ART. IX.

Defcription du CHAMEAU-LEOPARD, ou GIRAFFE; et de la TAUPE VERDATRE LUISANTE: i. e. Defcription of the Camelopard, or Giraffe; and of the Gloffy Green bued Mole. By A. VOSMAER, Director of the Collection of Natural History belonging to his Se rene Highness the Prince of Orange. 4to. Amfterdam. 1787.

TH

HESE two Articles form the fixteenth Number of a work entitled, "A Defcription of the uncommon Animals and remarkable Productions in the Cabinet and Ménagerie of his Serene Highnefs the Prince of Orange," the first Number of which was published by M. VOSMAER, in 1766.

After taking a view of what has been faid by other writers, ancient and modern, concerning the Giraffe, the Author enters on his defcription, which is compofed partly from the accounts given by M. Vaillant and Mr. Gordon, of the Cape of Good Hope, and partly from his own obfervations on the skins of four of these animals, together with a complete skeleton, in the cabinet of curiofities under his care. The latter was fent from the Cape by Mr. Gordon, who is well known for his indefatigable refearches into the natural hiftory of that country. To this defcription, which is illuftrated by two plates, one of the animal, the other of the skeleton, are added fome judicious obfervations on the latter, by Profeffor CAMPER.

All the accounts we have of the Giraffe, agree in reprefenting its hind quarters as about 2 feet lower than its withers. M. VOSMAER thinks this difference has been greatly exaggerated, and fays, it is evident from M. Camper's obfervations, that naturalifts must have been greatly mistaken in this particular. The Profeffor's remark on this circumftance is as follows:

Authors who have had an opportunity of obferving this animal alive, as Petrus Gillius, whofe defcription is verbally copied by Gefner, and Aldrovandus, who is followed by Linnæus, Buffon, and others, affert that its fore-legs are longer than its hind-legs. This is indeed true; but the difference is not more than feven inches, which, in a height of feven feet, is no great matter. It may, however, be rendered apparently more confiderable by the obliquity of the thigh-bone with refpect to the tibia, when compared with that of the humerus to the radius.

The Giraffe has always been celebrated for the gentleness of its difpofition. Antonius Conftantius, a writer of the fifteenth cen tury, in a letter to Galeas Manfredi, Prince of Faenza, dated Fano, 16th December 1486, gives an account of a Giraffe which he faw there. He fays it was fo gentle, that it would eat bread, hay, or fruit, out of the hand of a child; and that when led through the ftreet, it would take whatever food of this kind was offered to it by the fpectators at the windows, as it paffed along. This character is confirmed by Mr. Gordon, who relates, that a Giraffe, which he had wounded, fuffered him to approach it as it lay on the ground,

without

without offering to ftrike with its horns, or fhewing any inclination to revenge itself: he even ftroked it over its eyes feveral times, when it only clofed them, without any figns of refentment. Its throat was afterwards cut for the fake of its skin, [How different from the camelopard is man in his difpofition!] and when in the pangs of death, it truck the ground with its feet, with a force much exceeding that of any other animal, and thefe feem to be its principal means of defence. M. VOSMAER obferves, that both the male and female are furnished with horns, which, from their fize and form, feem intended merely for ornament: they appear to be excrefcences of the os frontis, and therefore are probably not deciduous. The notion of fome writers, that the Giraffe cannot feed from the ground, is confuted by the testimony of M. Vaillant, who afferts, that it can even drink from a river, the furface of which is lower than the bank on which it ftands. M. VOSMAER obferves, that this account is confirmed, by confidering the ftructure of the neck, the vertebræ of which are connected with thofe of the back, by a very ftrong ligament.

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The Giraffe here defcribed, which Mr. Gordon, who diffected it, fays was the largeft he had ever feen, was 15 feet 4 inches Rhinland meafure [about 15 feet 10 inches English], from the ground to the top of its head; the length of the body, from the cheft to the rump, feet 7 inches Rhinland measure. M. Vaillant afferts, that he has feen feveral which were at least 17 feet high; and M. VOSMAER declares, that he has been affured by fome very refpectable inhabitants of the Cape, whofe names he is forry he has forgotten, that they had feen and killed Giraffes, which, including the horns, were 22 Rhinland feet in height.'

