combustibles through the ports of the Serapis. At length one man, in particular, became so hardy as to take his post at the extreme end of the yard, when, provided with a bucket filled with combustibles, and a match, he dropped the grenades with so much precision that one dropped through the main hatchway. The powder boys of the Serapis had got more cartridges up than were wanted, and in their hurry they had carelessly laid a row of them on the main deck in a line with the guns. The grenade just mentiomed set fire to some loose powder that was lying near, and the flash passed from cartridge to cartridge, beginning abreast of the main-mast and running quite aft. The effect of this explosion was awful. More than 20 men were instantly killed, many of them being left with nothing on them but the collars and wristbands of their shirts, and the waist-bands of their duck trousers, whilst the official returns of the ship a week after the action, show that there were no less than 38 wounded on board still alive, who had been injured in this manner, and of whom 30 were then said to be in great danger. Cap tain Pearson described the explosion as having destroyed nearly all the men at the five aftermost guns. On the whole, nearly 60 of the Serapis's people must have been instantly disabled by this sudden blow. The advantage thus obtained by the coolness and intrepidity of the top-men, in a great measure restored the chances of the combat, and by lessening the fire of the enemy, enabled Commodore Jones to increase his. In the same degree that it encouraged the crew of the Richard, it diminished the hopes of the people of the Serapis. One of the guns, under the immediate inspection of Commodore Jones, had been pointed some time against the mainmast of his enemy, while the two others had seconded the fire of the tops with grape and canister. Kept below deck by this double attack, where a scene of frightful horror was presented in the agonies of the wounded and the effects of the explosion, the spirits of the English began to droop, and there was a moment when a trifle would have induced them to submit. From this despondency they were temporarily raised by one of those unlooked-for events that accompany the vicissitudes of battle. Let the injuries be from what quarter they might, soon after the Alliance had run to leeward, an alarm was spread in the Richard that the ship was sinking. Both vessels had been on fire several times, and some difficulty had been experienced in extinguishing the flames, but here was a new enemy to contend with, and as the information came from the carpenter, whose duty in was to sound the pump-wells, it produced a great deal of consternation. The Richard had more than 100 English prisoners on board, and the master-at-arms, in the hurry of the moment, let them up from below in order to save their lives. In the confusion of such a scene, at night, the master of a letter-ofmarque that had been taken off the north of Scotland, passed through a port of the Richard into one of the Serapis, when he reported to Captain Pearson, that a few minutes would probably decide the battle in his favour, or carry his enemy down, he himself having been liberated in order to save his life. Just at this instant, the gunner, who had little to occupy him at his quarters, came on deck, and not perceiving Commodore Jones or Mr. Dale, both of whom were occupied with the liberated prisoners, and believing the mate, the only superior officer he had in the ship, to be dead, he ran up the poop to haul down the colours. Fortunately, the flagstaff had been shot away, and the ensign already hanging in the water, he had no other means of letting his intentions be known, than by calling out for quarter. Captain Pearson now hailed to know if the Richard demanded quarter, and was answered by Commodore Jones himself in the negative. It is possible that the reply was not heard, or if heard, supposed to come from an authorised source, for encouraged by what he heard from the liberated prisoner, and by the confusion that prevailed in the Richard, the English captain directed his boarders to be called away, and as soon as mustered, they were ordered to take possession of the prize. Some of the men actually got on the gunwale of the latter ship; but finding boarders ready to repel boarders, they made a precipitate retreat. All this time the topmen were not idle, and the enemy were soon again driven below with loss. In the meanwhile, Mr. Dale, who no longer held a