to the astonishment of the natives, and brought away two junks which were moored to the shore, without firing a shot, or receiving any, such was the consternation at her appearance alone at a place only navigable for junks. A remark made by Captain Elliot, the Chief Superintendent, that the Nemesis had done the work of two line of battle ships, proves, that her services have been somewhat important; one shot only struck her, the others falling short, or going over." The importance of steam vessels, particularly those of a light draught of water, for warlike purposes, is strongly set forth in the following letter, dated Alexandria, March 16:—“ So much has been done, of late, in the Levant, by steam, that every body is now alive to its capabili ties as an element either of war or peace, and is ready to ask, ' What will it do next?' Ibraham Pasha can only account for his loss of the coast of Syria in a week by confessing that the steamboats conveyed the enemy here, there, and every where, so suddenly, that it would have required wings to keep up with them! One might as well think of fighting with a genie!' Commodore Napier, on the other hand, seems to think that steam is only in its cradle on the ocean, and is still swathed and bandaged down in many ways by the old-fashioned midwifery of our naval architects.' It is many years since he advocated the systematic introduction of war steamers, as a branch of the service, to form, as it were, the cavalry of the navy;' but they have never yet launched the kind of vessel he recommended; capacious, to hold a month's fuel, instead of a mere ten days' supply, as at present; shallow and broad-bottomed, to skim over the water (without ploughing through it) with the least expense of fuel; and furnished with cast-iron tanks or reservoirs for coal, so that as it was expended, water might be pumped into them, and the best sailing line be preserved or re-established at pleasure. These broad bottoms, he confesses, might roll about more than the Cyclops and Stromboli, but what would that signify? There could be no danger where the centre of gravity was properly arranged: and they would be thrice as effective in a blockade as transports, or in any long voyage or lengthy service. The Commodore has lost money enough, and won renown enough, in the employment of steamers to entitle him to give a good practical opinion in the matter; and it is to be hoped, for the sake of all concerned, that it will not be further postponed in deference to the dogmatic disciples of Dr. Lardner."-Liverpool Albion. HONG KONG. The following account of Hong Kong is written by a French artist of the name of Borget, who spent some time in China, and who has several Chinese landscapes, sketched from nature, in the French exhibition now open at the Louvre : "The island of Hong Kong is situated about sixteen leagues east of Macao, and forty leagues to the southeast of Canton. It is separated from the continent by an arm of the sea, which is so narrow that at three different points the distance is less than a quarter of a league. Its length is less than three leagues, at least as well as can be judged from one of the highest mountains. It is about a league in breadth on its western side, and a league and a half on its eastern, where two tongues of land advance into the open sea, and form a quantity of small bays. I was told that there was a rather extensive village in one of these bays, but as I only saw the southern part of the island from the top of one of the mountains, and as it is less interesting than the side which looks upon the continent, and in which is the harbor, I will not speak of it. "The island of Hong Kong is very mountainous, and is scantily furnished with wood. The mountains are, in several places, studded with blocks of rocks, which rise above the soil. They are also covered with excellent pasturage, which the Chinese, who know so well how to make use of every thing, still cannot utilize. Every year they set fire to the dried grass of these beautiful meadows. "On the side which looks towards the continent, that is, the eastern, the island of Hong Kong contains several small valleys, not very large, but in which every thing that can be cultivated, is admirably so, and with that care which the Chinese alone are capable of. The hills, which surround these vallies, are generally barren, but, as soon as the inhabitants can get a little water, they set to work, and divide it with such a rare sagacity, and in such just proportions, that they soon change barrenness into fertile fields. The most important valley is that which faces the bay, and the town of Cowloon, situated upon the continent, and which I have visited. This valley opens upon the sea by two narrow gorges, formed by a small hill placed at the end of the valley, and upon which pines and some other trees scantily grow. This valley is certainly the most populous, the most picturesque, and the best wooded in the whole island. No doubt there will soon be English houses and villas in it. Nevertheless, the first establishments will not be placed on this part of the island, for it is too far from the bay. The most barren, the most naked, and the most gloomy part is, without exception, that of the west. But there also is the bay, one of the most vast and magnificent I have ever seen in China. It can contain a great number of vessels, to which it offers an excellent anchorage, and a sure shelter against the northeast wind and against the violent typhoons which desolate the coast during the southeast monsoon from July to October. During my sojourn in the bay there was a very violent one, which we scarcely perceived. The bay is formed to the south by the western shore of the island, to the north by the continent, which is very high, on the west by the mountains of the island of Lantao, and to the east by a tongue of land which separates Hong Kong from Cowloon. It is to this tongue of land that some Chinese came, after the adoption of the anchorage of Hong Kong by the smuggling vessels; they built a few cabins and established a small dock, in which they repaired the boats belonging to the English and Americans. During the war the Mandarins burnt the cabins, destroyed the establishment, and expelled the Chinese, in order to prevent their holding any relations with the barbarians, or to punish them for having held them before. As this was the point that was nearest to the anchorage, the captains made it their place of rendezvous, but they rarely absented themselves from the sea coast. I crossed this tongue of land in order to go to Cowloon, and I found alternate valleys cultivated with rice, and hills covered with tombs. Almost opposite the place where the vessels anchor, there is in the island a spring, where the