state very little decomposed, containing much gelatinous matter, and not at all petrified.

What is most singular is, that in all these caverns, over a distance of more than two hundred leagues, the bones are the same. Three fourths of them nearly belong to two species of bears which no longer exist. About half the remainder belong to a species of Hyæna; some few belong to the tiger, or the lion; others to the wolf or dog, the fox, the polecat, or to some species nearly allied to them. The species so common in the soil and alluvial ground, as already described, viz. elephants, rhinoceroses, horses, buffaloes, tapirs-are never found here; neither any of the Palæotheria, such as occur in the stony beds about Paris. So also, conversely, none of the bones found in these caverns are ever discovered in either of the other situations, except those of the Hyæna, which are sometimes found in the loose earth. It is also of consequence to observe, that the caves never contain the bones of any marine animals whatever, nor any thing that marks the presence of the sea.

The earth which serves as the envelope of the bones, was analyzed by M. Laugier, assistant chemist in the museum, and was found to contain 21 per cent. of the phosphate of lime, the characteristic of bone. There was 32 per cent. of lime and magnesia combined with carbonic acid; and 24 of the carbonic acid itself. The comparison of the bones with those of living animals, has been made with a degree of care, accuracy, and laborious examination, that can hardly be exceeded.

The bones of the carnivorous animals, deposited over this extensive chain, are on a level higher than that at which the bones of the elephant and the other Pachydermata are found, with the exception of that which Humboldt brought from the height of 1200 toises.

There appears, however, to be

no distinct marks, by which the order of the two, in respect of time, can be compared with one another. Cuvier seems inclined to think the era of the carnivorous animals later than that to which the bones of the mammoth are to be referred. A very long period however, and not a mere point of time, must have been required for the accumulation of these bones.

It cannot be doubted, that the animals to which they belonged, lived and died in the caverns where their bones remain. There is no appear.

ance of any sudden catastrophe, like the waters of the ocean, arising and pursuing the animals into caverns, where they at last perished.

But carnivorous animals are solitary, both from inclination and necessity; and instinct would in vain collect those individuals, whom the difficulty of procuring subsistence must soon force to a distance from one another. Each cavern in this extensive chain was therefore the den of a single despot, who sallied forth, as his ancestors had done, to prey on the defenceless inhabitants of those woods which, in later times, after men had become masters of the world, were known by the name of the Hircynian Forest. What a length of time must have been required to pave these vast caverns with the bones of their soli tary masters, in such quantities as still to astonish the naturalist, after supplying the apothecaries of Germany from the days of Paracelsus to the present time! Indeed, it is a striking mark of the vicissitudes to which the earth and all its inhabitants are subject, that the bones of animals, of which the very race is extinct, and which fed many ages ago on species that are now unknown, should be de youred, in their turn, by the indivi duals of the human race.

The extinct genera and species, of which we have now seen so many examples, belonged to two of the great families of the animal kingdom, the Carnivora and Pachydermata

Among the ruminating animals, a similar loss has not been observed. A memoir of Cuvier, inserted in the twelfth volume of the Annales, contains an account of the principal facts that have been observed concerning these last, particularly the deer, the ox, and the buffalo; of all which, fossil remains are frequently discovered. It is remarked, however, that this numerous family presents peculiar difficulties, when its remains are found in a fossil state. For, though the order of ruminating animals is distinguished, by strong and well marked characters, from every other order, the genera and species are not easily distinguished from one another. This is so much the case, that naturalists, for making out these distinctions, have been obliged to have recourse to the horns, which being entirely exterior, and varying in the same species, both in form and in size according to the sex, the age, and the climate, cannot fail to be subject to considerable uncertainty. The conclusions, therefore, concerning the identity or the diversity of the genera and species of such animals, can hardly be drawn with the same confidence as in the preceding instances. Admitting this to be true, and look ing rather to what is probable, than to what is certain, our author concludes, from a very careful examination, that the remains of ruminating quadrupeds, whether found in the loose earth, or in the fissures of rocks combined with stalactitical concretions, do not differ essentially from the bones of animals now living, and inhabiting the same countries where these remains are found. To this rule, some animals of the deer kind, and especially the fossil elk of Ireland, form the only exceptions that are known. This is the more remarkable, that the bones of these animals are found along with those of the elephant and the other Pachydermata. In the bones of the horse, as well as in those

of the ruminating animals, an accurate resemblance between the fossil and the living species is observed.

