and given to the public in our vernacular tongue. It is a tribute, which every American, whatever language he may speak, owes to the great name of Columbus, to preserve and cherish everything that tends to impress more deeply on the memory the testimony of his great deeds and character, and to kindle the warmest veneration and gratitude, which, after all, are but feeble returns for the perils he encountered, and the sacrifices, sufferings, and mortification he endured, in discovering a new world, and laying the foundation of future empires. If we estimate greatness by the consequences of a man's conceptions and acts, and by the virtuous means employed in attaining extraordinary ends, the name of Columbus stands out on the list of fame, alone, unapproached, and unapproachable. There was but one new world to discover, and the exploits of an Alexander, a Cæsar, a Bonaparte, fade away into insignificance, when compared with the sublime picture of Columbus, crossing the trackless ocean in search of a world unknown, but which his superior genius had told him must exist; and when compared with his struggles against the tide of fortune, the jealousy of powerful rivals, and the perfidy of kings, in establishing the conquests of his enterprise and talents. And if we look at results, all the efforts of all that have been called great, are but a feather in the balance against the train of consequences, that has flowed, and will continue to flow, from the discoveries of Columbus. It is, therefore, peculiarly proper, that these papers should be translated and published in America.

A rumor has gone abroad, that our distinguished countryman, Washington Irving, is engaged in the task at Madrid, but we have the best authority for stating, that this is not the fact. We believe he had it in contemplation, and went to Spain partly for this purpose, but at length relinquished the project, as not altogether in accordance with his former habits of thought and study. We trust he is employed in compositions which will demand more from his own resources, and that his name will continue to shine, as heretofore, with its own lustre. Other writers may translate with elegance and accuracy, but to whom shall we look, except to the author himself, for a continuation of the Sketch Book?' Let these interesting documents be translated and published here. It is a proper object for the enterprise of any individual, or even the patronage of government. They certainly pertain as much to us as to Spain, and yet they have been printed in Madrid, not only with the approbation of the king, but at his royal press, and on his account. We should be mortified to have it directly stated, that we do less as a nation for the cause of letters, and our own history, than the government of Spain, whose liberality and literary propensities we are not in the habit of extolling.

Here is a case, however, in which it would be a wise, a liberal, and generous course to follow in the steps of Ferdinand.

Señor de Navarrete intends continuing his work with despatch. The third volume will contain documents relating to discoveries in Florida, and on the main land round the Gulf of Mexico; and the fourth will be devoted to the conquests of Cortes. He will then proceed in course to the expeditions to La Plata, the Straits of Magellan, Chili, Peru, and California, to the discoveries in the South Sea, and to the Molucca and Philippine Islands; thus embracing the whole compass of Spanish discoveries by sea, during the last three hundred years.

:

We shall translate here a remarkable statement, which the author introduces as a note in his first volume, and in which the invention of the steam boat is ascribed to a Spaniard nearly three hundred years ago. The account is as follows.

'Blasco de Garay, a sea captain, exhibited to the emperor and king, Charles the Fifth, in the year 1543, an engine by which ships and vessels of the larger size could be propelled, even in a calm, without the aid of oars or sails.

'Notwithstanding the opposition which this project encountered, the emperor resolved, that an experiment should be made, as in fact it was with success, in the harbor of Barcelona, on the seventeenth of June, 1543.

Garay never publicly exposed the construction of his engine, but it was observed at the time of the experiment that it consisted of a large caldron or vessel of boiling water, and a moveable wheel attached to each side of the ship.

The experiment was made on a ship of two hundred tons, arrived from Colibre to discharge a cargo of wheat at Barcelona; it was called the Trinity, and the captain's name was Peter de

Scarza.

By order of Charles the Fifth, and the prince, Philip the Second, his son, there were present at the time, Henry de Toledo, the governor Peter Cardona, the treasurer Ravago, the Vice Chancellor Francis Gralla, and many other persons of rank, both Castillians and Catalonians; and among others, several sea captains witnessed the operation, some in the vessel, and others on the shore.

'The emperor and prince, and others with them, applauded the engine, and especially the expertness with which the ship could be tacked. The treasurer, Ravago, an enemy to the project, said it would move two leagues in three hours. It was very complicated and expensive, and exposed to the constant danger of bursting the boiler. The other commissioners affirmed that the vessel could be tacked twice as quick as a galley, served by the common method, and that at its slowest rate it would move a league in an hour.

The exhibition being finished, Garay took from the ship his engine, and having deposited the woodwork in the arsenal of Barcelona, kept the rest himself.

'Notwithstanding the difficulties and opposition thrown in the way by Ravago, the invention was approved, and if the expedition, in which Charles the Fifth was then engaged, had not failed, it would undoubtedly have been favored by him. As it was, he raised Garay to a higher station, gave him a sum of money (200,000 maravedies) as a present, ordered all the expenses of the experiment to be paid out of the general treasury, and conferred upon him other rewards.

'Such are the facts collected from the original registers, preserved in the royal archives at Samáncas, among the public papers of Catalonia, and those of the secretary at war, for the year 1543.'

This statement was communicated to the author in a letter from Thomas Gonzalez, dated at Samancas, the twentyseventh of August, 1825; and it would appear, that he had recently consulted the public records to which he refers.

A Review of the 'Diplomacy of the United States,' and also one of the Life of Theobald Wolfe Tone,' we are obliged to defer.

