As of the chariot the Thessalian steed, Like Helen, in whose liquid-shining eyes Our limits will allow us but briefly to allude to the works of Bion and Moschus, who are generally classed (though it would be difficult to say for what reason) with Theocritus. We have already given an extract from Bion's Adonis. Moschus is the author of a poem in the same style, and equally beautiful, on the death of Bion himself. Perhaps none of the relics of antiquity have been oftener imitated than these poems. Twice have they been equalled by the Lycidas of Milton, and the Adonais of Shelly. Objections have been made to the fanciful style, and unnatural conceits with which they abound. The reader may find these objections summed up with all the vigour and force which distinguish Dr. Johnson's writings in his review of Milton's Lycidas. In defence of the ancient poets, it may be observed, that these conceits and fancies were to them hallowed by their mythology, and whether they themselves believed them or not, assuredly they were perfectly justified in making use of superstitions so suited to the subjects on which they wrote. The modern, imitating their predecessors, and speaking of those who, like themselves, had loved to wander amid the beautiful world of ancient literature, naturally were led into a train of thought, suggested by the remembrance of their friends. But there is no need of dwelling long on a reply to assertions, which the pleasure every man of feeling must receive from the perusal of these beautiful works, sufficiently confutes. We give our readers a version of our own, of some passages of the Lament for Bion. Mourn ye young woods, in sorrow wave each leaf, Breath every gale, but softest tones of woe; Hush your wild mirth, ye waters, and let grief In saddest murmurs teach your waves to flow. Mourn every floweret-mourn with drooping head The sweetest minstrel of the woodland dead. Begin the song-begin Sicilian muse! And thou lorn nightingale prolong the lay; And let the mournful streams of Arethuse Bear the sad tidings with them on their way. The beautiful is vanished-genius goneWhile dull, cold hearts are suffered to live on. Mourn every bird-ye swans of Strymon mourn! May find some solace in our misery. Mute echo mourns along the lonely mountain, To win her listening ear to our harsh lyre. The Sylvan Gods, the Loves and Graces weep, Deserted now each once loved copse and dale. Oh, never more round Etna's bowery steep Float their fair forms upon the evening gale. To hear his notes they left their native skyWith him they trod our earth, with him they fly. Very faintly, indeed, we feel, can these imperfect stanzas image to the English reader the original. Faintly, can any, even the best version, convey the charm which, in the masterpieces of Greek literature, fascinates the scholar. So much of it lies in the matchless language and the power over it which unwearied labour and study gave the great writers. Alas for the goatherds, and the gossips, and the satyrs! The muse of pastoral poetry is fled-we fear, for ever. The hearts of the men of this generation are made of sterner stuff; other forms than the poet's visions are around their way; other sounds than the pipings of love-lorn swains are in their ears the gathering for the fierce political conflict-the war-cries of the leaders, on each side marshalling their followers for the decisive struggle. The lonely mountains o'er, A voice of wailing heard, and loud lament, Edged with poplar pale, The parting genius is with sighing sent. With flower-inwoven tresses torn, The nymphs in twilight shade of tangled thickets mourn. PROGRESS OF NATURAL HISTORY IN IRELAND. IT has often been made a subject of complaint that but little has been done to advance our knowledge of the natural history of Ireland; and, although we must confess that the complaint was, till very lately, a just one, we do not think that it is fair to make it a matter of accusation. As science can flourish only during periods of tranquillity we need not be ashamed to admit that since this indispensible condition did not exist in Ireland till very long after the social institutions of the adjoining country had made considerable progress, so the cultivation of the sciences commenced much earlier in England than in Ireland. Besides the long unsettled state of the country, other causes have operated in retarding the advancement of physical science among us. It is only where arts and manufactures flourish that the value of mechanical and chemical investigations become apparent, on account of their utility in improving those processes which occupy a share of the thoughts and interests of a large portion of the community; and hence a knowledge of the laws of matter will always be more generally diffused in a manufacturing than in an agricultural country; in the same manner an extensive commerce always creates a taste for natural his tory, the multitude of new and interesting objects which are daily imported stimulate curiosity; people in easy circumstances become collectors, and some of them naturalists. No sooner had the Dutch obtained their independence, the reward of so much perseverance and suffering, than their extensive traffic brought to Europe crowds of previously unknown objects. Museums were formed; a long succession of able men, by their writings and discoveries, contributed to raise the scientific reputation of their country, and to give a powerful impulse to the progress of natural history. At a later