No one, that has not had the experience, can conceive the horrid ftate of the roads in Calabria, even in this feafon, nor the fuperior excellence of the horfes of the country. All agreed here, that every fhock of the earthquake feemed to come with a rumbling noife from the weftward, beginning ufually with the horizontal motion, and ending with the vorticofe, which is the motion that has ruined most of the buildings in this province. The fame obfervation I found to be a general one throughout this province. I found it a general obfervation alfo, that before the fhock of an earthquake, the clouds feemed to be fixed and motionless; and that, immediately after a heavy thower of rain, a fhock quickly followed. I fpoke with many here, and elsewhere, who were thrown down by the violence of fome of the fhocks; and feveral pea fants in the country told me, that the motion of the earth was fo violent, that the heads of the largest trees almost reached the ground from fide to fide; that during the fhock, oxen and horfes extended their legs wide afunder, not to be thrown down, and that they gave evident figns of being fenfible of the approach of the fhock. I myself obferved, that the parts that have fuffered moft by the earthquakes, the braying of an afs, the neighing of a horfe, or the cackling of a goofe, always drove people out of their barracks, and was the occafion of many pater-fters and ave-marias being repeated, in expectation of a shock. From Monteloene I defcended into the plain, having paffed through many towns and villages which had been more or rained, according to their vicinity to the plain. The town of Meleto, fituated in the bottom, I faw was totally deftroyed, and not a house ftanding. At fome diftance I faw Scriano and the noble Dominican convent a heap of ruins; but as my objed was not to vifit ruins, but the greater phænomena produced by the earthquakes, I went on to Rofarno. I muft, however, firt mention the mcft remarkable inftance I met with of animals be ing able to live long without food, of which there have been many examples during thefe prefent earthquakes. At Sorfano two fattened hogs, that had been buried under a heap of ruins, were taken out alive the forty-fecond day; they were lean and weak, but foon recovered. One of his Sicilian majefty's engi neers, who was prefent at the taking them out, gave me this information. It was evident to me, in this day's journey, that all habita tions fituated on high grounds, the foil of which is a gritty fand ftone, tomewhat like a granite, but without the confiftence, have fuffered less than thofe fituated in the plain, which are univer fally levelled to the ground. The foil of the plain is a fardy clay, clay, white, red, or brown; but the white prevails most, and is full of marine fhells, particularly fcollop shells. This valley of clay is interfected in many places by rivers and torrents coming from the mountains, which have produced wide and deep ravines all over the country. Soon after we had paffed through the ruined town of St. Pietro, we had a diftant view of Sicily, and the fummit of Mount Etna, which fmoaked confiderably. Just before we arrived at Rofarno, near a ford of the river Mamella, we paffed over a fwampy plain, in many parts of which I was fhewn fmall hollows in the earth, of the shape of an inverted cone: they were covered with fand, as was the foil -near them. I was told, that, during the earthquake of the 5th of February, from each of thefe fpots a fountain of water, mixed with fand, had been driven up to a confiderable height. I fpoke to a pealant here, who was prefent, and was covered with water and fand; but he affured me that it was not hot, as had been reprefented. Before this appearance, he faid, the river was dry; but foon after returned, and overflowed its banks. I afterwards found, that the fame phænomenon had been confant with respect to all the other rivers in the plain, during the formidable thock of the 5th of February. I think this phænomenon is easily explained, by fuppofing the firit impulfe of the earthquake to have come from the bottom upwards, which all the inhabitants of the plain atteft to be fact: the furface of the plain fuddenly arifing, the rivers, which are not deep, would naturally disappear; and the plain returning with violence to its former level, the rivers muft have naturally returned, and overflowed, at the fame time that the fudden depreffion of the boggy grounds would as naturally force out the water that lay hid under their furface; as I obferved, in the other parts where this phænomenon had been exhibited, that the ground was always low and rushy. Between this place and Rofarno we paffed the river Meffano, or Metauro, (which is near the town above-mentioned,) on a ftrong timber bridge, feven hundred palms long, which had been lately built by the duke of Monteloene. From the cracks made on the banks, and in the bed of the river, by the earthquake, it was quite feparated in one part; and the level on which the piers are placed having been variously altered, the bridge has taken an undulated form, and the rail on each fide is curiously fcolloped; but the parts that were feparated having been joined again, it is now paffable. The duke's bridgeman told me alfo, that, at the moment of the earthquake, this great river was perfectly dry for fome feconds, and then returned with VOL. II. 39. violence, 2 P violence, and overflowed; and that the bridge undulated in a moft extraordinary manner. When I mention the earthquake in the plain, it must be al ways underflood the firft fhock of the 5th of February, which was by far the moft terrible, and was the one that did the whole mifchief in the plain, without having given any previous notice. The town of Rofarno, with the duke of Monteloene's palace there, was entirely ruined; but the walls remained about fix feet high, and are now fitting up as barracks. The mortality here did not much exceed two hundred out of new three thoufand. It had been remarked at Rofarno, and the fame remark his been conftantly