That part of the sea where the volcano was situated was upwards of thirty fathoms deep, and at the time of our viewing it the volcano was only four days old. Soon after our arrival on the cliff, a peasant observed he could discern a peak above the water; we looked, but could not see it: however, in less than half an hour it was plainly visible, and before we quitted the place, which was about three hours from the time of our arrival, a complete crater was formed above the water, not less than twenty feet high on the side where the greatest quantity of ashes fell; the diameter of the crater being apparently about four or five hundred feet.

The great eruptions were generally attended with a noise like the continued firing of cannon and musquetry intermixed, as also with slight shocks of earthquakes, several of which having been felt by my companions, but none by myself, I had become half sceptical, and thought their opinion arose merely from the force of imagination; but while we were sitting within five or six yards of the edge of the cliff, partaking of a slight repast which had been brought with us, and were all busily engaged, one of the most magnificent bursts took place which we had yet witnessed, accompanied by a very severe shock of an earthquake. The instantaneous and involuntary movement of cach was to spring upon his feet, and I said, "This admits of no doubt." The words had scarce passed my lips, before we observed a large portion of the face of the cliff, about fifty yards on our left, falling, which it did with a violent crash. So soon as our first consternation had a little subsided, we removed about ten or a dozen yards further from the edge of the cliff, and finished our dinner.

On the succeeding day, June 15th, having the Consul and some other friends on board, I weighed, and proceeded with the ship towards the volcano, with the intention of witnessing a night view; but in this expectation we were greatly disappointed, from the wind freshening and the weather becoming thick and hazy, and also from the volcano itself being clearly more quiescent than it was the preceding day.

On opening the volcano clear of the N.W. part of the island, after dark on the 16th, we witnessed one or two eruptions that, had the ship been near enough, would have been awfully grand. It appeared one continued blaze of lightning; but the distance which it was at from the ship (upwards of twenty miles) prevented our seeing it with effect. Returning again towards St. Michael's, on the fourth of July, I was obliged, by the state of the wind, to pass with the ship very close to the island, which was now completely formed

by the volcano, being nearly the height of Matlock High Tor, about eighty yards above the sea. At this time it was perfectly tranquil; which circumstance determined me to land, and explore it more narrowly. "I left the ship in one of the boats, accompanied by some of the officers. As we approached, we perceived that it was still smoking in many parts, and, upon our reaching the island, found the surf on the beach very high. Rowing round to the lee side, with some little difficulty, by the aid of an oar, as a pole, I jumped on shore, and was followed by the other officers. We found a narrow beach of black ashes, from which the side of the island rose in general too steep to admit of our ascending; and, where we could have clambered up, the mass of matter was much too hot to allow our proceeding more than a few yards in the ascent.

The declivity below the surface of the sea was equally steep, having seven fathoms water scarce the boat's length from the shore, and at the distance of twenty or thirty yards we sounded twenty-five fathoms. From walking round it in about twelve minutes, I should judge that it was something less than a mile in circumference; but the most extraordinary part was the crater, the mouth of which, on the side facing St. Michael's, was nearly level with the sea. It was filled with water, at that time boiling, and was emptying itself into the sea by a small stream about six yards over, and by which I should suppose it was continually filled again at high water. This stream, close to the edge of the sea, was so hot, as only to admit the finger to be dipped suddenly in, and taken out again immediately.

It appeared evident, by the formation of this part of the island, that the sea had, during the eruptions, broke into the crater in two places, as the east side of the small stream was bounded by a precipice, a cliff between twenty and thirty feet high forming a peninsula of about the same dimensions in width, and from fifty to sixty feet long, connected with the other part of the island by a narrow ridge of cinders and lava, as an isthmus of from forty to fifty feet in length, from which the crater rose in the form of an amphitheatre.

This cliff, at two or three miles distance from the island, had the appearance of a work of art, resembling a small fort or block-house. The top of this we were determined, if possible, to attain; but the difficulty we had to encounter in doing so was considerable: the only way to attempt it was up the side of the isthmus, which was so steep, that the only mode by which we could effect it, was by fixing the end of

an oar at the base, with the assistance of which we forced ourselves up in nearly a backward direction.

Having reached the summit of the isthmus, we found another difficulty, for it was impossible to walk upon it, as the descent on the other side was immediate, and as steep as the one we had ascended; but, by throwing our legs across it, as would be done on the ridge of a house, and moving ourselves forward by our hands, we at length reached that part of it where it gradually widened itself and formed the summit of the cliff, which we found to have a perfectly flat surface, of the dimensions before stated. Judging this to be the most conspicuous situation, we here planted the Union, and left a bottle sealed up containing a small account of the origin of the island, and of our having landed upon it, and naming it Sabrina Island.

