marciana, Poggio, &c. ; and, lastly, General Re-
flections, together with very brief Sketches of the
adjacent Isles of Pianosa, Monte Cristo, Giglio,
Sardinia, Corsica, Capraja, and Gorgona.
. Of these matters it will, occur.to our Readers,
that, though the philosophical portion of this work
may be most acceptable to men 'of science and
not • devoid' of entertainment to any class, the
most amusing part must be that which treats
of the population of Elba, their customs, mode
of life, disposition, and whole natural history. So•
it is, and
_from the second chapter, replete with
intelligence of this description, we :select the fol-
lowing
.passages, as specimens of the style in
which this Voyage is written and translated

" The Isle of Elba was peopled long before the
ttse of that iron which it furnishes sb abundantly.
was known : before Rome was built*. The
Etruscans were its first occupants. Its popula-
tion must have been very considerable, as we
know from Virgil that it contributed three hun-
dred chosen soldiers to Encas in his wars with
Turnus Itaiicus also informs us, that
after the unfortunate day of Trabia, it sent (the
same number with Sicily) three thousand excel-
lent archers, armed and equipped, and a vast quan-
tity of arms, to the Roman Consuls I.
" In 1778; the Isle of Elba contained scarcely
eight thousand inhabitants: At present (1808)
the number amounts to nearly twelve thousand.
From a Comparative calculation of the births and
deaths, it appears,- on an average estimate, that
the births are equal to one in twelve, and the
deaths to one in twenty-three.

" The character of islanders is always marked
with some original trails.,. The peculiarities of
the.Elhoise, of which I am about to treat, have
strongly interested me.
_ _

" Remarkably attached to their native soil, the
inhabitants of the Isle of Elba love labour ; and
in the hour of common danger they aye all sol-
diers. Like the early Romans, we observe them
with equal pleasure and eagerness pass from the
cultivation of the earth to the toils of the camp.
Oftner than once they have been seen repulsing
the hordes of barbarians who sought to invade
their country,- or reap their harvests. Pianosa,
whence they procure a large quantity of grain, is
still red with the blood of Turks slain by them in
defence of their. rights. They have, indeed, been
sometimes overcome, but their despair and bold-
ness have rescued them from the horrors of a long
and oppressive slaveyy,

. . _
. "1 1;e I,..lboise are, in general, good and. hospita-
ble, and bear no resemblance to the PiICiICCATiS
(that slmiderous people, of whom the wise.Nau-
sicaa speaks to the subtle Ulysses) §;.but, like
all weak nations they are flatterers. .•

They are of ari,ordinary height and well made,
robust, and of an excellent constitutinrr; they
are born seamen, are passionately found of the
chase, and "of all manly exercises. Their hair is
generally black, their complexion brown, and
their looks lively and penetrating. The active
and frugal life to which they are accustomed con-
tributes to render them hardy, ardent, and brave,
and to preserve their health.
Although eduCation, which always exercises
a direct and material influence upon the habits of
life, and upon the happiness or misery of rnanL
kind, is much neglected in theJsle of Elbe; al-
though perpetual revolutions and violent commo-
tions, AV kid! have so often struck at the root of
the security and property of the people, have im-