The fossil elk of Ireland is the most celebrated of the ruminating animals found in a fossil state, and is that which naturalists are the most unanimous in considering as an unknown species. The horns of this animal are found in Ireland, not, properly speaking, in the bogs, but in the gravel or alluvial earth, which usually forms the base on which the peat-moss rests. The horns are of an extraordinary size; and Cuvier has shown, that they are neither those of the elk nor the rein-deer. The horns of the largest elks, now living, are not above half the size of the fossil horns of Ireland. The results, deduced from a long and accurate comparison, are, that the Irish elk, the deer of Scania, and the great buffalo of Siberia, are unknown animals; but that the other fossil bones of this order are undistinguishable from those of the common deer, the roe, the urus, the ox, the buffalo, &c.

The difficulty of accounting for the loss of the species belonging to one. family, and the preservation of those belonging to another, are nearly alike; and we cannot hope to understand the one, without having an explanation of the other. Further examination may throw more light on a subject, where, though much has lately been disco-, vered, a great deal no doubt remains to be known.

We have thus finished an abstract of what we conceive to be a most curious and valuable document concerning the ancient inhabitants of our globe. It is a work of great ingenuity and research; and does infinite honour to the skilful naturalist by whom it has been conducted. It is curious to remark, that the principal loss which the lapse of time has produced, so far as we are acquainted with the history of animals, has fallen upon one particular order. There are six genera of Pachydermata now ex

isting; namely, the elephant, the tapir, the hog, the hippopotamus, the daman and the rhinoceros; and there are three genera, the Palatherium, Anopiotherium, and Mastodonton, which are lost, besides many species. The opinion entertained by Cuvier concerning the extinction of these animals, such of them at least as are found in the soil or the alluvial earth, is, that it has been produced by water, or by some sudden inundation that overwhelmed the land to a certain height. There is, indeed, no appearance of the bones having been carried or transported by water; and there is no reason to suspect that the catastrophe arose from a wave or current having such force as to carry every thing along with it. If a deluge was the cause, it must have been a simple submersion of the land under the water, without any thing like that debacle which some geologists have imagined. Whether this submersion arose from the rising up of the water, or sinking down of the land, is not likely to be ascertained from the phenomena of the animal kingdom; and on this subject, the facts, and, perhaps, still more, the theories of geologists, will incline them to form different opinions. Some perhaps may think, that a sudden catastrophe is not a supposition necessary for the explanation of these appearances. The fossil remains in some countries, particularly in Siberia, where they seem to form the groundwork of entire islands, are too great to owe their origin to the animals existing, at any one instant, on the surface of the globe. The accumulation of ages; the collecting together of the remains which a long series of years had consigned to the earth, could alone enable the Lena or the Indegirka to construct those sepulchral monuments which are described above. The common course of nature, therefore, may be sufficient to explain the existence of these animal remains; and the entire loss of certain species may perhaps have arisen from the extention and severity

of man's dominion over the earth. The preservation of the Ruminant, and the extinction of so many of the Pachydermous animals, may also, in some measure, be explained by the greater numbers of the former, their wider diffusion, and their greater activity. This much at least may be considered as certain, that the explanation of these fossil bones is to be derived, either from a submersion of the continents under water, quietly and without agitation, or from the accidents which occur in the ordinary course of nature. All other hypotheses seem to be excluded; and this exclusion is no inconsiderable step towards the final solution of the problem.

The only desideratum that has occurred to us in these Memoires, is one which may be easily removed; it concerns the state of the bones found in the plaster quarries, mineralogically considered. Are they completely petrified, or are they only included in the gypsum? In what degree are they penetrated by earthy substances? Do they contain any phosphate of lime? What is the degree of their consolidation?

These Memoires serve strongly to exemplify the great advantage which the sciences may derive from each other, even when they are so unlike as geology and anatomy. So, also, the examination of the marine petrifactions found in rocks, may give great information concerning the migration and character of the animals that inhabited the earth, at a period much more remote than any of those which we have now been considering. We have accordingly observed, with great satisfaction, the inquiries of another learned Professor in the Museum, Lamark, into the nature of the fossil shells found in the vicinity of Paris. From the description and classification of such objects it cannot be doubted that much benefit will be derived to the history both of the Mineral and of the animal kingdom.

THESE pamphlets are evidently the production of a French royalist, who writes with great vehemence, against Bonaparte and his adherents. The first mentioned is possessed of very little interest, being expressed in such a train of abuse and confident assertion, as to make a considerate reader afraid at every step of putting faith in its allegations. The author dwells on the battle of Wagram, and says that it could not fail to have been won by the Austrians had their commanders acted judiciously: but he gives us, unfortunately, no testimony to that effect except his own. A few pages afterward, he breaks out rather abruptly into an eulogy of Louis XVIII., and extols his paternal affection for the deluded inhabitants of France. One of the few points in which we are disposed to coincide with this writer, without requiring any additional evidence, regards the Scheldt expedition: the failure of which, he is satisfied, could not have taken place under a commander of efficiency. The larger pamphlet is couched in terms of similar confidence, and would be almost as little deserving of attention, were it not for its biographical notices of French generals. These, though extracted from a printed work, are not commonly known, and very interesting at the present moment, because the men described have been figured so recent ly in opposition to our troops in the Peninsula. We shall abstract and translate some of the most remarkable passages in these biographical sketches, and present our readers with the observations on Generals Eblé, Junot, Massena, Ney, and Regnier.

