his own words, which best express his meaning: "It follows, therefore, that the whole of this country has been once covered with a body of sandstone, equal in thickness, in certain points at least, to the present remaining portions; the variations of the dip marking the undulations of that mass, when in its entire state. The extreme depth of this deposit, as far as it can now be discovered, may be measured by Kea Cloch, of which the altitude has al ready been given, (as from 3500 to $700 feet;) since the strata are there nearly horizontal, and extend from the summit to the base, where their greater depth is concealed by the sea." It is unquestionably a very bold assumption upon which our author attempts to explain the phenomena of the sandstone mountains in Ross and Sutherland; and, by the sweeping use which he has made of it, he creates a very just ground of fear that geology has not yet relinquished her claims upon hypothesis. For our part, we see no difficulty in regarding the mountains in question as the product of crystallization rather than of deposi tion; and this opinion is mainly confirmed by the very facts which Dr. Macculloch himself brings forward. In the first place, the sandstone under consideration is not only distinguished by its extreme hardness and crystalline structure, but it is found, both in the islands and in the mainland, to pass into gneiss by a gra dual transition through quartz and micaceous schist; the quartz on one side of the mass exhibiting a change into red sandstone, and on the other into gneiss. Again, the sandstone is rarely, if ever, found conformable to the gneiss; the angles at which they meet varying from one degree to ninety. The edges of one set of strata are, in some cases, seen abutting on the sides of a different set; whilst, in all cases, the points of attachment between the various members of the aggregated substances, are so extremely arbitrary as to set at defiance every attempt to reconcile them to any notion we can form of mechanical deposition. We are somewhat at a loss, too, to make out the author's meaning, when he says, "Whatever difficulty may be imagined to exist "in explaining this double relation which the sandstone posses ses to the gneiss, there is no reason to doubt the identity of "the whole deposit, as the points of connexion and continuity "are nevertheless of frequent occurrence." The deposit here spoken of is described as having a depth of nearly 4000 feet, and as consisting of gneiss, slate, quartz, and red sandstone; all passing into one another, and exhibiting the characteristic properties of the rocks usually called primary: on which account, it greatly exceeds our penetration to find out the theoretical views implied in the doctrine that the whole is a deposit, and an identical deposit. The Dr. has gravelled us here completely. 66 Having, in this incidental way, said all that we meant to say on the Sandstone Islands, we now come to the fourth division of the Hebrides, or the Schistose Isles. These are subdivided into three classes, namely, "the Slate Isles, the Quartz Isles, and "the Chlorite Isles;" the first comprehending Kerrera, Seil, Luing, and Torsa; the second, Scarba, Lunga, Jura, and Isla; and the last embracing the Craignish Isles, the Isles of St. Cormac, Gigha, and Cara. The classification here employed is obviously founded upon the predominating substances in the several groups; but it is admitted, at the same time, that the different kinds of slate are not so strictly confined to the geographical positions now specified, but that each may be found where the other would be expected. There is, however, nothing very interesting in this part of the work; for the relations of the several schists to the primary rocks are already sufficiently known, and Dr. Macculloch has not been able to throw any new light upon the subject. In his" General Comparison" of these islands, we have indeed another attempt at geological elucidation; but we cannot extol the success with which it is conducted. Proceeding on the principle that the whole was "originally a series of flat beds," he finds it extremely difficult to account for the present condition of the strata in respect of position and alternation. The Huttonian expedient of elevation by means of heat will not answer in all cases, nor will the co-relative effects of subsidence afford a much better explanation of the facts in question. The simplest theory is that which assumes their actual position as the original one; determined by the manner in which they were crystallized, and by their mode of attachment to the fundamental rock. A good deal, no doubt, may be attributed to the action of the sea in wearing away the strata which compose the shores of the several sounds, and even in forming a number of smaller islands out of large ones; still we think that the inclination of the stratified rocks to the horizon, and to one another, must be traced to the cause which gave them their original form and distribution, and not to any subsequent disturbance. We decline entering upon the Clyde islands. Arran has been already well described by former travellers, particularly by Professor Jameson, to whom we cannot help thinking the present author is more indebted than he feels inclined to acknowledge. It is rather surprising, indeed, that Dr. Macculloch should have detailed his facts and opinions with the same air of originality as if no one had either made observations, or published books before himself on the Western islands. We do not, indeed, accuse him of wilful or concealed plagiarism, Far from it; nothing being so probable as that, when two good judges have examined minutely the same track of country, they should coincide, to a great extent, in their report of it; still it is usual, we think, when authors thus find themselves on the same ground that had been trodden by others, and arriving at the same results to which they had attained, to make some