Case of a young Gentleman, who recovered his Sight when seven Years of Age, after having been deprived of it by Cataracts, before he was a Year old; with Remarks. By Mr. James Ware, Surgeon. This cure was effected on one eye by the couchingneedle; with which, the cataract being of a soft consistence, and not capable of being depressed, a large aperture was made through the capsule; and thus the crystalline was brought into contact with the other humours: a considerable part of it coming forwards, and shewing itself directly under the cornea. In a few days, the opaque matter was wholly absorbed, the pupil became clear, and the patient recovered his sight with the couched eye. If, however, in addition to the opacity of the crystalline humour its capsule be also opaque, either in its anterior or posterior portion, or in both, (which circumstance cannot be ascertained before the operation,) and in consequence of this the operation above stated should not prove successful, it will not preclude the performance of extraction afterward, if this measure be thought adviseable. The operation of the couching needle was repeated on the other eye, in a month's time after the former, but without success; owing, it is conjectured, to an opacity in the capsule, which was incapable of being absorbed.

Farther Observations on the Effects which take place from the Destruction of the Membrana Tympani of the Ear, with an Account of an Operation for the Removal of a particular Species of Deafness. By Mr. Astley Cooper.-It had been made apparent in a former paper, and is confirmed in this, that an aperture in the Membrana Tympani does not diminish the power of the ear; and that even a complete destruction of the membrane is not followed by a total deprivation of the sense of hearing, as is commonly supposed. Mr. Cooper now proposes to try the operation of puncturing the membrana tympani, in the deafness which arises from an obstruction of the Eustachian tube produced by pressure of enlarged tonsils, by an ulcerous sore throat, by venereal ulcers, by extravasation of blood, by stricture in the tube, &c. in all of which cases, it has been successful. This practice is founded on principle. Like a drum, the tympanum of the ear cannot perform its office unless there be a free passage for air into the cavity; and as the air passes from the throat to the ear by the Eustachian tube, the membrana tempani is placed between two portions of air, the one contained in the meatus, the other in the cavity of the tympanum. Accordingly, if the Eustachian tube be obstructed, the air confined in the tympanum being unable to yield, the membrana tympani must cease to vibrate; and thus, sound being no longer conveyed

to

to the interior parts of the organ, a permanent deafness would

ensue.

This volume closes with the usual Lists, Index, &c.

ART. XIII. A Tour through the Batavian Republic during the latter Part of the Year 1800: containing an Account of the Revolution and recent Events in that Country. By R. Fell. 8vo. pp. 400. 89. 6d. Boards. R. Phillips. 1801.

Ο

N account of the new political aspect in which the country must be viewed, a tour through the United Provinces, or (to give them their revolutionary title) the Batavian Republic, at a period in which the journey here recorded took place, muse possess greater interest, and demand more attention, than works of this kind ordinarily involve and deserve. The opinions of an individual, however, respecting the merits of any great political change, are to be received with caution, since man not only reasons but observes according to his prejudices; and consequently, the opportunity of being an eye-witness to the state of affairs bestows a doubtful advantage, and forms an equivocal title to superior credit. In our selection, therefore, of such parts only of this work as relate to the political situation and characters of the Batavian Republic, we have been guided more by the superior interest which they derive from the novelty of the subject, than from any conviction that they contain an unerring accuracy of observation, or a decisive rectitude of opinion. Yet it is but justice to the author to declare, that, though the political bias of his mind is sufficiently evident, he does not appear to be strongly warped by any inveterate prejudice, either in his ideas or his remarks.