The other animal defcribed in this Number, is called by M. VOSMAER, Taupe verdâtre luifante, or Gloffy green-hued Mole. It is mentioned by Seba, in his Thefaurus, as a native of Siberia; but in the catalogue of his collection, fold at Amsterdam in 1752, it is denominated Axplax, and is defined as The Arabian Mole with changeable colours. When preserved in spirits, it is remarkable for the beauty and splendour of its colour, which is a variable green and gold; but if taken out of the fpirits, and dried, it lofes thefe hues, and becomes of a deep brown; though it recovers them if the fur be ever fo little wetted. Hence M. VOSMAER fuppofes, that these animals, when they are alive, and their fur is dry, have not that brilliancy of colour, which renders them fo remarkable when kept in fpirits; and that this may be the reafon of their having been fo little noticed by naturalifts; for they are found in great numbers in the gardens at the Cape, and in their œconomy they refemble our common mole.

We cannot finish this article without recommending to all the lovers of natural hiftory the very curious and interefting work to which the defcription here given of the Giraffe belongs. M. VOSMAER is known, not only as member of feveral of the moft illuftrious academies of Europe, but also as well entitled to thefe literary diftinctions, by his extenfive knowlege of Nature,

and

and the penetration and accuracy with which he describes her productions. The work, as we obferved above, is publifhed fucceffively in numbers. The editors are the heirs of P. Meyer and G. Warnars, booksellers at Amfterdam. The firft number was published in 1766, and from that date to the present time thirty-one numbers have appeared. The work has fometimes been fubject to interruptions, from the excurfions of the Author into foreign countries; but it will now be carried on with activity and perfeverance. It is published in Dutch, and also in French. The price of each number, in either of thefe languages, accompanied with a plate, is ten pence, and fixteen pence for those who chufe to have coloured plates.

Among the animals defcribed in the numbers already published, are, the Boar of Africa, the Small Goat of Guinea, the Baftara Marmot of Africa, the Flying Squirrel of the East Indies, the Rattle-fnake of Surinam, the Trumpeter (an American bird fo called), the Long-tailed Halcyon of America, Small Halcyons of America and the East Indies, the Great Lory, or Purple-red American Parrot, the African Sagittary, the Whifiling Monkey of America, the Bizaam Cat of Africa, the Sluggard of Bengal, the Indian Ichneumon, the American Weafel, called Potto, two Flattailed Indian Serpents, the East Indian Ourang-outang, in two numbers, &c.

AR T. X.

Obfervations d'un Voyageur fur la Ruffie, &c. i. e. Obfervations on Ruffia, Finland, Livonia, Courland, and Prufia. By ABEL BURJA. 8vo. Maeftricht. 1787.

M.

BURJA travelled from Berlin to a nobleman's eftate in .the neighbourhood of Mofcow, thence to St. Petersburg, and afterward back again to Berlin. At St. Petersburg he refided near fix years, firft as tutor to the corps of Cadets in the land fervice, and afterwards as paftor of the French Proteftant church there. He appears to be a man of learning and judgment; but the fphere of his obfervations is not extenfive, nor do they materially differ from others which within these few years have been communicated to the public. They are drawn up in the form of a journal; but this is often interrupted by mifcellaneous matter, which is rendered interefting by the eafy and lively ftyle of the writer.

With refpect to the ftate of literature among the Ruffians, M. BURJA gives us no very favourable ideas; he tells us, however, that they have had two celebrated poets, Soumarokof and. Lomonoffof, who have compofed tragedies, odes, and fatires; and that a M. Tscherkoffof, who is ftill living, has written a philofophical romance in the manner of Fenelon's Telemachus, en

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titled,

titled, Numa Pompilius, in which he has introduced the Nymph Egeria, inftructing the hero in the fciences of politics and legiflation.

AR T. XI.

De l'Importance des Opinions Religieufes. i. e. Concerning the Importance of Religious Sentiments. By M. NECKER. 8vo. Paris. 1788.