:

QUARTERLY LIST OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

ARTS, SCIENCES, &c.

A Geometric System for the Measurement of the Area of a Circle, or any of its Sectors. By Edwin W. Jackson. New Brunswick. 8vo. Reports of William Strickland, Esq. Engineer, Agent for the "Pennsylvania Society for the Promotion of Internal Improvement," on a Tour through Great Britain, in 1825. Philadelphia,

A Manual of Chemistry, on the basis of Professor Brande's, containing the principal Facts of the Science, arranged in the Order in which they are discussed and illustrated in the Lectures at Harvard University, New England. Compiled from the works of Brande, Henry, Berzelius, and others. By John W. Webster, M. D. Boston. 8vo. pp. 603. A Manual of Mineralogy and Geology, designed for the Use of Schools, &c. By Ebenezer Emmons, M. D. Adopted as a Text Book in the Rensselaer School, Albany.

Conversations on Natural Philosophy, in which the Elements of that Science are familiarly explained. Illustrated with Plates. By the Author of Conversations on Chemistry, &c. With Corrections and Improvements, appropriate Questions, and a Glossary, by Dr Thomas P. Jones.

BIOGRAPHY.

Memoirs of the Rev. Thomas Baldwin, D. D. late Pastor of the Second Baptist Church in Boston, who died at Waterville, Maine, August 29, 1825. Together with a Funeral Sermon, occasioned by his Death, by the Rev. Daniel Chessman, Hallowell, Maine. Boston.

The Life of George Washington, Commander in Chief of the American Army, through the Revolutionary War; and the first President of the United States. By Aaron Bancroft, D. D. 2d edition. Boston. 2 vols. 18mo.

The History of Pirates; containing the Lives of those noted Pirates, Captains Misson, Bowen, Kidd, Tew, &c. and a correct Account of the late Piracies committed in the West Indies. Haverhill, Mass. 12mo. pp. 276.

EDUCATION.

The American Definition Spelling Book. By Abner Kneeland. Concord, N. H. 12mo.

Cubi's Spanish Grammar. Third Edition. Baltimore. 12mo.

Le Traducteur Français; or, a New and Practical System for Translating the French Language. By Mariano Cubi y Soler. Baltimore. 12mo. pp. 392.

Mr Cubi has formed this work nearly on the plan of his Traductor Espanol, which we noticed on a former occasion. It contains a selection of short and appropriate pieces from the best French writers, with notes in English explaining such words and phrases, as throw difficulties in the pupil's way. The object is to present the greatest possible facilities to beginners, in the study of the French language. The verbs are designated by being printed in italics, and an attempt is Inade in the margin to render the French idioms accurately into English. The author also endeavors to assist pronunciation by writing the French words with letters retaining the English sounds. We have some doubts of the success of this plan, as we do not believe any tolerable accuracy of pronunciation can be communicated, except by the living voice. Experientia docet, and Mr Cubi's judgment must be better than ours. By arranging his Vocabulary in a strictly alphabetical order, we are convinced he has improved on that of his Traductor Espanol.

The Accountant's Assistant, or Complete Interest Tables. By Almon Ticknor.

Primary Lessons in Arithmetic. By Frederic Emerson. Boston. 18mo. pp. 31.

An Analytical Guide to the Art of Penmanship; in which the correct Principles of the Round and Running Hands are systematized and simplified. By Enoch Noyes. Boston.

The Greek Lexicon of Schrevelius, translated into English, with many Additions. Boston. 8vo. pp. 896.

This elaborate work, for which the public has so long been looking, and latterly with some degree of impatience, has at length appeared, and is finished in a man ner which we cannot doubt will fully answer the high expectations, that were excited by a knowledge of the source in which it was understood to originate. We have not room now to add one remark of our own, but hope on a future occasion to do justice to so honorable and useful a literary enterprise. Meantime, two or three brief extracts from the preface will afford some hints, in regard to the character and purpose of this Lexicon.

The basis of the work is Schrevelius's well known Lexicon; which, on the whole, in the present state of Greek studies in this country, was thought preferable to any other manual adapted to the use of schools.

That work has been long in general use in England, and has passed through numerous editions in that as well as other parts of Europe.'

In the execution of their task the Editors have not contented themselves with being translators of Schrevelius's Latin interpretations, which are often ambiguous and unsatisfactory; but they have, to the best of their ability, rendered the English explanations from the original Greek. It will be at once perceived, that the significations given are more copious than the Latin ones of Schrevelius. This has been occasioned partly by the difficulty of always finding single English words, which would correspond to the Greek so exactly as many of the Latin terms do; but principally from a desire to obviate the embarassment arising from the ambiguity of the general terms used in the Latin, by substituting for them English significations less general and of course more precise. It has been the intention of the Editors, that the work should comprehend all the words which are to be found in Professor Dalzel's Collectanea Majora and Minora, Jacobs's Greek Reader, and the other books now studied in our schools and other seminaries of learning; but, notwithstanding the pains taken in this respect, they dare not flatter themselves with having accomplished it. Any omissions of this kind, however, may be supplied in a future edition.'

In the progress of the work almost all the Lexicons extant have been occasionally consulted; those which have been most frequently resorted to are Hedericus, Planche's excellent Dictionnaire Grec-François, and Schneider's admirable Griechisch-Deutsches Worterbuch; and, for Scriptural words, the highly valuable edition of Wahl's Lexicon to the New Testament, by Mr Robinson, of the Theo