za Sole," or Naples without Sun, and where in reality, from the height and closeness of the lines of buildings, that luminary never shines. In some of those streets a

man may stand in the middle, and, by stretching out his arms, touch the houses on either side of him. Here inhabit the poorer and the genuine Neapolitans of the old school, unchanged as yet by the civilization of Europe, and probably in all things much the same as when the fisherman Masaniello, with the populace of these quarters, discomfited and humbled the Spanish viceroy.

The number of churches in the whole city is immense, amounting to several hundreds. There is more than one street entirely occupied by convents. But of these clumsy monastic edifices, which were made to cumber the soil chiefly during the misrule of the superstitious Spaniards, many have long been converted into inns, manufactories, colleges, and schools, and the orders or societies to which they belonged have been suppressed.

One of the most striking features of Naples is the predominance every where of volcanic matter. The three hills upon which the city chiefly stands, (to say nothing of Vesuvius on one side of it, and the lake of Algano, the Astruni, and the Solfatara on the other, which are so many extinct volcanoes) are themselves three exhausted and worn-down craters; the ground in many places is hollow; sources of water impregnated with sulphur gush out in the town; every street is paved all over with broad flags of dark lava cut and brought from mount Vesuvius; the subterranean road through the grotto of Posilippo, and nearly every other road where it enters the capital, is paved with the same material—one, the road of Portici, for a distance of five or six miles. In the construction of the houses, lava and volcanic debris are worked up with tufa. Blocks of lava meet you every where. They are thrown into the sea to form piers and jettees, and the finer sorts furnish materials to carvers and other artisans, who cut them into snuff-boxes, paper pressers, chessmen, and chimney piece ornaments.

CIRCLE OF THE SCIENCES WITH SUITABLE REFLECTIONS.

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.

The object of Natural Philosophy is, to observe and describe the phenomena of the material universe, with a view to discover their causes, and the laws by which the Almighty directs the movements of all bodies in heaven and on earth. It embraces an investigation of the laws of gravitation, by which the planets are directed in their motions-the laws by which water, air, light, and heat, are regulated, and the effects they produce in the various states in which they operate-the nature of colours, sounds, electricity, galvanism, and magnetism, and the laws of their operation-the causes which operate in the production of thunder, lightning, luminous and fiery meteors, hail, rain, snow, dew, and other atmospherical phenonema. In short, it embraces all the objects of Natural History formerly alluded to, with a view to ascertain the causes of their varied appearances, and the principles that operate in the changes to which they are subject; or, in other words, the laws by which the diversified phenomena of universal nature are produced and regulated. One subordinate use of the knowledge derived from this science, is, to enable us to construct all those mechanical engines which facilitate human labour, and increase the comforts of mankind, and all those instruments which tend to enlarge our views of the operations of nature. A still higher and nobler use to which philosophy is subservient, is, to demonstrate the Wisdom and Intelligence of the Great First Cause of all things, and to enlarge our conceptions of the admirable contrivance and design which appear in the different departments of universal nature. In this view, it may be considered as forming a branch of Natural Theology, or, in other words, a branch of the religion of angels, and of all other holy intelligences.

This department of Natural science has generally been divided into the following branches:

I. MECHANICS. This branch, considered in its most extensive range, includes an investigation of the general properties of matter; such as solidity, extension, divisibility, motion, attraction, and repulsion-the laws of gravitation, and of central forces, as they appear to operate in the motions of celestial bodies; and on the surface of our globe, in the phenomena of falling bodies, the motions of projectiles, the vibration of pendulums, &c. -the theory of machines, the principles on which their energy depends; the properties of the mechanical powers-the lever, the wheel and axle, the pulley, the inclined plane, the wedge and the screw-and the effects resulting from their various combinations. From the investigations of philosophers on these subjects, we learn the laws by which the great bodies of the universe are directed in their motions; the laws which bind together the different portions of matter on the surface of the earth, and which regulate the motions of animal, vegetable, and inanimate nature; and the principles on which cranes, mills, wheel-carriages, pile-engines, thrashing machines, and other engines, are constructed; by means of which, man has been enabled to accomplish operations far beyond the limits of his own physical powers.

Without a knowledge of the laws of motion, and assistance from the combined effects of the mechanical powers, man would be a very limited being, his enjoy. ments would be few, and his active energies confined within a very narrow range. In a savage state, ignorant of manufactures, agriculture, architecture, navigation, and the other arts which depend upon mechanical combinations, he is exposed, without shelter, to the inclemencies of the seasons; he is unable to transport himself beyond seas and oceans, to visit other climes, and other tribes of his fellow-men; he exists in the desert, comfortless and unimproved; the fertile soil, over which he roams, is covered with thorns, and briers, and thickets, for the haunt of beasts of prey; his enjoyments are little superior to those of the lion, the hyæna, and the elephant, while he is much their inferior, in point of agility and physical strength. But, when Philosophy

has once demonstrated the principles of Mechanics, and introduced the practice of the useful Arts, "the wilderness and the solitary place are made glad, and the desert rejoices and blossoms as the rose." Cities are founded, and gradually rise to opulence and splendour; palaces and temples are erected; the damp cavern, and the rush. built hut, are exchanged for the warm and comfortable apartments of a substantial mansion; ships are built, and navigated across the ocean; the treasures of one country are conveyed to another; an intercourse is carried on between the most distant tribes of mankind; commerce flourishes, and machinery of all kinds is erected, for facilitating human labour, and promoting the enjoyments of man. And, when the principles and the practice of "pure and undefiled religion" accompany these physical and mechanical operations, love and affection diffuse their benign influence; the prospect brightens as years roll on, and man advances, with pleasure and improvement, to the scene of his high destination.

(To be Continued.)

BOUNDLESSNESS OF THE CREATION.

ABOUT the time of the invention of the Telescope, another instrument was formed, which laid open a scene no less wonderful, and rewarded the inquisitive spirit of man. This was the Microscope. The one led me to see a system in every star; the other leads me to see a world in every atom. The one taught me that this mighty globe, with the whole burden of its people and its countries, is but a grain of sand on the high field of immensity; the other teaches me, that every grain of sand may harbour within it the tribes and the families of a busy population. The one told me of the insignificance of the world I tread upon; the other redeems it from all its insignificance; for it tells me, that in the leaves of every forest, and in the flowers of every garden, and in the waters of every rivulet, there are worlds teeming with life, and numberless as are the glories of the firmament.

The one has suggested to me, that beyond and above all that is visible to man, there may be fields of creation which sweep immensely along, and carry the impress of the Almighty's hand to the remotest scenes of the universe; the other suggests to me, that within and beneath all that minuteness which the aided eye of man has been able to explore, there may be a region of invisibles; and that could we draw aside the mysterious curtain which shrouds it from our senses, we might see a theatre of as many wonders as astronomy has unfolded, a universe within the compass of a point so small as to elude all the powers of the microscope; but where the wonder-working God finds room for the exercise of all his attributes, where he can raise another mechanism of worlds, and fill and animate them all with the evidence of his glory.-Chalmers.

STREET VIEW IN THE INTERIOR OF DAMASCUS.

On entering Damascus from the south-east quarter I was charmed, beyond expression, with the verdant and delightful appearance of the olive grounds, fruitful gardens, and running streams, through which the city is approached. A remarkable peculiarity of the buildings