beside the running stream, and upon the hill top. With such a system of education, success is certain, and here it has unquestionably been attained. Plymouth, too, has produced some sterling Landscape Painters. Johns, and Norman, and Philip Mitchell, and Cook, are working in the right spirit. We have been much delighted with some drawings recently executed by Messrs. Mitchell and Cook. The former has painted a very fine landscape, a view on the river Tavy, in the neighbourhood of the Virtuous Lady Mine. It is a most faithful representation of the scenery of our most picturesque Devonshire rivers; and in this class of subjects, we know no artist who surpasses Mr. Mitchell. He has also visited the river Dart, from the scenery of which he is producing some exquisite pictures. Mr. Cook has produced some fine coast scenes, and is peculiarly felicitous in his treatment of marine subjects whether in storm or calm. We have referred with pleasure to these recent efforts of our local artists; and if we have omitted the mention of some names, it has been from no intention of neglect. We believe that all are striving to advance the high character of their native county; and that the School of Art lately established in Exeter for the Western Counties, will produce names worthy to compete with those of any part of the country. QUARTERLY REPORT Of the Births, Deaths, and Net Increase of Population from natural causes, in the Parishes of Saint Andrews and Charles, composing the Borough of Plymouth, for the Quarter ending 31st December, 1846. ALTHOUGH, with the commencement of another year, the South Devon Literary Chronicle has assumed a more stylish fashion, and one better calculated to conciliate the favour of the ladies than that which it has just cast aside, matters of social and mental improvement and utility will not, it is hoped, be wholly discarded from its pages, or its character suffered to sink to the ordinary level of a lady's magazine. The vital statistics of our town, as an integral fraction of those of the empire at large, will not, we trust, be regarded as beneath the consideration of those who take an interest in the locality they inhabit, and in the well-being of its increasing population. Hence we feel disposed to crave the indulgence of our readers, for incroaching on a small portion of the space devoted to subjects of a lighter nature, by a continuation of the statistical reports of the advance of population within the parishes composing the borough, as far as it admits of being measured by the returns obtained from the Registrars of each; returns, be it remembered, which exhibit results considerably below the truth, as excluding the balancing effects of emigration and immigration; which, in the absence of some means of ascertaining even their approximate amount, must be presumed to countervail each other, till the census of 1851 puts us in possession of the truth. Connected with these reports, it is a source of deep regret to observe simultaneously with the change of form, a discontinuance of those Meteorological Tables, which are such indispensible accompaniments to the vital statistics of the borough; and which, in place of exclusion, would, it might have been hoped, have obtained a more abiding as well as a more prominent position than that. formerly accorded to them. Unaided by these tables, the statistical reports are comparatively valueless, since they supply merely the barren enunciation of facts, unaccompanied by the clue needed for their satisfactory investigation. Most earnestly, therefore, is it to be desired, by all who wish well to the place of their affections and nativity, that the publication of these tables may be resumed; and that their preservation or destruction may not be left to the caprice of the binder. But to return from this prefatory digression. On a comparison with the corresponding quarter of 1845, that which closed with the past year, exhibits a striking and melancholy contrast-melancholy at least as regards the excess of mortality-amounting to within a minute fraction of 92 per cent; traceable chiefly to two causes,-increased dearness of the necessaries of life, and decreased temperature of the season. A cause, this last, whose actual effect we are unable to estimate, from the absence of those concurrent reports which we have already regretted. The following table exhibits the statistic facts for a comparison of the two periods, unaccompanied by the meteorological guide to their causes. Comparative Table of Births, Deaths, and the Advance of Population during the December Quarter of the under-mentioned Years, in the The results of this table are most instructive, as exemplifying the effect of temperature upon the mortality of the borough. Without entering into an examination of the amount of difference between the two years for which we are unprovided with data, it may be generally observed that the temperature of the December quarter of 1845, considerably exceeded that of 1846, and the mortality was proportionably less. As a necessary consequence of the general advance of population, the births in 1846 exceed in number those in 1845; but the excess is trifling, not quite reaching to the average of five for the entire quarter. The mortality, however, far exceeds that of 1845, reaching to an excess of no less than 126, and averaging 43 for the whole period. In October, 1845, the number of births exceeded the deaths by 45, or nearly 41 per cent. In 1846 it was only 32, or somewhere about 28 per cent. In November, 1845, the excess was 47, or 47 per cent. In 1846, it was only one, or under one per cent. But while November, 1845, was distinguished for the singular