period the same results followed in England, while Ireland, from her very limited commerce, was necessarily much slower in entering the field. Even with all our admitted and regretted deficiency, we do not know of any who are entitled to be severe in their censures. How easy would it be for a Frenchman or a German to maintain that, in the natural history of animals, and in study of their structure, they are in advance of England, and who would venture to refute the assertion? In the present paper we shall endeavour to prove that natural history has not been neglected in Ireland, to the extent that has been generally supposed, and that a considerable fund of useful information may be obtained from the writings of our older observers, and also, that some noble attempts were formerly made for the cultivation of science. The earliest publication devoted to the natural history of Ireland is that of Boate, which made its appearance in 1652, under the title of Ireland's Natural History. The history of this work is rather curious, as the individual whose name is prefixed to the book can only be considered as the editor, and not the author. The two brothers, Arnold and Gerrard Boate, were natives of Holland, and, after finishing their studies at Leyden, they removed to England. During the protectorate Gerrard was appointed physician to the state for Ireland, in 1649, but died a few months after his arrival in the country. The materials for the work were collected by his brother, Dr. Arnold Boate, who had spent eight years in Ireland, during which he had visited many parts of the country, and made numerous observations. He afterwards quitted Dublin, intending to visit Paris, and, on his way to that city, he spent some time with his brother Gerrard, who then resided in London. The latter, who had purchased some forfeited property in Ireland, was anxious to obtain as complete a knowledge of the country as possible, and the information which he procured from his brother, Arnold, was thrown into some form and published under its present title. This work has been re-published several times, and contains much useful information, which, however, rather relates to physical geography than to natural history, properly so called. It was, however, the intention of the author to have followed up this work by three others on the plants and animals of the country, and the manners of the people, and it is greatly to be regretted that this intention was never executed, for much might have been expected from one who was so good and accu rate an observer. The work of Boate in its present state, may, therefore, be considered as being merely an introduction to his intended publications, which, if they had been completed, would have exhibited a complete view of all that was then known respecting the natural history of Ireland. In this introductory work, entitled Ireland's Natural History, he gives a short but perspicuous account of the harbours, rivers, lakes and mountains, and enters into some details concerning the forests which then existed in the country. His account of the iron smelting, as then carried on in Ireland, is peculiarly interesting, as it refers to a branch of industry long since extinct, and which certainly can never be again carried on by the same means, as wood was the only fuel employed in the reduction of the ore. He also remarks the want of coal in Ireland, and states that the only mine of this precious mineral then known, was one which had been discovered in the county of Carlow, only a few years before the publication of his work. He states gold was occasionally found in the streams, and that about sixty grains of this metal had been collected in the Miola river in Tyrone. In all this there is nothing improbable, as small quantities of gold are sometimes found in such situations, and we know that a much greater quantity has been found in the county of Wicklow in modern times. The next cultivator of natural history, in Ireland, who demands notice, was the Rev. Mr. Heaton, but unfortunately very little information can now be obtained respecting him. From such incidental information as could be procured it appears that Mr. Heaton was well acquainted with the vegetable productions of the country, and is, therefore, justly entitled to the honor of being considered as the first of our native botanists. Mr. Heaton appears to have explored the botany of Ireland a short time before the commencement of the civil wars of 1641, which perhaps interrupted his Jabours. Unfortunately this correct observer did not communicate his discoveries to the public by the publication of any botanical treatise, but his name occurs in the works of two eminent English naturalists of the time, (How and Merret) as the discoverer of some of the most interesting of our native plants. Mr. Heaton left behind him a valuable manuscript, containing the Irish names of the indigenous plants, and Threlkeld most honourably avows that he obtained all his information on this subject from Heaton's papers. It is to be regretted that this curious subject has been so completely neglected by succeeding naturalists, as it ought to be peculiarly interesting to Irish botanists. When we are informed that the names of the letters of the Irish alphabet are taken from the appellatious of trees, and that the names of a great number of places are derived from objects of the vegetable kingdom, the subject surely deserves a little more attention than it has hitherto experienced. Several