that the deluge must have originated in the region where they had lived;--and since the fossil elephant, rhinoceros, hyæna, &c. appear to have lived in Europe, then the deluge must have originated in Europe, which we do not imagine will be contended for.

It has been stated, in refutation of the theory which explains the deluge by the approach of a comet, and the objection may be applied to any rapid form of inundation, that a flood so caused must have left evidence of its action somewhere in the wreck of lower strata carried upwards, and lodged in the hollows and clefts of higher ranges,' whereas the contrary is the fact. The argument is ingenious; and would have considerable force if it could be shown, without exception, that no fragments of rocks of lower situations occur upon the surface in more elevated tracks: but in the first place, we are not aware that this negative proposition has been universally established, -it is certain at least, that the remains of animals (as of the horse, &c. in the Himalaya mountains, according to Mr Buckland's statement) are sometimes found in regions much higher than those which they can be supposed to have inhabited. And secondly, the traces of descending action ought in every case to be the most conspicuous, for the operation of the retreating fluid would, in many cases, efface the marks of its rise.

The truth is, that notwithstanding the talents that have been employed upon this department of natural history, we have not at present sufficient data from which to reason with safety, upon any general question touching the comparison of the antediluvian population, with the actual inhabitants of the globe. The partial extinction of species,-the mixture in certain dilu vial accumulations, of the remains of extinct with those of existing animals, t-the change of climate in high northern latitudes; or if no such change have taken place in the economy of the races that once inhabited those regions, are a few only of the obscurities which time and observation have to remove.

Quarterly Review, No. 57, September, 1823. p. 161.

+ There are some circumstances indicating tranquillity of deposition, and long abode of the sea upon the surface in certain places, the combination of which, with so many proofs of violent and more transitory action, it is not easy to explain. Thus, in Italy and Siberia, the bones of elephants, &c., abound along the banks of rivers, where they do not seem to have been disturbed." And it is asserted that oystershells have been found attached to the humerus of an elephant on the banks of the Arno; but as the specimen in question is said to be no longer in existence, this last point demands inquiry. See Fortis Mem. pour l'Histoire Naturelle de l'Italie. pp. 284, 298.

Mr Buckland has abstained from discussing any of the details of the Mosaic narrative of the deluge; and in this respect we shall willingly follow his example. But there is one point, which has an important bearing upon the question we have just considered, and upon which the opposition between the history and the inferences which his work goes to establish, is so obvious, that it must occur to every reader,- -we mean the extinction of certain species of animals by the deluge:-the narrative expressly stating, that all the animals, of every kind, which existed at the time of that event, were preserved; while it is asserted by zoologists, and one of the most striking novelties of Mr Buckland's volume, is the confirmation of this fact, that certain species were totally extinguished by the inundation. The cave of Kirkdale alone contained at least four such animals; and a great part of the argument of the volume rests mainly upon the fact of their extinction. In whatever way this opposition be regarded, it is deserving of serious attention; since, if the text be interpreted literally, the discrepany is obvious and decisive; and if, on the other hand, such latitude of interpretation be allowable as will reconcile this difference, we can see no reason why the same liberty should not be extended to the entire narrative; and in that case, there will be no difficulty, from supposed variance with the Scripture, as to the admissibility of successive inundations.

We are aware, that it has been attempted to distinguish be tween the universality of the terms, and of the sense of the expressions, employed on this occasion by the historian, and that the words in question are asserted to indicate, not all, but to a certain proportion of the antediluvian animals; but after the most attentive consideration of the text, we confess that we cannot perceive any thing that should render the wider interpretation more allowable, in one of the cases we have mentioned, than in the other.

But, to conclude an article which has trespassed much longer on the attention of our readers than we intended, we shall only farther observe, that the renewed discussion of this subject will not have been unavailing, if, by showing the difficulties of the question, it tends to assuage the bitterness, which has sometimes mingled itself with inquiry upon the physical confirmation of the Scriptures. Since so much uncertainty, and on so many points, is still connected with the great event which forms the subject of the present volume; since we have seen also, that discussions of this nature have led so often to the violation of kind and charitable feeling,-it may deserve the consideration of those who wish well to the cause of Revelation, and to the progress of Science, whether it were not better to leave for a

time a field so often traversed with so little success; assuring ourselves, that the ultimate effect of the advancement of knowledge, in all its departments, must be the establishment of Religious, no less than of Scientific truth.

ART. XI. Memoirs of the Baron de Kolli, relative to his Secret Mission in 1810, for liberating Ferdinand VII. King of Spain, from Captivity at Valençay. Written by Himself. To which are added, Memoirs of the Queen of Etruria. Written by Herself. pp. 340. London, 1823.