elevation of its temperature, its character in 1846 was that of unusual severity, and the month closed with a frost, extending, with trifling intermissions, beyond the middle of December; during eight days of which the ground was permanently covered with snow,—a phenomenon of rare occurrence here, and still more rare, at a period so long antecedent to Christmas. But notwithstanding this severity, December presents a favourable contrast to its predecessor, although, on a comparison with 1845, it appears to a disadvantage. In December, 1845, the excess of births was 67, or nearly 52 per cent; in 1846 it was only 14, or a little more than 10 per cent; leaving a balance in favour of the warm December of 1845 of 58, or above 92 per cent. This apparent improvement in December, unaccompanied by any corresponding improvement of the temperature may, however, admit of explanation, on the supposition that the severity of the preceding months had proved fatal to the larger proportion of those who were most likely to suffer from it. It being an act of kindness on the part of the Registrars to furnish us with the elementary materials for these reports, we feel reluctant to trespass upon their kindness by asking for an enumeration of the more prominent causes of death, or the numerical proportion of each; which will be more fully, as well as more satisfactorily obtained from their official report published after the close of the registration year in June. Our object is chiefly limited to the advance or retrogression of the mortality of the town, with a view to directing the attention of the municipal authorities to its sanatory condition, and aiding their inquiries into the general state of the population. The increased mortality of the last quarter arose, however, almost wholly from causes beyond their controul, and to the removal of which even the science of medicine can contribute very feeble aid. The prevailing complaints of the quarter were those arising from an unusual and protracted reduction of temperature, affecting the organs of respiration; and among these bronchitis and laryngitis stand most prominently forward among the causes of death in infancy and age, while catarrhal affections, accompanied with a high degree of fever, were scarcely less fatal among the robust. 86 Literary Notices. The Art Union Monthly Journal of the Fine Arts. London: CHAPMAN and HALL. ONE of the cheapest, if not the cheapest work of the day, nothwithsanding an advance of sixpence per number, commencing with the year 1817. Indeed, the present number appears to us to be well worth treble the price. There is an almanack in it worth a shilling; a portrait of Victoria, equally as much; a landscape-"Paul Potter's Studio," engraved by Revel, again as much; a wood engraving of Ary Scheffers, " Margaret and Faust," beautifully executed; and a crowd of illustrations to articles of value and interest too numerous to mention. It is quite needless to tell our readers of the progress this excellent and wellconducted periodical has made in public favour. How it commenced with a little stamped publication of a few leaves -how its first engraving was a copy of Joan of Arc-how that for a long time there was nothing added to the letterpress, yet that was sufficient to attract attention-how it gradually increased in size and circulation, till, by its celebrated articles on the manufactures, &c. of our country, it enlisted general attention. All this is now well known; and we cannot but feel convinced that the spirited proprietors will gain the reward they really merit. We may, however, say a few words on the pleasure we received some years back, at having the first number brought to us for our perusal. We were sitting in a snug little parlour of a prettilysituated cottage, on the northern coast of Cornwall, where we had gone for a sketch or two, and where many an admirer of sea and rock would find enough to satisfy him. Our friend P. had walked over from Truro to visit us; and, candles being lit, he produced what he assured us was a complete treasure of its kind, the first number above spoken of. course the engraving was highly admired. The address was read with the greatest attention; and, need we say, the most agreeable aspirations and anticipations escaped our lips. These have been realised, as far as the power and influence of the Art Union is concerned. It is now an oracle; and has been essentially serviceable in advancing the cause of art. But if it was so agreeable, so de Of lightful, to anticipate its arrival then, how much more must it be at the present moment, when not only the value creased, but the designs, and wood-cuts, of the letter-press is considerably inand engravings, are each and every of them perfect little gems. We cannot well make a selection from the papers in its pages on matters of Art, they are too long, and deserve especial reference; but cannot refrain from an extract on a subject interesting_to the inhabitants of Plymouth and Devonport, where the article spoken of is so cheap that every one may avail themselves of it if they chose. THE PROGRESS OF GAS-LIGHTING. "There are many reasons why this subject should be one of great interest to all who desire the advancement of Art, and the improvement of the Industrial Arts; not only with reference to the matter under immediate consideration, but as regards the various objects of Art, decorative or of utility, upon which it cannot fail to have direct and essential influence. In our climate, and with our national pursuits, the larger half of the time we spend "at home" being passed when light must be obtained from artificial sources, it is needless to explain how much