the French galleys be informed that they may look to be liberated very speedily.' The marquis lost no time in conveying this gracious message, and very soon afterwards an order came from the French Government to Marseilles, that a list should be returned of all the Protestants on board the galleys there. The total number was upwards of 300. In a few days an order came from Paris for the release of 136, specifying their names. That of Marteilhe was the last upon this list. Great as the joy was of those included in the warrant of release, they were deeply concerned for their remaining brethren, who, without any apparent cause had been overlooked. But the troubles even of the more fortunate class were not yet over. The insatiable rancour of their priestly persecutors pursued them still. They were filled with indignation, declared that the King had been surprised into making this order, and that to let these men go would be an everlasting stain on the Roman Church. They persuaded the Commandant, with whom they had much influence, to postpone the execution of the order until they could communicate with the Government. He consented, but the order was not revoked. They resorted then to other means, with a view to render the release nugatory. They induced the Commandant to clog the licence with so many and such onerous conditions, as to the mode in which the liberated prisoners should leave France, and the route they should take, as to make their departure apparently impossible. All these difficulties, however, were by a happy conjuncture of circumstances. surmounted, and at length, on the 17th of June, 1713, Marteilhe, with thirty-five companions released from the chains which they had so patiently worn for thirteen long years of worse than Egyptian bondage, embarked in a vessel at Marseilles, to quit for ever the land of their persecution. The adventures which they encountered both by land and sea on their route from Marseilles viâ Nice to Turin, where they had an audience of King Victor Amadeus, who warmly expressed his sympathy with them, and from thence to Geneva, were numerous and remarkable, but our space will not allow them to be noticed here. But upon their arrival at Geneva, in which the relatives and friends of several of the party resided, a reception awaited them which took them greatly by surprise. The news of their coming had preceded them, and as they came near the city, they found a great part of the population, headed by their magistrates and ministers, coming out to meet and welcome their arrival. The martyrs were received with open arms and tears of joy; honours and felicitations citations were lavished upon them, and though excellent quarters had been assigned to them by the authorities, the inhabitants pleaded to be allowed to take their beloved brethren to their own hearths and homes, and happy was the citizen who secured the privilege of making one of these honoured confessors his guest. Some of them, indeed, had now finished their journey, and intended to make Geneva their home, but Marteilhe, with six companions, had still far to go, and after a short sojourn they again set off, loaded with demonstrations of affection, and provided with money and other necessaries for their journey by sympathising friends. At Berne, where they stopped a few days, the travellers met with a reception almost as warm and enthusiastic as they had experienced from the Genevese. They were entertained at the public charge, and every honour was paid to their heroic constancy in enduring affliction for the faith. At Frankfort, at Cologne, and at Rotterdam, where they successively stopped, on their journey to Amsterdam, nearly the same scene was enacted; in every place where the members of the Reformed Church were settled in any number, marks of honour, hospitality, and affection were lavished upon the travellers. At Amsterdam, the seat of so much zeal, and such warm-hearted sympathy for the reformed faith, the triumph culminated. Marteilhe declares that 'words would fail him to describe the ardent and generous tokens of affection which they received from their co-religionists' in that city. But in welcoming the released sufferers they were not unmindful of the brethren still left in bondage at Marseilles. Marteilhe himself was invited by the Consistory of the Walloon Church to be a member of the deputation which they had resolved to send to England for two purposes-to thank the Queen for the deliverance she had obtained for those who had been released, and to entreat her intercession for the 200 who were still pining in captivity. He readily accepted this mission and came to London with his colleagues, where they were presented to Queen Anne, and had the honour of kissing the royal hand. Her Majesty assured them with her royal lips that she was truly glad of their deliverance, and that she hoped soon to effect the release of those who were still left in the galleys.' They had an interview also with the Duc d'Aumont, the French Ambassador at London, who received them with much courtesy, and promised to use his best efforts to procure the liberation of their companions, whose detention he ascribed to some official misunderstanding. His endeavours, however, if really made, had no effect; for it was not till after another year had elapsed, that in consequence of the the renewed solicitations of Queen Anne, the remaining Protestant sufferers received their liberty. After staying some time in London, Marteilhe returned to Holland, and proceeded to the Hague, where he and his brethren were very cordially received, and had pensions settled upon them by the Dutch Government. This event concludes the very interesting memoir; but M. Coquerel has been able to ascertain a few facts which carry down Marteilhe's history somewhat later, and afford information which we are glad to obtain as to his family and descendants. His death took place at Cuylenberg in 1777, at the advanced age of ninety-three years. Mention is made of his aged widow; and it is known that he had a daughter, who was married at Amsterdam to an English naval officer of distinction, Vice-Admiral Douglas. In 1785 their son, Mr. Douglas, and his wife came to Bergerac to visit their French relatives in Perigord. It is pleasing to find,' says M. Coquerel, 'that the memory of Marteilhe, though lost sight of in France, was respected in England, and that the honour of an alliance with the martyr of the galleys was estimated as it deserved.' The narrative, of which a brief sketch has now been given, is so full of striking adventures and curious details, that