acknowledgment of the aid which they may have derived from such labours, whether in the way of directing them to what was most worthy of notice, or of confirming them in the opinion which they may have been led to form. We have made a fair comparison between the present work and the only one which is entitled to be named with it, viz. the "Mineralogy of the Scot"tish Isles," and have found that, in some instances, such as Coll and Egg, for example, the descriptions contained in the latter are at once fuller and more satisfactory. Still, as the author of that publication did not extend his survey to more than one-half of the Hebrides, not having so much as set his foot upon any one of the range usually denominated the Long Island, it is only in a few points that his quartos can be regarded as competing with the smart octavos now before us. Dr. Macculloch's book, therefore, is unquestionably the fullest and most satisfactory that has hitherto been written on the subject to which it is devoted; and, in particular, it is highly valuable as a collection of facts, noted with great industry, and stated with great candour. Mineralogy has made rapid progress during the last twenty years; and the Doctor has availed himself to good purpose of all the knowledge thereby disseminated in Great Britain. In a word, it presents, in many parts, the model of what a mineralogical survey ought to be; and even in those sections of it where the writer indulges too freely in speculation, bewildering himself and his readers in impenetrable mystery, he fails not, nevertheless, to exhibit a fair statement of the facts upon which he reasons. We have already insinuated, pretty broadly, that the opinions of Dr. Macculloch, on matters strictly geological, are not entitled to much weight. His notions as to the volcanic origin of trap veins, are not supported by any new evidence; on the contrary, he has adduced several important facts, in the course of his survey, which materially invalidate the arguments formerly employed to establish that point. He has given birth to no new doctrine, and has overturned no old heresy; but he has done what is more important than either he has added considerably to the stock of well-ascertained facts, both in respect to the composition of rocks, and their actual distribution. ART. II. A Sicilian Story, with Diego de Montilla, and other Poems. By BARRY CORNWALL. London, Ollier, 1820. 12mo. pp. 177. THE reception which Mr. Cornwall's "Dramatic Scenes, and other Poems" met with, at their appearance, must have been very gratifying to the feelings of a youthful poet. We had intended noticing them; but circumstances at the time prevented till we thought it unnecessary to repeat the encomiums, which daily, weekly, and monthly critics conspired to lavish on them. These, no doubt, have encouraged him so early once more to tempt the award " of gods, men, and columns ;" nor do we conceive he runs much hazard in lessening his reputation, by this, his second attempt. Should the account we give of it be short, and the extracts few, we think they will nevertheless sufficiently answer our design-that of rendering our readers impatient until they possess the little volume itself. The first, or the Sicilian Tale, is unquestionably the finest poem it contains, and possesses such tenderness of feeling, and beauty of description, that we are at a loss where to begin, or rather where to conclude the extracts we intend giving. story "A story (still believed through Sicily,) This is founded upon a tale in the Decameron of Boccacio, and finely illustrates the sentiments with which it commences, that "There is a spirit within us, which arrays His showers of light upon the peach, or With the green leaves of June, and strives to dart Into some great forest's heart, And scare the sylvan from voluptuous There is a spirit that comes upon us when The two lovers are Guido, who fled to Genoa from Milan, where his father perished, and Isabel. Which they who love, and have been lov'd, can tell. And she-but what of her, his chosen bride, His own, on whom he gazed in secret pride, And loved almost too much for happiness? Enough to say that she was born to bless. Guido, become the secret husband of Isabel, is slain by her brother Leoni, who is averse to their connexion, and who inters him in the midst of a solitary wood. Having appeared in a vi sion to his beloved Isabel, she, following his instructions, discovers his body-when, to give it in the words of the author, "She took the heart, and washed it in the wave, And 'neath the basil tree she scoop'd a grave, And therein placed the heart, to common earth This tree, watered by her tears, and nursed "as a mother guards her child," flourished exceedingly, " and stood unequalled in the land," till her brother, "timorous lest the blood he spilt Should rise in vengeance from its secret hold, And come abroad and claim a sepulchre; Was disbelieved and not forgot by her; The rest of this affecting story, referring to the distraction which seized Isabel, may easily be imagined from the lines that follow; for "That day the green tree withered, and she knew The solace of her mind was stol'n and gone : And then she felt that she was quite alone In the wide world." The only other poem in the volume, of which we shall speak, is "The Falcon," the outline of which is also to be found in the Decameron. Nor can we refrain extracting the second scene entire, as it displays such exquisite taste, both in conception and manner; while it will afford our readers a genuine specimen of the same author's "Dramatic Scenes," already mentioned. The subject may be related in the quotation which is given from the old version of Boccacio. "Frederigo, of the Alberighi family, loved a gentlewoman, and was not requited with like love again. But by bountiful expenses, and over liberal invitations, he wasted all his lands and goods, having nothing left him but a Hawk or Falcon. His unkind |