gun that could be fought, mus tered the prisoners at the pumps, turning their consternation to account, and probably keeping the Richard afloat by the very blunder that had been so near losing her. The ships were now on fire again, and both parties, with the exception of a few guns at each side, ceased firing in order to subdue this dangerous enemy. In the course of the combat, the Serapis is said to have been set on fire no less than twelve times, while towards its close, as will be seen in the sequel, the Richard was burning all the time. As soon as order was restored in the Richard, after the call for quarter, her chance of success began to increase, while the English, driven under cover almost to a man, appear to have lost, in a great degree, the hope of victory. Their fire materially slackened, while the Richard again brought a few more guns to bear. The mainmast of the Serapis began to totter, and her resistance in general to lessen. About an hour after the explosion, or between three and three hours and a-half after the first gun was fired, and between two hours and two hours and a-half after the ships were lashed together, Captain Pearson hauled down the colours of the Serapis with his own hand, the men refusing to expose themselves to the fire of the Richard's tops. As soon as it was known that the colours of the English had been lowered, Mr. Dale got upon the gunwale of the Richard, and, laying hold of the main-brace pendant, he swung himself on board of the Serapis. On the quarter-deck of the latter, he found Captain Pearson almost alone, that gallant officer having maintained his post throughout the whole of this dire and murderous conflict. Just as Mr. Dale addressed the British captain, the first lieutenant of the Serapis came up from below, to inquire if the Richard had struck-the fire having entirely ceased. Mr. Dale gave the English officer to understand that he was mistaken in the position of things, the Serapis having struck to the Richard, and not the Richard to the Serapis. Captain Pearson confirming this account, his subordinate acquiesced, offering to go below and silence the guns that were still playing on the American ship. To this Mr. Dale would not consent; both the officers were immediately passed on board the Richard, and the firing was then stopped below. Mr. Dale had been closely followed to the quarterdeck of the Serapis by Mr. Myrant, a midshipman, and a party of boarders, and as the former reached the quarter-deck of the prize, he was run through the thigh by a boarding pike in the hands of a man in the waist, who was ignorant of the surrender. Thus did the close of this remarkable combat resemble its other features in singularity, blood being shed and shot fired while the boarding-officer was in amicable discourse with his prisoner. Although the protracted and bloody combat had now ended, the danger nor the labour of the victor were not over. The Richard was both sinking and on fire. The Public Journals. SKETCHES IN PORTUGAL, BY AN OFFICER OF THE BENGAL ENGINEERS. The Castle of Oporto, WHICH is in a very dilapidated condition, is a high building, completely commanding the town, being situated on the top of a high hill on the inner side or farthest from the landing-place. The statue in bronze, of Dun Juan or John? which greets you on the top of the steps, or rather, in the middle of the grand square, is a beautiful and picturesque piece of architecture. The designs right and left of, and attached to, the equestrian figure, are well carved, but I forget their description, From No. XXXI. Indian Review. Calcutta. excepting that I think they were allegorical. The houses are lofty, large, and cool, some with ice-rooms, which are still cooler, billiardrooms, cafés, and shops of all descriptions. Few of the shop-keepers speak French, English, Spanish, Italian, or any other language than their own beautiful nasal twang. They are the ugliest set of people I have ever seen. There was, however, one exception, those at the opera being not only pretty, or at least they appeared so, and passable, but possessed of very good understandings, both of the body and mind. The Church of San Roque, Is a beautiful church, not exteriorly, but interiorly, having some of the most beautiful Mosaic stone paintings I ever saw one of the altar-pieces, and some candelabras, are of the most elaborate workmanship, and are stated to be of immense value, by reason of the quantity of precious metal contained in their composition. Leaving