of our instruction and enjoyment will depend upon the quantity and quality of that light-its judicious arrangement and proper distribution. The picture-the print even- the furniture indeed, all the elegancies of a household, lose or gain amazingly, according to the light in which they are seen; and, beyond question, the introduction of an improved mode of lighting is among the largest boons the artist can receive from science. "We live amidst a multitude of wonders. Great is our privilege to witness, not only the beginnings, but the successful progress, of inventions which constitute the present as the brightest period of the world's history. Further developments of the powers of Nature, and of the beneficent purposes of Divine Providence, undoubtedly remain to task the skill and stimulate the energies of our successors. We have plenty of work upon our hands, if what we attempt to do we determined to do well. Let us apply, in all their length and breadth and depth and height, the principles of natural science, of mechanical art, and of correct taste; and if the beginnings of some of the discoveries and inventions of the times which are passing over us be so glorious, what will their perfecting be? "The time was-some forty years since that gas-lighting was viewed as one of the greatest achievements of human ingenuity. Some men, in other matters perhaps as wise as their neighbours, shook their heads at the new light, and denounced it as a pestilence and a chimera; but their predictions were not verified. Others there were, with fewer pretensions to what was then called science, who possessed more of that kind of knowledge which is really useful; and who were endowed with just that species of endurance which fitted them for the enterprise to which they had been called. These men laboured amidst much discouragement and many failures, and were eventually successful. Long and earnestly they toiled, and, in more than one sense, others enjoy the fruit of their toils. "There was a period, comparatively recent, when the claims of gas-light were only partially admitted. For public and commercial purposes it was tolerated; but scarcely can it be said that it was cordially approved. Its benefits are now being better understood. A change in the right direction has of late occurred. Gas-light is now making its way where long ago it ought to have been heartily welcomed. Its course is still onward; and, notwithstanding all that has been done and all that is doing, much yet remains to be accomplished. The most valuable, because the most extensive, field for gas operations has never hitherto been properly cultivated. In many of our principal cities and towns it can scarcely be said that the "first sod" has yet been turned. We here refer to the use of gas-light in private apartments. And why has its admittance there been so long delayed ?-Chiefly through the negligence, or the indifference, of those who, more than all others, are interested in the sale of gas. "In many parts of the kingdom very considerable reductions have lately been made in the prices charged for gas. This is both a cause and a consequence of its being more extensively used. Another means by which its sale is promoted, is the more general adoption of meters, and the consequent abandonment of the contract system. Still, something in addition to this must be done before that which has been hitherto a luxury, shall become a necessary of life. Gas is undeniably the best and the cheapest material for yielding light in our dwellings; it ought to be so for the mechanic as well as for his employer; and the facilities for using it in private apartments should be as great as are those for applying it in shops and offices. "There are thousands of families who would light their houses with gas, if its numerous advantages were plainly set before them. Brief and authentic statements, showing the convenience, safety, and relative cost of gas-light, should, on all suitable occasions, be brought to the notice of persons who are not otherwise likely to think of such matters." The article concludes with some very appropriate remarks on gas fittings, cordially recommending a little work on the subject lately issued by Mr. Rutter, "Practical Observations on Gas Lights," which it is said will be valuable and acceptable to all persons interested in the subject. Blackwood's Magazine, for January. Edinburgh: BLACKWOOD & SONS. FROM a very interesting article on "Prussian Military Memoirs, we make the following extract, descriptive of the horrors sometimes met with in war. "A terrible campaign was that of 1813-14; and the man who had made it, from Lutzen to Paris, might well style himself a veteran, though his whole military career were comprised in the short ten months of its duration. What incessant fighting! not occasional battles, with long intervals, varied by insignificant skirmishes, but a rapid succession of pitched and bloody fields. No rest or relaxation, or pleasant repose in comfortable quarters, but short rations and the bivouac's hard couch, as sole solace for the weary and suffering soldier. The hardships of the allied armies are briefly, but frequently and impressively adverted to by Baron von Rahden. As if the ravages of lead and steel were insufficient, disease and exposure added their quota to the harvest of death. "Although in the height of summer,' says the Baron, speaking of the month of August, 1813, "we had had for three days past, uninterrupted rains, and the fat black soil was so soaked, that our progress was painfully difficult. could bivouac only in meadows, and on the uncut corn. In fallow or stubble fields we must have lain in the mud. We |