Within the crater I found the complete skeleton of a guard fish, the bones of which, being perfectly burnt, fell to pieces upon attempting to take them up; and, by the account of the inhabitants on the coast of St. Michael's, great numbers of fish had been destroyed during the early part of the eruption, as large quantities, probably suffocated or poisoned, were occasionally found drifted into the small inlets or bays. The island, like other volcanic productions, is composed principally of porous substances, and generally burnt to complete cinders, with occasional masses of a stone, which I should suppose to be a mixture of iron and lime-stone.

Experiments on Poisons of the Mineral Kingdom. By Mr. BRODIE.-[1812.]

Experiments with the Woorara. In an experiment, I succeeded in recovering an animal, which was apparently dead from the influence of the essential oil of bitter almonds, by continuing respiration artificially until the impression of the poison upon the brain had ceased; but a similar experiment on an animal under the influence of the woorara was pot attended with the same success.

On the Effects of Arsenic. When an animal is killed by arsenic taken internally, the stomach is found bearing marks of inflammation.

But in whatever way the poison is administered, the inflammation is confined to the stomach and intestines; I have never seen any appearance of it in the pharynx or œsophagus. The symptoms produced by arsenic may be referred to the influence of the poison on the nervous system, the heart, and

the alimentary canal. As of these the two former only are concerned in those functions which are directly necessary to life, and as the alimentary canal is often affected only in a slight degree, we must consider the affection of the heart and nervous system as being the immediate cause of death.

In every experiment which I have made with arsenic, there were evident marks of the influence of the poison on all the organs which have been mentioned; but they were not in all cases affected in the same relative degree. In the dog, the affection of the heart appeared to predominate over that of the brain; and on examining the thorax immediately after death, this organ was found to have ceased acting, and in a distended state. In the rabbit, the affection of the brain appeared to predominate over that of the heart, and the latter was usually found acting slowly and feebly, after the functions of the brain had entirely ceased. In the rabbit, the effects of the arsenic on the stomach and intestines were usually less than in carnivorous animals.

The action of arsenic on the system is less simple than that of the majority of vegetable poisons. As it acts on different organs, it occasions different orders of symptoms; and as the affection of one or another organ predominates, so there is some variety in the symptoms produced even in individual animals of the same species.

In animals killed by arsenic, the blood is usually found fluid in the heart and vessels after death; but, otherwise, all the morbid appearances met with on dissection are confined to the stomach and intestines.

Experiments with the Muriate of Barytes. When barytes is taken into the stomach, or applied to a wound, it is capable of destroying life; but, when in its uncombined state, its action is very slow. The muriate of barytes, which is much more soluble than the pure earth, is (probably on this account) a much more active poison.

On the Effects of the Emetic Tartar. The effects of the emetic tartar so much resemble those of arsenic and of muriate of barytes in essential circumstances, that it would be needless to enter into a detail of the individual experiments made with this poison.

On the Effects of the Corrosive Sublimate. When this poison is taken internally in very small and repeated doses, it is absorbed into the circulation, and produces on the system those peculiar effects which are produced by other preparations of mercury. If it passes into the circulation in larger quantity, it excites inflammation of some part of the alimen

tary canal, the termination of which may vary accordingly as it exists in a greater or less degree. When taken in a larger quantity still, it occasions death in a very short space of time. I had found, that, if applied to a wounded surface, it produced a slough of the part to which it was applied, without occasioning any affection of the general system. This led me to conclude, that the effects of it, taken internally and in a large quantity, depended on its local action on the stomach, and were not connected with the absorption of it into the circulation.

That a sudden and violent injury of the stomach should be capable of thus speedily proving fatal, is not surprising, when we consider the powerful sympathy between it and the organs on which life more immediately depends, and the existence of which many circumstances in disease daily demonstrate

to us.

The facts which have been stated, appear to lead to the fol lowing conclusions respecting the action of the mineral poisons which were employed in the foregoing experiments:

1. Arsenic, the emetic tartar, and the muriate of barytes, do not produce their deleterious effects until they have passed into the circulation.

2. All of these poisons occasion disorder of the functions of the heart, brain, and alimentary canal; but they do not all affect these organs in the same relative degree.

3. Arsenic operates on the alimentary canal in a greater degree than either the emetic tartar or the muriate of barytes. The heart is affected more by arsenic than by the emetic tartar, and more by this last than by the muriate of barytes.

4. The corrosive sublimate, when taken internally in large quantity, occasions death by acting chemically on the mucous membrane of the stomach, so as to destroy its texture; the organs more immediately necessary to life being affected in consequence of their sympathy with the stomach.

In making the comparison between them, we observe that the effects of mineral are less simple than those of the generality of vegetable poisons; and, when once an animal is affected by the former, there is much less chance of his recovery than when he is affected by the latter.