General Eblé is the commander of Massena's artillery. He is of the age of fifty, of tall stature, and robust constitution. His manner is soldier-like, his look severe, and his language coarse: He entered the sixth regiment of artillery at the age of sixteen; and discovering a large share of zeal, intelligence, and prudence, he was made an officer in 1785. The king of Naples having applied to the French government for artillery-officers, Eblé was one of those who were sent to this monarch. His rank was that of major; and he remained in that service till the beginning of 1792, when he was recalled to France and replaced in his former regiment. By his activity and boldness, he soon attained the rank of general of brigade and general of division. He was employed under Pichegru in the conquest of Holland, and under Moreau in the famous retreat in 1796. He also defended Kehl against the Archduke Charles, with a degree of skill and activity which attracted the admiration of the Austrians.-He is less of an extortioner than Augereau, Massena, or Ney, but he is by no means indifferent to the acquisition of money; on the contrary, he is understood to have amassed large sums in the course of service, both in Italy and Germany. He has not, however, the effrontery to make a public display of his wealth; and his habits are very simple. Having been named minister at war for the kingdon of Westphalia, he soon became disgusted with his situation on account of the folly of Jerome Bonaparte, who allows himself to be misled by some giddy young men who flatter him and contribute to his pleasures. Eblé

is justly considered as one of the first of the French artillery-commanders for a service of routine. Nothing escapes him he is still possessed of great activity, and is extremely useful in action by his experience and coolness.

Junot is about forty years of age, and commands the 8th corps. He is above the middle size, robust, and inclined to corpulence; his look shows him to be fond of good cheer; his manner is rough, but his dress is very splendid. His parents were farmers in easy circumstances, and taught him the elements of education: but he had not made choice of a profession when the revolution led to the formation of volunteer-battalions. He then entered into the service as a common soldier, and went through the ranks of corporal, serjeant, and platoon-officer, distinguishing himself on all occasions by coolness and intrepidity. Bonaparte, having noticed him at the siege of Toulon, made him enter his Etat Major, and become afterward his aidde-camp. Some years subsequently, he was made commandant of Paris, but was never intended for a general till he received the command of the army in Portugal. He was attended thither by two mentors, Laborde for the infantry-service, and Kellermann for the cavalry. At Vimeira, the rout of his army would have been complete had it not been for Kellermann; who, by his bold and able manœuvres, succeeded in restraining the pursuit of the English. Junot is a cypher in negotiation; and the success of the conferences at Cintra was due to Kellermann, who received full powers, and succeeded beyond all expectations.

Junot's courage is that of a soldier, and may be termed rashness in an illinformed commander. He is intrusted notwithstanding with the command of three divisions, forming a total of twenty-five thousand men: but have not Charbonier and Jourdan been invested with still more important commands? Bonaparte, in his calculations, attends as much to the fide

lity as to the talents of his generals, Junot receives orders from Massena, and executes them very punctually; leaving the details to his Etat Major and confining himself to the choice of quarters. In action, he is always to be found among the foremost ranks, and cool amid the hottest fire. As he has neither combination nor quickness of observation, he commits the great fault of taking the advice of any person who speaks first to him. An opposing general should never wait Junot's attack, but should fall on him unexpectedly, surprising his camp or his cantonments, in which he will meet with little resistance. A great libertine and plunderer, possessed of some matural talents and of many corporeal qualities, but devoid of useful knowledge, Junot should be described, since the death of Lasnes, as the most faithful Saïd of the hero of Acre.

Massena is of the age of fifty, above the middle size, strong and well made, but coarse and harsh in his manner. He was born on the frontiers of Italy, and entered the service as a soldier at an early age. After having applied closely to his duty, and passed through the ranks of corporal and serjeant, he was a subaltern at the commencement of the revolution. On the breaking out of the war with the king of Sardinia in 1792, he discovered his bravery and activity, and attained the rank of general of division. It was remarked, however, that his successes were due rather to obstinacy and audacity than to skill; and it was said of him that "he fought like a ram, with his forehead." He is not slow in exposing his person, and in rushing forwards to any part of his line where his presence can be useful. He was always a great plunderer; and when his division was at Padua in 1797, the excesses in that way were so shameful as to become the talk of the whole army. It is well known that in the subsequent year he was obliged to leave Rome, on account of the indignation which this conduct excited against him among the offi