Mr. Fell, we learn, was taken prisoner on his coasting passage to London from the north of England, by a French privateer, and was carried into the Briel:-but, having obtained passports from the Batavian government, through the means of the French General, Chorie, he was enabled to employ the period of his detention in seeing all that was most remarkable in the United Provinces. Speaking of the state of commerce in the Batavian Republic, he says:

According to the report of a very intelligent and judicious merchant, whose acquaintance I have had the good fortune to obtain, Rotterdam does not at present enjoy a tenth part of the commerce which she possessed before the French invasion, and the interruption. of her intercouse with Great Britain. Before the war, it sometimes happened, that three hundred English vessels were seen at one time within the port of Rotterdam; and this number was certainly exceeded by the ships belonging to the place and those of other nations. At present the number of neutral vessels in the harbour do not exceed REV. MARCH, 1802. fifty,

X

fifty, and trade is at this time more than usually active, if the retrospect be taken from their late circumstances.'

• But the canals of Rotterdam are covered with dismantled vessels, and whole streets of warehouses are unoccupied. This decay of the trade of Rotterdam is not to be attributed solely to the war with Great Britain, but to a variety of causes. The most striking, perhaps, are the emigration of their opulent capitalists, and the oppression and ridiculous ordinances of the Batavian government. By the emigration of the rich and respectable merchants of the British nation, the trade which Rotterdam at present carries on with England has fallen into the hands of men with whom the independent and honest trader of most nations would be averse to deal; and the government, according to the temper and prejudices of the times, has imposed those vexatious restrictions on the export and import trade, which are always peculiarly injurious to commerce. It is a curious fact, deserving to be known, that at the time when the government rigorously prohibited the importation of English manufactures into the ports of the republic, a contract was agreed upon between some members of the executive body and a mercantile house in Rotterdam to furnish the requisition of clothing for the French army by an importation of cloth from England; and accordingly eight thousand French soldiers were clothed from the looms of Yorkshire; when, if a single yard had been discovered on board a private trader's vessel, he would have been liable to the severest penalties and confiscations.'

The mighty commerce which Amsterdam, in former periods, carried on with all the quarters of the globe, is now, by the inauspicious circumstances of the times, reduced to a petty inland traffic, and an inconsiderable trade with foreign parts by the means of neutral vessels. The immense number of dismantled ships with which the harbour is crowded bespeaks the former commercial prosperity of Amsterdam, and its present impoverished state. The greater part of the ships are in the worst condition imaginable, and would, were peace to bid the commerce of Holland revive, be found unfit for the purposes of navigation. I perceived that the small vessels were generally in a more disabled and decayed condition than the large ones; probably from the circumstance that their owners, persons in the middle walks of life, had suffered more by the war than the wealthier classes concerned in shipping, and consequently were unable to be at sufficient expence for the preservation of their property.'

The succeeding passages contain some singular facts:

Shortly after the commencement of hostilities with England, a singular system of depredation was successfully practised against the underwriters of London and Amsterdam, by merchants of wealth and reputation in this place. They were the real, though of course not the nominal, owners of privateers which sailed under the flag of the French republic, and having insured vessels in Amsterdam and London, the ships so secured and the privateers sailed from the Macse together, and an amicable capture ensued. The condemnation of property so taken was readily obtained, and the underwriters

were

were obliged to make good the ideal loss. A more innocent species of warfare, I believe, was never practised! Some discoveries of their frauds gave the first check to this curious system of peculation; and its ruin has since been achieved by the excellent regulations which the chief consul has introduced into the maritime code of France.

About the time to which I have alluded, privateers under the French flag, but actually the property of British subjets resident in Holland, and some of them in England, sailed from the ports of the Batavian republic, and made captures of British vessels to a considerable amount. This was attacking the lives and liberties, as well as the property, of their countrymen; and I should hesitate to record so disgraceful a tact, could I doubt the authority from whence I derive it. To the lasting infamy of these men, it must be consi dered, that they had none of those excuses for parricidally preying on their country, with which the French and Dutch refugees are furnished, by the unhappy spirit of the times, and the violence of revolutionary governments. They could not allege in palliation that their country had proscribed their persons, and confiscated their property. Some of them enjoyed the protection of the British government; and those whom the victorious arms of the enemy separated from their country, might reasonably expect, and possibly desire, to pass the evening of their lives in the bosom of their native land. It is worthy of observation, that the privateers belonging to these persons committed more depredations than any other, on the vessels and property of neutral nations, and the crews with which they were manned treated with less humanity the persons who unfortunately fell into their hands. These abuses, however, have been carefully attended to by the consular government, and I am not competent to state that they have any longer an existence.