TH HE downfal of Napoleon, and the final subversion of a system which overwhelmed so many rights and pretensions, and repressed, by its terrors, the murmurs of those it aggrieved, -was likely to be followed by a torrent of abusive publications: and every one, we believe, expected, that, as soon as it was safe and profitable to bring to light the crimes of the departed tyranny, the press would overflow with the memoirs and testimonies of those who had been its victims. To the surprise of all the world, however, and the signal mortification of Legitimacy, nothing of this actually happened. The abuse of the Emperor was far less after his abdication than it had ever been during his reign; and we believe we state the truth but feebly and inadequately when we say, that all that has since been disclosed of his conduct and character, has tended, not only to raise the general opinion of his extraordinary talents, but to mitigate the severity of the judgments which had sometimes been passed on his moral defects. Till the period of his death, indeed, there were no publications of any note, in which his merits or domerits were treated of. Since that event, there have been many in which he is warmly eulogized; and none, till very lately, in which his conduct has been seriously impugned. There were circumstances, indeed, in the avowed policy and pretensions, as well as in the personal character of the restored sovereigns, which probably made their more judicious friends averse to provoke comparisons, and shut their mouths on the most questionable and unpopular of his proceedings. But what deterred the weaker courage of Subjects, only inflamed, it would seem, the loyal zeal of the Monarchs themselves; and the living Bourbons, determined, if possible, to divide the sympathies of the world with the dead Emperor, have endeavoured to effect a diversion in favour of Legitimacy, by producing various volumes of their own inditing, concerning their sufferings and exploits! We have already given our readers, in a preceding article, a

pretty full account of the most remarkable of these performances, and have only now to say, that in the present low state of the Ultra press, we imagine the Baron de Kolli must be regarded as a very important auxiliary. His story, to be sure, relates to rather antiquated matters;-but he was employed in behalf of the most legitimate of all the legitimates; and he was employed by the English Government, when it was far more legitimate than it is supposed to be at this moment.

The Baron was sent by our Government, in 1810, to endeavour to effect the deliverance of the present King of Spain from the Castle or Palace of Valençay, to which he had been sent by Napoleon, after his abdication in favour of Joseph. Of the importance of this mission, different opinions will probably be entertained; but as to the ability with which it was planned, and the judicious selection of the person to whom it was intrusted, no doubts can possibly remain, after perusing the revelations of the Baron de Kolli, in the volume now before us. Our national pride has sometimes been mortified, and sometimes soothed, by the contempt which is expressed all over the Continent, for our talents for intrigue-our skill, in other words, in deception and imposture, in trick and successful disguise. This mission, accordingly, was not committed to the clumsy hands of an Englishman, and so far all was well; but we fear that English feelings predominated too much in the choice; for, except in honesty of intention, and disregard of personal hazard-qualities which might have been found at home-we really do not think that a more awkward intriguer, a more bungling manager of a plot, could well have been discovered among the British-born subjects of the crown.

There was, to be sure, the most formidable apparatus for concealment and disguise- seals and ciphers of Bonaparte's Secre⚫taries of State, French pasports, and feuilles du route, orders of the Ministers of War and of the Marine, &c. &c., all procured by the English ministry, from the best sources.' We cannot help feeling an awkward sort of shame at this barefaced disclosure of the direct agency of a proud Government, in such a low scene of forgery and falsehood; and if there are occasions—which may, after all, be doubted-which render the use of such things indispensable, we must be permitted to doubt, whether the deliverance of Ferdinand was ever worth such a sacrifice on the part of this country. But, however that may be, the success of the plot manifestly depended on the utmost caution, circumspection, and secrecy on the part of the agent; and a very short abstract of his proceedings, will show how eminently the Baron de Kolli was deficient in all these qualities. In the first place, he

seems to have set out on his journey, without having taken the least pains to ascertain whether the Royal captive was at all inclined to cooperate in the scheme of his removal-a matter exceedingly doubtful up to this hour-he being at that time very agreeably occupied, we believe, in embroidering a petticoat for the Virgin Mary, and in other respects so lavishly supplied by Napoleon with all sorts of luxuries and indulgences, as to make it very unlikely that he would have gone upon the perilous and Quixotic undertakings, to which we seem to have invited him. In the second place, the Baron's original passports were so extremely defective, that they described a person of a different stature and complexion, and exposed him at every step to detention and detection. 3dly, While waiting at Antwerp for his English instructions, he forms a casual acquaintance with a young man there --and, without any previous knowledge whatever of his character, or any kind of recommendation, proceeds, on the faith of his 'open and expressive countenance,' to admit him to his confidence, appoints him his secretary, and associates him at once in all the trusts and hazards of his delicate expedition. 4th, On the coast of Quiberon, he falls in with another Baron, like himself an intriguant by profession, and then in the pay of the English, and, as it turned out, also of the French Government; and though he suspected, from the first, that this person was playing a double part, and sought his confidence only in order to betray him, he gives him so much of his talk and society, as to enable him to put the French police on their guard, and ultimately to ensure the miscarriage of his hopeful undertaking. 5th, When he gets to the neighbourhood of Valençay, he takes no steps whatever to sound the dispositions of the prisoner as to the plan of an escape, or to consult his pleasure or ability as to the manner of carrying it into effect-but, settling with himself that he would make the Prince gallop away on a post-horse at midnight, he exhausts the whole resources of his genius in preparing a decoy for his pursuers, by sending off an empty chaise in an opposite direction! 6th, He then admits into his confidence another entire stranger-without even the apology this time of liking his appearance, but merely because he was, or said he had been engaged in the Royalist insurrection of La Vendée. In this promising position of his affairs, his last confident opens the door one morning to a detachment of police officers, to whom he immediately confesses the nature of his mission, and is forthwith committed to the Donjon of Vincennes, while his papers are transmitted for the inspection of the higher authorities.

There is something so absurd and almost incredibly bungling