Editor's Table [pp. 93-96]

96
EDITOR'S TABLE.
CHINA.-We continue our extracts from the last semi- Diamonds in Mlexico.-It is reported on the;uthority
annual letter, furnished us by Dr. Diver: of Van Gerold, a distinguished geologist, that diamonds
"In our last, notice was taken of a general meeting have been discovered in the great Mexican mountain
held at Hongkong, to take into consideration a new ver- range, in the Sierra Madre, in the direction of Acapulco.
sion of the Scriptures. It is a pleasure to learn that the The Wetterhord, (one of the Alps,) 11,445 feet in
proceedings of that meeting have been approved by the height, has been ascended for the first time by Messrs.
committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and Desor, Dolfus and Strengel.
by the directors of the London Missionary Society, who A quarry of lithographic stone, of the best quality,
have both agreed to give the new version their support has been discovered in Mirallet, in Catalonia.
as soon as it is completed and presented to them, with A Nrew J-Vanufacture.-A discovery has been made
the approbation of all concerned in the revision. The by which artists are enabled to make ornaments from
directors of the American Bible Society have also come "peat."
to a similar resolution. Owing, however, to various A new Anglican Episcopal church has been erected,
hinderances in the labors of those to whom some parts of by the munificence of Queen Adelaide, in the island of
the work were given, arising chiefly from the changes in Malta, noticed in St. Paul's travels to Rome.
their residences and their unsettled position, less pro- OuR CORRESPONDENTS will please accept our thanks
gress has been made in the revision than was expected, for their prompt attention. We have on hand many exand the probable time when the New Testament will be cellent articles, which will appear in subsequent numbers.
ready to submit to those societies cannot be specified. Their authors will please bear with us patiently. We
It is to be hoped that this work will be hastened to its fear we shall have to reject some of the contributions
completion, that the Chinese may soon be furnished with offered us: if so, let not the writers of them suppose we
a pure idiomatic, and complete version of the Oracles of are insensible to the excellences of their compositions.
God. There are many considerations which may induce an
*At Macao, English preaching has been regularly editor to lay aside a communication, such as a press of
maintained, and instruction also given to the Chinese. matter, the necessity for variety, &c. If any think that
A small English and Chinese vocabulary was published his article must have been rejected because of its want
in February, designed not only for those professedly of merit, let him not be discouraged, but write again.
studying the language, but also as a help in carrying on We like the spirit of the following from a dear friend:
intercourse with the people in all parts of the country " You have the article, such as it is. It is the best I can
where foreigners visit, in cases where neither party is do now. If you can't doctor it so that it may live, and it
acquainted with the other's language. To assist in this breathes its last on your table, why so let it be. If I
way in facilitating intercourse can hardly be considered live, I'll soon send some more to bear it company. And
misdirected labor; and as far as can be ascertained, the if at last I don't succeed, I'll try again." Why grow
vocabulary has answered this purpose to a good degree." discouraged: some of the ablest reviewers of the fast LITERARY INTELLIGCcE.-Dr. Schafhautl has prob- anchored isle were unsuccessful in their first essays.
ably joined the commission sent by the King of Bavaria The best oculist of modern times once said, that he
to Pompeii under the direction of Professor Gastner. spoiled a hatfull of eyes before he cured one, and will
Gervinus, of Heidelburgh, is engaged in writing a crit- you not expect to spoil a quire of paper before you sucical work on Shakspeare. ceed? We expect to spoil half a dozen.
There is a proposition to erect a bronze statue of the TRANSCENDENITALISM.-We have a fine specimen of
great mathematician, Laplace, at his birth-place, Beau- it-about half a quire of closely written foolscap-which
mont en Auge, near Caen. transcends experience, common sense, and almost every
Letters from Algiers relate, that a marble bust of a thing else, and finely illustrates the twelve categories of
proconsul, and several Roman weights in copper and Kant, unity, multitude and totality, substance and accibronze, have been found in the course of some excava- dent, cause and effect, action and reaction, possibility,
tions at Orleansville. existence, and necessity.
Professor Foggi, of the University of Pisa, is preparing THE PRESENT NUMBER.-It does not become us to
for publication in Italian, an important work upon the speak of it, but we may be permitted to beg our subscripoetry of the Bible, presenting a complete development bers to read it through. The articles are, we know,
of the metrical system of Hebrew poetry, &c. rather too long. Many of our readers, like the man who
A proposition is before Congress to connect the Atlan- was always perusing the dictionary, are fond of short
tic and Pacific oceans, by means of a railroad from the stories. Still, if even they can be persuaded to read the
Lakes to the Columbia. present number, we think they will be profited and
A/ Geographical Question Settled.-It was supposed, a pleased.
few years since, that the Caspian sea was three hundred OUR THANKS are due to the many kind friends who
feet below the level of the Black sea and Mediterranean. have aided in extending the circulation of this periodical.
Three mathematicians, Messrs. Fuss, Saviteh and Sabler, We are happy to say that since November we have refrom independent trigonometrical levelings, (their obser- ceived about twelve hundred new subscribers, chiefly
vations agreeing to within a foot or two,) give for the from the western conferences. If we do not receive
mean result 83.6 English feet as the depression. similar additions to our list from other quarters, it will
Periclase —I 3V'ew Virineral.-M. Seacchi has com- not be because we do not strive to make our work equally
municated to the Annales des Mines, a description of a acceptable and unexceptionable to all parts of our counmineral found in the ancient lavas of Vesuvius, of a vit- try. There are others besides ourselves who may feel
reous appearance, obscure green color, and confused gratification at our prosperity, for our profits are divided
crystallization, imbedded in a calcareous matrix like the among the widows and children of deceased traveling
Gehlenite of Fassa. preachers.