It is the policy of Bonaparte to conciliate the esteem of the neutral powers; and since this great man has held the reins of government,, the complaints of neutral owners, of the detention of their vessels by French privateers, have been speedily and exemplarily redressed. No privateer can now sail under the French flag, the owners of which are not actually resident in France or her dependencies, and have given sufficient bail to indemnify the damage that may be done to neutral property. It is not now, as was formerly the case, permitted to every insignificant commercial consul of the republic to condemn the vessels which are brought under his jurisdiction; from whence, as these agents were generally venal and rapacious, a thousand abuses originated: but the papers and documents necessary to prove the capture to be a legal prize, must be transmitted to the office of the minister of the marine, froin whose decision there is an appeal to a court of admiralty. This last tribunal is in high repute with neutral merchants; and I have heard many invidious comparisons between its decisions and those of Doctors Commons, but with what justice I will not pretend to determine.'

In addition to what is here said of Bonaparte, and to the statements in a former article of this Number, p. 264-268., the first of the following extracts gives some farther particulars relative to that extraordinary personage:

X 2

• The

The character of Bonaparte is considered in Holland with the highest sentiments of veneration and attachment. His military talents, the moderate use he has invariably made of victory, the clemency of his disposition, his sincere endeavours to restore peace to Europe, and his munificent encouragement of arts and sciences, are subjects of loud and general panegyric. The pictures and busts of this great man that are exhibited for sale in Holland are innumerable; and from the avidity of the people to possess likenesses of so distinguished a character, they are readily disposed of. At every table where toasts are given, the health of Bonaparte is always enthusiastically drank; and at French tables, the health of the first consul of the republic is constantly given in the same manner as that of the king is in England.

I had the happiness to meet with more than one person who was well acquainted with Bonaparte, aud had seen him since his elevation to the first magistracy of the French republic. The exalted situa tion which he fills has scarcely produced any change in his character or manners. He is, as formerly, reserved with strangers, but affable, condescending, and familiar, with his friends. When a person with whom he is acquainted is admitted to an audience with him, it is usual for the consul to walk up and down the room, holding with the engaging ease of friendship or personal kindness the arm or sleeve of the man with whom he converses. His memory is so uncommonly retentive, that he minutely remembers places, times, and circumstances, however obscure or remote; and when reviewing the troops, he frequently notices, with expressions of commendation, individuals in the ranks who, at different periods of the war, have served under him and distinguished themselves. To be noticed by the consul is a distinction highly flattering to a French soldier, and particularly as this approbation always proceeds from a clear and distinct recollection of the actions which give birth to it. Bonaparte is equally beloved by the soldiers and officers of the army; and between the two there exists a kind of emulation which shall shew him the strongest marks of affection and attachment. I never heard him spoken of by a French officer but in terms of almost idolatrous admiration, and the same sentiments pervade the lowest ranks of the army.

In private life, Bonaparte is represented to be temperate, regular, and abstemious: indulging in no expensive pleasures, and sternly discountenancing all irregularity of manners. I was curious to know what were his religious opinions, if any; and the idea I found which generally prevailed on this subject was, that the existence of a Supreme Being was a belief firmly established on his mind.'

The revolution has not altered in the least the national dress of the Dutch. Instead of cropped heads, pantaloons, and round hats, which I expected to find, most people have their hair full dressed and powdered, wear cocked hats, and the rest of their clothes in the old fashion. The term citizen is used to all persons of authority, when they are addressed in their official capacities; but in conversation, or private transactions, every one uses the appellation of mynheer, with out fear or restraint. The old calendar is adhered to in all public ordinances, proclamations, &c. with the invariable addition of year of Batavian liberty: and no alteration has taken place in the de