repeated to me in every ruined town that I have vifited, that the male dead were generally found under the ruins in the attitude of ftruggling against the danger; but that the female attitude was ufually with hands clafped over their heads, ¡ as giving themselves up to despair; unless they had children near them, in which cafe they always were found clasping their children in their arms, or in fome attitude which indicated the anxious care to protect them; a strong inftance of the maternal tenderness of the fex The only building that remained u hurt at Rofarno was a ftrong-built town gaol, in which were three notorious villains, who would probably have loft ther lives, had they been at liberty.After having dined in a bar rack, the owner of which had lost five of his family by the earthquake, I proceeded to Laureana, often croffing the wide extended bed of the river Metauro. [To be continued.] M A CHARACTER. R. William Bewley, of Maffingham, in Norfolk, who died at the houfe of his friend, Dr. Burney, in St. Mar tin's ftreet, where he was upon a vifit, will be much lamented by all men of fcience; as his great abilities, particularly in elec tricity, chemistry, and anatomy, had penetrated through the ob fcurity of his abode, and the natural modefty and diffidence of his difpofition. The depth, indeed, and extent of his knowledge, in every ufetul branch of fcience and literature, could only be equalled by the goodnefs of his heart, fimplicity of his character, and innocence of his life, feafoned with a natural un fought wit and humour, and a caft the most original, lively, and inoffenfive. 9 Hobbs, Hobbs, in the last century, whofe chief writings were levelled against the religion of his country, was called, from the place of his refidence, the Philofopher of Malmesbury; but with how much. more truth and propriety has Mr. Bewley (whofe life was spent in the laborious fearch of the most hidden and ufeful difcoveries in art and nature, in expofing fophiftry, and displaying talents,) been diftinguished in Norfolk by the title of the Philofopher of Maffingham. OBSERVATIONS on the COMMERCE of the AMERICAN STATES. By JOHN Lord SHEFFIELD. 8vo. HE following extract from this judicious pamphlet will TH probably be acceptable to our readers : "BEFORE the war, vast quantities of nails were made of foreign iron, and exported from Glasgow to the fouthern provinces of America; and although they coft 15 per cent. more than nails from British iron, fent from Bristol, &c. yet they were always preferred in America, from their toughnefs and fuperior quality; and therefore, if the raw material is not exempted from duty, the many articles made of foreign iron must be loft to this country, as the British iron cannot be fubftituted, particularly in making the different forts of fteel, which was formerly an immenfe article of export to America. It was manufactured in Britain from Swedish iron; and although it continued in bars as formerly, yet no drawback could be allowed., The cost of a ton of iron is from rol. to 10l. 10s. Duty, freight, charges, and manufacturing gain to the country, from 11. to 451. The total value of a ton of foreign iron, when manufactured in Great Britain, is, according to the kind of manufacture, from 211. to 561. viz. a ton of iron, when manufactured into From 15 to 20,000 tons are annually manufactured for exportation; the average of which, eftimated at 281. per ton, the medium of 111. and 4,1. (the lowest and highest encrease per ton) produces annually a profit to this country of 484,500l. Sail-cloth of every kind is imported by the American fatės. Ruffia had the advantage in Ruffia-duck and Raven-dock; but, when charged with the duty on importation here, they were as dear as British fail-cloth. Lately, the exportation from hence of Ruffia fail-cloth from America has almoft ceafed. Ruaduck in England is about 6s. per piece (of 36 yards) dearer than in Holland, arifing from duties and other expences; which, as far as will not interfere with our linen manufactures, should be lowered. At prefent Ruffia-duck is fo fcarce in England, that 31. is given for a piece that formerly fold from 35s. to 40s. This has Occafioned a great demand for British fail-cloth, which has a bounty of 2d. per yard on exportation. The duty on Ruffa duck, when fhipped, is about zs. per piece of 36 yards. It confiderably wider than English. The number of pieces of fail-cloth exported from Peterburgh, for five years, are as follows: In the year 1774, 1775, 1776, 1777, 1778. Pieces in English fhips, 11580 6757 2659 1505 401. Ditto in foreign fhips, 25187 28397 38660 44156 3-663, Total number of pieces, 36767 35154 41319 45661 38001 The law that obliged American fhips to have the firft fet of fails of British canvas being at an end, there will be competi tion for this article. Of late years, confiderable improveme have been made in the various fpecies of fail-cloth in Scotland, and the price is confiderably reduced, in confequence of the fa cility with which hemp can be brought from the Baltic, and the low price of labour in the north of Scotland. It will be the intereft of the Americans to take British fail-cloth while the prefent bounty is continued. It is faid, the British fail-cloth is more apt to mildew; but that may be prevented, in a great meafure, by pickling when new. It is allo faid, that the Ro fail-cloth is more pliable. France makes fail-cloth, but it is much dearer, and inferior. Some has been made at Philadel phia, but the quantity must be trifling for fome time. Nearly all the articles of importation from Europe into the American ftates, are comprehended under the heads of woollens, cutlery, iron and fteel manufactures of every kind, ́portelain and earthen ware, glafs, ftockings, fhoes, butrons, han, cotton, cr Manchefer manufactures of all kinds, haberdafhery and millinery, tin in plates, lead, in pigs and in fheets, copper in fheets, and wrought into kitchen and other utenfils; painters' colours, cordage, and fhip chandlery; jewellery, plate, and or namental |