this, we next proceeded a considerable distance, by boat, to visit the old Monastery, of which I forget the name: near the entrance of the river, on entering it, one is much struck with the great extent and amazing height of the roof, when contrasted with the extraordinary small pillars which support it; their tenuity is remarkable: they seem hardly capable of supporting the great weight of the roof at so great a height above ground: they present, however, a beautiful effect, especially as they are partly carved in an elegant and chaste style. The pulpit is costly in appearance, and not unlike those seen in the cloisters of Belgium, France, or Spain, in fact, in all Roman Catholic countries. We were here favoured with a sight of the remains of Don Alphonso, a skeleton which is kept in a coypt, behind the organ, and I cannot say it was the most agreeeable I had seen. He was celebrated for having a beautiful wife, who so inflamed the passions of his younger brother, that that brother was induced to raise the standard of rebellion against him, and to dethrone and imprison him, and afterwards marry his wife; this was pretty well for a brother; but this is not all; he kept him in close confinement for 18 years, until his death-a fine lesson for posterity. The or gan, which is a double one, is particularly grand; its tones are as fine as any I have ever heard, the shape of the building no doubt added to its euphonious chords. The Squares of Lisbon, Are capacious, the streets generally long and wide, excepting the "Goldsmith's Street," (which has a row of thick square posts on either side of the way, put up, possibly, to assist in covering assassinating parties), and one or two others; they are generally narrow, and all exceedingly filthy and stinking, (I ad here to this term, because it is not at all an exaggeration). The "gardez l'eau" of Edinburgh, (see Humphry Clinker,) I think was nothing to it. The people appear clean, but I only saw one woman with whom I would with pleasure have gone to the antipodes, but not have married. The palace of the Ajudea is only the half part of a very large building which was to have been finished, but funds were not forthcoming for the purpose; nor does there seem to be any, likelihood of the completion of this grand and extensive structure. The paintings inside are executed, however, in a most disgraceful manner, more fit for the ornaments to a barn theatre, than for a palace belonging to the Royal Family of Portugal. The rooms are large, lofty, and well arranged, with some furniture in them, and with exception to the paintings, are fairly adapted, as receiving or waiting-rooms for foreign ambassadors, or others requiring to be presented to the Queen. Tapestries are numerous on the walls, and three thrones to be met with in one of the rooms, viz. one for the Queen, one for the King consort, on her left, and the third for the Queen Dowager, on his left. Of course we sat down on each of them in succession! The statues in the courts below are not badly chiselled, representing mercy, justice, and all the attributes of the being they profess to worship. *The Royal Sepulchre, Leads out of one of the exits from a monastery, appropriated solely to noblemen's sons in former days, but now tenantless; our guide lighted a taper or two, and ushered us in-we were startled with the stillness that reigned around, as well as with a certain impression of the confined state of the atmosphere, which was by no means agreeable or healthy to breathe for any length of time. We saw a splendid array, indeed, but for what purpose is it employed? The most interesting sight was a coffin, covered with a black velvet cloth, embossed with gold thread-work and lace, with a description of the rank and title of the late young husband of the present Queen, who died of quinsy in the throat, at the early age of 22, I think. A gilt crown and sceptre were lying on the top of the structure, but these were only placed there as a compliment to the Queen, because none but such as the deceased that had formerly been kings in their own right, were allowed this last mark of their former exalted rank. Some of the inscriptions were of considerable age, and mostly in the Portuguese language, but a few were of Latin. interior, supposed to be descended from the white tribe of Mount Aureps. She is at most twenty-six or twenty-eight years of age, of very agreeable physiognomy, blue eyes, fair hair, beautiful teeth, and has a very delicate white skin. She is married to the Imaun of the mosques, Sidi Hamed, by whom she has had three children, bearing a strong resemblance to herself. M. Arago observes, that these white people are not rare in that part of the world, as might be supposed; for, when he was going from Bougia to Algiers, in 1808, by land, he saw woman of all ages in the different villages, who were quite white, had blue eyes and fair hair, but that the nature of his journey did not permit him to stop and ask if they came from any peculiar tribe. Estimate of the average value of the mineral product of Cornwall and Devon annually raised and exported.