manuscripts on the history of plants, in the Irish language, are said to be still extant, and were one well acquainted with the language to associate with a botanist in the examination of such works, some curious information would, no doubt, be obtained. No further attempts to advance the study of natural history appear to have been made in Ireland till after the restoration of Charles the Second, when some degree of order was again established. About this period a body of numerous and able observers existed in the country, who contributed a great amount of valuable matter respecting its natural productions. The tendency towards the cultivation of the physical sciences, which so decidedly manifested itself in Ireland was the consequence of that impulse which the inductive philosophy had created in England, which Ireland partook of in common with every country in Europe. The new philosophy, as it was then called, which attended to facts, and neglected all verbal disputes, had produced astonishing results. The formation of the Royal Society, and the discoveries of Newton and Locke, in the worlds of mind and matter, soon rendered a taste for scientific pursuits more general than it had been at any preceding period. We accordingly find, that so early as the year 1683, Mr. Molyneux, aided by his scientific friends, attempted to establish a philosophical institution in Dublin, upon the model of the Royal Society of London. Sir W. Petty was chosen to be their first president, and the young society received the countenance and support of all that was distinguished in the literature and science in the country. The society met once a week to hear papers read, and to discuss scientific questions. This promising society only subsisted for five years, and expired in consequence of the troubles attending the expulsion of James the Second. Fortunately, the more valuable of the papers which were read before this society, have been preserved in the Philosophical Transactions of London, to which they were transmitted for publication. The most active and zealous members of this short-lived society, were the two brothers, Molyneux, of whose labours we shall now give some account. William Molyneux, the elder brother, was born in Dublin, in 1656, and was educated at Trinity College; from it he removed to London, where he studied law for some time. In 1678 he returned to Dublin, and, being in affluent circumstances, he relinquished the study of law, for the purpose of applying himself to mathematical and physical investigations. In 1683 he founded the short-lived Royal Society of Dublin. In the following year he visited the continent, and, as he did not return till the year 1686, he could contribute but little to the prosperity of his new society. In 1688 the Royal Society of Dublin was broken up, and in the following year he withdrew for safety to England. While in England he published a treatise on dioptrics, and, in preparing it for the press, he had the benefit of the advice of Halley and Flamstead. A present which he made to Mr. Locke of a copy of this treatise, obtained for him the friendship of this excellent person, and led to an interchange of letters and affection which continued as long as Molyneux lived. As a proof of the estimation in which he was held by his illustrious friend, several improvements which he suggested were introduced into the second edition of the treatise on the human understanding. On the restoration of tranquillity in Ireland he returned to Dublin, and was elected member of parliament for the city, and was afterwards member for Trinity College. In 1698, although in a very infirm state of health, he visited England, for the purpose of meeting his friend, Mr. Locke, whom he had not yet seen; this pleasure, however, was dearly purchased, for it occasioned a fit of his old disorder, the stone, under which he expired. We have been thus particular in our notice of the elder Molyneux, not so much on account of his contributions to our knowledge of the natural history of Ireland, as from his efforts in establishing a scientific society, and in stimulating others to enter on the path of original investigation. Indeed it is probable that his absence on his continental tour prevented him from contributing that amount of information which we might otherwise have anticipated from his eminent and acknowledged talents. The only communication which he produced was one respecting the supposed petrifying properties of the waters of Lough Neagh, which, strangely enough, he appears disposed to believe. This subject forms the earliest question respecting the natural history of Ireland of which we have any authentic record. The power of the waters of Lough Neagh, of converting wood into stone, had been recorded by Nennius, an author of the ninth century, and has been subsequently alluded to by almost every author who has treated concerning the physical geography of Ireland. But in an age of ignorance, the love of the marvellous exaggerates every thing, and it was soon maintained that any wood which was left in the lake became changed into stone in the course of seven years. As an additional embellishment of the fable, it was advanced that, if a stake was fixed into the shores of the lake, that portion which remained in the ground became transmuted into iron, that which was surrounded by water, was changed into stone, while that which remained above the water, continued to retain the characters of wood. So famous had