boats take in water. This point is still desert, but it is probable that the first factories will be bui't there. It will be necessary to make some works there, for the smallest boats cannot approach the shore on account of the little depth of the water. But these works will be excessively easy, because the sea never beats with any great force, because the bottom is sand, and because the island farnishes a great quantity of material for building. At all events, in the bay of Cowloon, at a point very near Hong Kong, there are magnificent quarries, from which I saw stones ten feet long extracted. There are four passages for entering into the port of Hong Kong, two from the west, of which one coming from Macao is, and will always be, the most frequented, the other, opening towards the river of Canton, by doubling the northeast point of the island of Lantao; this is the way which the Chinese and English schooners took in their voyages from Canton to the ships which served as entrepôt to the smuggling trade. The two other passages are on the east. One called Wonko-been-low, is situated between the continent and a small island which separates it from Hong Kong. The fourth, which is called Wonkonlow is that which is taken habitually by the ships from the eastern coast, and this is the way I came. I will say nothing of Hong Kong as a military point; for the Chinese consider the least European fortifications as impregnable. Whatever may be the stipulations of the treaty concluded between the English and Chinese, all foreign commerce will soon be transferred to Hong Kong. Canton and Whampoa will be abandoned on account of the expense of pilotage, which is excessive. The merchants of all nations will send their ships, and give each other rendezvous in the English comp toir. Should they even be allowed to reside at Canton, I doubt if they would profit by it. I do not think many British subjects will expose themselves to the dangers they have already run, and which they must remember; for whatever may have been said since it was past, there certainly was real danger. Many of them, I am sorry to say, have shown themselves very ungrateful towards Captain Elliot, whose firmness and resolution alone has perhaps saved their lives. Our worthy and excellent missionaries will also undoubtedly seek from the English a protection which has often been refused them at Macao. Many times have they been on the point of being driven from that establishment, and have only been allowed there through the generous benevolence of Captain Elliot; and when we think that their principal danger was from the ridiculous jealousy of the Portuguese, who pretended to have the sole right of sending missionaries to China, and who never send any! The English only adopted the anchorage of Hong Kong, after having been driven from that of Cap-sing-moon, three leagues to the north of Macao, where the Chinese had constructed forts. They had been established a year at Cap-sing-moon, when the quarrel commenced, and after numerous refusals, only quitted it when they heard of the arrival of Commissioner Lin at Canton. Then, undoubtedly to escape the vigilance of the new governor, they all came into the roads of Macao, under the French flag." THE BRIDGE OF CUBZAC. M. Emilius Martin has just published, in Paris, on the subject of the bridge of Cubzac, over the river Dordogne, in the south of France, a set of plates of great interest for those engaged in public works. The bridge of Cubzac, is one of the most remarkable works which has been executed in France, for several years. It does great honor to the head engineer, de Verges, who planned and has completed it. It is known that the bridge and the works attached to it, extend in their whole length to a distance of 1,515 metres, or nearly a mile. The bridge properly so called, is 545 metres, [1820 feet] long. It is divided into five spans or arches, of 109 metres [357 feet] each. The elevation of the wooden flooring over which carriages pass, is twentyeight metres [92 feet] above the water. The cast iron pillars which support the chains and the carpenter work, are, without contradiction, the most original part of the bridge. It was impossible to lay stone piers, because the Dordogne has not a sufficiently solid bottom. Supposing stone pillars, the weight of one pier would have been six millions of kilograms. With cast iron pillars, including the foundation of masonry, each pile weighs no more than two millions, 100,000 kilograms. The design and execution of these cast iron pillars proceeded from M. Emilius Martin de Fourchambault, M. Martin (of the North) at that time minister of the public works and commerce, authorized him, notwithstanding the prohibition of articles of English casting, to cause two of these pillars to be cast in England, in order to prove the possibility of the thing. It was on this guaranty of the practicability of the undertaking, that M. Verges determined to accept the plan of M. E. Martin. Mr. Martin's publication contains every thing relating to the pillars, from the melting, respecting which he gives very curious technical details. The disinterestedness of M. Martin, who thus lays open his secret to all engineers, cannot be too highly praised. The pillars of Cubzac are a novelty in the history of public works, and thanks to the publication of M. Enilius Martin, the process by which they are fully laid open to the public. LORENZO STARK, Or, a German Merchant of the Old School. [John Jacob Engel, the author of this story, was born at Parchim, in Mechlenberg, in the year 1741. He early gave proof of great talents, and had every opportunity given him of improving his mind by study. In 1765, he received the appointment of professor at Gottingen, and at the same time an invitation to become librarian at Gotha, and the tutor of a gentleman at Paris. In preference to all these he concluded to take charge of the Gymnasium at Joachims Valley--in Berlin. Here he lived in great intimacy with, and enjoyed the respect of, the literary men of his day; he was made member of the Academy of Sciences, and wrote there several of his well known works. He was appointed by King Frederic William II., director of the Grand Theatre at Berlin. He is considered as one of the best classical prose writers in Germany. His Romance of Lorenzo Stark, of which we here begin the translation, is highly esteemed in Germany; his biographer says it may be considered as a lasting monument to the memory of the grandfather of Engel, Brasch, who was a rich merchant and counsellor in Parchim.] CHAP. I. Mr. Lorenzo Stark, passed in the whole city of H**, where he lived, for a very singular, but also a very excellent old gentleman. His external appearance, his apparel and his deportment, announced |