-If we estimate the value of the metals annually raised in Great Britain and Ireland at about 10,597,000, and consider that of this sum the iron amounts to 8,000,0007., the value of the remaining metals would be, 2,597,000l., of which Cornwall and Devon would furnish about 1,340,000l., or more than one-half, leaving 1,257,000l. for the value of all the metals, with the exception of iron, raised in other parts of the United Kingdom. The two great metallic products of the district are copper and tin: of the former it yields onethird, and of the latter nine-tenths, of the whole supply of copper and tin furnished by the British Islands and all the countries of the continent of Europe.-Geological Report, 1839. Mr. De la Beche, who, with Mr. Barry, and the eminent geologist Mr. W. Smith, were entrusted to select the material of which the new Houses of Parliament are to be constructed, have made choice of the magnesian limestone of Yorkshire. The Nelson Testimonial.-Mr. Railton is the successful artist. His design was No. 65 in the list. It is to be a fluted Corinthian column, 162 feet to the top of capital. The cost will be 30,000/. with VOL. XXXIII. OF THE MIRROR, a Steel-plate Portrait and Memoir of Sir Edward Lytton Bulwer, 5s. bds., will be published on the 29th inst. and upwards of 400 closely-printed pages, price Part 220, price 1s., completing the Volume, will also be ready on the same day. The SUPPLEMENTARY NUMBER, containing the Portrait and Memoir, with Title-page, Preface, and Index to the Volume, will be published, with No. I. of a new Volume, on Saturday next, July 6. LONDON: Printed and published by J. LIMBRID, 143, Strand, (near Somerset House); and sold hy all Booksellers and Newsmen -In PARIS, by all the Booksellers.-In FRANCFORT, CHARLES JUGEL Account of the magnificent Triumphal Arch Ancient powder-flask, description and view at Djimmilah, 136 Account of the Lapacho-tree, 47 Actors' names, when first affixed to the cha- Account of a Famine in Guzerat, in 1811, the Longicorn-beetles, 202 Hawksworth's, 406 Adventures with Peter Schlemihl, 218 Adaptation of the Bude Light, 280 Advantages of Geometry, 163 of, 280 Antipathies, singular, 309 Persian, 148 Art and mystery of quack doctoring, 111 Arabic numerals, view and description of, Artists, knowledge of botany requisite to all, 391 Arts and manufactures in Paris, exhibition Aellopodes, the, description and view of, 178 A Secret, 64 A French school, 100 African money, account of, 127 A glimpse of Elizabethan manners, 89 America, descending the Rapids of, 44 Ascent of Mont Blanc, 403 Ascot Heath, the grand stand at, 350 Azamoglans in Turkey, account of, 148 Animals, Lord Brougham's remarks on the Bagpipes, on the antiquity of, 109 Andrew's, St., Hall, Norwich, 97 intelligence of, 142 Barksdale, Clement, mention of, 162 Balloons in 1648, mention of, 174 Bancks, Thomas, his charity, 355 Barometer, history of the, 399 Bardon Tower, account of, 82 Banister, John, memoir of, 94—122 Battle between the Serapis, and the Bon Bear, dreadful conflict with, 48 2 E Buffalo, theatricals at, 77 Bude-light, adaptation of the, 280 Characters of Oliver Cromwell, 311 demolition of, 286 Chinese Curiosities at Philadelphia, 396 Chinese Mandarin and Christian Mission- Clergy, knowledge of Botany essential to Cheveley, novel of, 284 Clifford, Lady Anne, memoirs of, 382 133 Coal Mines, remarks on, 6-23-55 Construction and use of iron, 59 Byron, Lord, characteristic anecdotes of, 175 Country, love of, 196 Cadiz, effigy of Hercules at, 284 Cape Coast Castle, account and view of, 49 Canada, in 1838, want and influence of Edu- state of Literature, 111 religion in, 111 Cranmer's bible, sale of, 304 Cremorne House, ascent of Mr. Hampton from, 376 Criticism, Biblical, 239 Cromwell, Oliver, his autographs, 314 Cross-buns, on the origin of, 211 mistrust between the Canadians and Death, motion after, 5 |