this petrifying reputation of Lough Neagh become, that it is recorded, without any indications of scepticism, by several of the older continental writers on mineralogy. It is needless to add that a writer of Molyneux's caution and philosophy, at once rejected such absurd and idle fictions, and that he always states his opinions with becoming candor. It will be seen, in a subsequent part of this paper, that Lough Neagh no more possesses the property of changing wood into stone, than it does of forming the pebbles and fossil shells which are found on its shores. The communications of Sir Thomas Molyneux were much more numerous and important than those of his brother. This excellent observer was born at Dublin in the year 1660, and was educated for the medical profession; and after taking his degree in medicine, he established himself as a physician in his native town. Dr. Molyneux em ployed such leisure as his professional duties afforded, in describing the more remarkable natural phenomena of his country, and in substituting precise and scientific information, for the vague traditions with which the public had been hitherto satisfied. One of the most important of Dr. Molyneux's publications, was the description of the remains of the fossil elephant, which had been discovered near Belturbet, in the county of Cavan. These remains were found by a Mr. Neville; and although that gentleman gave a sufficiently accurate account of the circumstances under which they were found, still he was quite uncertain with respect to their nature, and hesitated whether he should consider them as the remains of elephants or of a gigantic race of antediluvian men. In his remarks upon this discovery, Dr. Molyneux easily set at rest all doubts with respect to the nature of the animal, by proving that the bones were those of an elephant. In addition to the value of these facts, as forming a most important contribution to the natural history of Ireland, we cannot but notice how well Dr. Molyneux has accomplished his task, and that he displays a knowledge both of authors and of comparative anatomy, which few of his age could excel, while he reasons with the caution of a philosopher. It is remarkable that since the time of Molyneux, only one other discovery of this nature has been made in Ireland. Smith in his natural history of Waterford, figures and describes the rib of an elephant, which he discovered in that county. This variety of the remains of the fossil elephant in Ireland is very remarkable, as such relics are far from being uncommon in other countries. Another paper by Dr. Molyneux was on a subject of still greater interest, as it contained the first description of the fossil elk of Ireland. This communication, like that concerning the fossil elephant, displays a great extent of knowledge, and occasions feelings of regret that this writer did not undertake some more extensive work, embracing the entire natural history of the country. The fossil elk, although it has been found both in England and on the Continent, occurs in far greater abundance in Ireland than in any other country, and may therefore be with propriety considered as the head quarters of the species. That an animal of such remarkable dimensions, and whose remains are so common, should have escaped all notice till the time of Molyneux, is surprising; but when we reflect that these gigantic horns are usually found under bogs and marle, it was not to be expected that they should attract attention till the progress of agriculture, and the destruction of the forests had rendered necessary the excavation of the bogs, for the purposes of procuring supplies of manure and fuel. If, in his paper, Dr. Molyneux has endeavoured to identify the fossil elk of Ireland with the modern elk of North America, he has an ample apology for the mistake, in the absence, at the time he wrote, of all accurate accounts of the American animal. It is to the credit of Dr. Molyneux that he distinguishes the Irish elk from the elk at present inhabiting the north of Europe; and now when we know that the elk of the north of Europe is identical with that of America, we may conclude that if any unexaggerated account of the American animal had then existed, he would have escaped the mistake into which he unavoidably fell. The next communication by Dr. Molyneux was concerning the Giant's Causeway. His first memoir was accompanied by a very defective engraving; but in the year 1698, he communicated much more copious details respecting this wonderful production. What proves the zeal with which science was then cultivated at Dublin, may be inferred from the fact that, an artist, of the name of Sandys, was sent down at the expense of Molyneux and his friends, to prepare an accurate drawing of the Causeway. In this paper he identifies the Giant's Causeway with the columnar basalts which occur in other countries; and more than this could not have been accomplished in the then infant state of geological science. The botany of Ireland also attracted a portion of Dr. Molyneux's attention. He notices the occurrence of the Arbutus Unedo, or strawberry tree, which is found in no other part of the British dominions, and states that it was so abundant as to be the chief fuel used in smelting the lead ore in the county of Kerry. To Molyneux the honor is due of being the original discoverer of the Sarrefraga Umbrosa, or London Pride, which grows abundantly in the mountains of Kerry. This plant had been cultivated in gardens |