we believe few of those who may peruse this scanty outline of Marteilhe's history will not be desirous to make themselves acquainted with it in its entirety. And we may venture to express the satisfaction which we have derived from hearing that a record, from the nature of its subject so interesting, and of which the contents are in many respects so honourable to the English name, is likely to be made more accessible to our countrymen by being translated into their own language. One word in accordance with the spirit of the editor's preface should be added in conclusion. There is no polemical design, nor any element of theological bitterness in this volume. To record the virtues of noble-hearted men, not to re-open wounds, nor to cast odium on creeds or churches, has been the motive of its publication. In attempting,' says M. Paumier, 'to bring to light some glorious passages in the past history of our Church, it has been far from our intention to excite anew those religious conflicts with which our forefathers were inflamed. We know, and we thank God for it, how greatly the times are changed.. But that which it is profitable at all times to recall to mind, are those examples of inflexible obedience to conscience, of faithfulness to duty, and of the spirit of self-sacrifice, which in the day of their trial our ancestors exhibited to their descendants as they did also to their persecutors.' In the spirit of these remarks remarks we fully concur. It is, indeed, a good lesson for us who live in an easy and tolerant age, in which the exercise of the sterner virtues is more rarely called for, to be reminded of the fortitude of such men as these admirable, though little known, martyrs of the Reformation, who, in the fine language of Sir Thomas Browne, maintained their faith in the noble way of persecution, and served God in the fire, whereas we honour him in the sunshine.' ART. III.-Metallurgy: the Art of Extracting Metals from their A S History must be made before it can be written, so, in the mechanical arts, practice must necessarily precede theory, and experience, scientific exposition. This is pre-eminently the case as regards Metallurgy, or the art of extracting metals from their ores and adapting them to the various purposes of manufacture. The ordinary metals were doubtless applied to the wants of man long before physical science could be said to exist. Their use preceded literature, history, and perhaps even tradition itself. No one knows when any of the common metals were discovered. Antiquarians may form theories as to the supposed Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages; but such theories are, at best, only conjectures more or less ingenious. While the practice of Metallurgy is of the highest antiquity, the science of Metallurgy is of comparatively modern date. It is still, indeed, only in course of development. Although the mining operations of England are conducted on a greater scale than those of any other country in the world, the contributions hitherto made by English metallurgists to the literature of the subject have been few and scanty in the extreme. This is probably to be accounted for by the circumstance that miners, as a class, are industrial and practical rather than scientific or literary, and that they have been too much engrossed by the business of their respective callings to admit of their undertaking the exposition of the principles on which Metallurgy is founded. In this, as in the other arts, we must necessarily wait the advent of the educated man of science, who has the knowledge, the patience and perseverance, requisite to gather together the store of facts which the men of practice have in the course of ages accumulated, reduce them to a science, and expound the principles on which that science is founded. This Dr. Percy has most satisfactorily accomplished in the admirable work on Metallurgy now before us, which is at once an elaborate exposition of one of the most important practical sciences and a monument of his own eminent scientific ability and industry. The introductory part of the first volume is in a great measure elementary, being descriptive of terms and processes, initiating the reader into the nature of Fluxes and Slags, and the fusibility of mixtures consisting of Silica and various bases. The next division contains a very complete and exhaustive account of the nature and qualities of Fuel-wood, peat, coal, and coke—with an elaborate exposition of their economical applications. This is followed by a practical disquisition on Fireclays and their composition, in the course of which the various kinds of Crucibles used in Metallurgy are described; and the remainder of the volume is devoted to a full and minute account of Copper and Zinc, their salts and oxides and the methods of assaying them, their ores and the processes of smelting and extracting them; with various details of their manufacture, the results of extensive inquiry and of close and accurate observation. In the course of this, as well as of the second volume, which is exclusively devoted to the important subjects of Iron and Steel, the text is illustrated by a multiplicity of woodcuts, not the least important feature of which is that, while helping the reader to a clear understanding of the processes described, they are mechanically accurate, being carefully drawn to scale, and are therefore calculated to be of much practical value. In following Dr. Percy through the various branches of his subject, we cannot help being impressed by the genius for detail which evidently possesses him. He piles fact upon fact, analysis upon analysis, illustration upon illustration. Conscientious and laborious inquiry into facts is the great characteristic of the work. In the Preface he says, "Though educated for the profession of medicine, and for some years engaged in the actual practice of it, I long ago acquired a strong predilection for the study of Metallurgy, to which I have almost exclusively devoted my attention during the last twenty years.' Dr. Percy's early scientfic education has doubtless proved of essential service to him in the prosecution of his undertaking. He has also had the advantage of sitting at the feet of great masters, amongst whom he names the illustrious Baron Thenard and Gay-Lussac, whose lectures he attended at the Jardin des Plantes some thirty years ago. But, above all, he has evidently been inspired by a genuine love for his subject, which has enabled him to go through the vast amount of labour-which to so many would have been a drudgery, Vol. 120.-No. 239. F but |