THE

HE offering here made at the fhrine of religion, by a man of bufinefs, a man of true political wildom, and a man of the world, in the city of Paris, is a curious phenomenon: It is also a noble one, and gives M. NECKER, who has been long efteemed for his great capacity, literary merit, and eminent virtues, a new and diftinguished title to the veneration of the Public. It has been this virtuous man's deftiny to arrive at eminence in every line that he has purfued, from the countinghouse to the threshold of the cabinet; and it is impoffible, if we read the work before us with candour and attention, not to fee that both his head and his heart make a diftinguifhed and affecting appearance in the caufe of religion.

When Cicero was exhaufted with business, and diftreffed by malignant oppofition, in his zealous labours for the good of his country, he had recourfe to philofophy, not only for his own confolation, but as adapted to furnish him with means of being ufeful to his fellow-citizens, which the malice of his adversaries could not defeat. Similar to that of the illuftrious Roman is the cafe of M. NECKER, with this advantageous difference, that the latter has found in the doctrines, views, and precepts of Chriftianity, better lights by which he might improve his philofophy, than the former could derive from the ambiguous tenets and clouded profpects of heathen wisdom.

One of the great principles that runs through M. NECKER'S excellent book, is the old principle of Solomon, that righteoufnefs exalteth a nation, which will ftand its ground notwithstanding all the attempts of 'vicious politics, and a licentious philofophy, to invalidate its immutable truth and importance. This maxim is confirmed by the radical caufes, recorded in hiftory, of the decline of nations in all parts and periods of the world. But if the principle be old, the manner of its operation on public as well as private felicity, and the detail of reasons, drawn from the characters and paffions of men, and the state of civil fociety, which demonftrate its importance, admit of illuf

A work under the fame title has been published by M. de Florian. See Rev. Vol. lxxv. p. 513.

trations

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trations that are inftructive, affecting, and adapted to dispel the errors which are too generally entertained on this fubject. Our Author's manner of viewing it, in the introduction to his work, is truly philofophical. I have remarked, fays he, with pleasure, that there is a natural connection between the various truths which contribute to human felicity. Our prejudices and paffions endeavour to difunite them, but, to the eye of an attentive obferver, they have all one common origin.' In confequence of this affinity, the truths and maxims that belong to the several spheres of government, legiflation, morals, and religion, muft be confidered as mutually connected in the closest alliance; and it is only by ftrengthening this natural coalition that fuccefs can be infured to all thofe projects and efforts that have for their objects the peace and profperity of nations.

The fhare which M. NECKER had for a confiderable time in the management of public affairs, gave him many opportunities of obferving how much the wifeft fyftems of adminiftration ftand in need of the influence of an invifible fpring, which acts in fecret upon the confciences of men. It was after ftudying the intereft of a great nation, after taking an attentive view of the political bodies that compofe its government, that he was naturally led to thofe elevated ideas and truths which connect the general ftate of humanity with an almighty and infinite Being, the author and ruler of the univerfe. These truths, which are but fuperficially perceived amidst the tumults of courts and the hurry of bufinefs, were the objects of his attentive and profound meditation in his retirement from both; and of these meditations, the work before us is the fruit.

It is divided into eighteen chapters. In the firft, the Author treats of the connexion between religious fentiments and public order. The ancient hiftories of all nations bear teftimony to the influence of religion on civil order, military difcipline, and, in many cafes, on conduct and manners; and it was referved for our times, fays M. NECKER (he might have added, more especially for the country in which I live), to furnish examples of attempts made to contest the utility of religion, and to fubftitute, in the place of its active influence, the inanimate inftructions of a political philofophy. Our Author, in this and in the second chapter, examines fucceffively the principles of this political philofophy, and the fprings of actions which it puts in the place of religious motives, fuch as, the connexion between private and public good, the empire of law, and the fear of punishment, the effect of public opinion, and the ambition which thould animate each individual to obtain the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citi

zens.

M. NECKER fhews, with great fagacity and ftrength of reafoning, the infufficiency of the fe principles to anfwer the purposes they

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are