the misfortune to be high-born and poor, he never fails to paint the miseries of such a situation in colours which cannot but aggravate their wretchedness. He will descant on the evils attendant on celibacy to an old maid, and wind up his harangue with an account of all the marriages which have recently taken place among his acquaintances; and if a man's wife happens to be a shrew, Dick is sure to regale him with a vivid picture of the comforts of old-bachelorship, which never fails to send the poor devil home doubly discontented with his lot. he gives you as the observations of a critic of his acquaintance, a monstrous clever fellow. You may always be certain that critiques thus introduced are his own: he declares that these observations are really too bad, such severity is abominable. If the author's goodhumour is proof to all this, he generally concludes with a hope, that as the opinions of these people have, after all, great weight, his friend will, if he should be rash enough to write again, endeavour to profit by the hints they have thrown out; and that, above all, he will not be tempted to obtrude a hasty production upon the public, but follow Horace's advice, and keep his work nine years. I could dwell much longer upon Dick's character, but I abstain, from a motive of conscience. The truth Authors are a set of people upon whom Dick is peculiarly fond of bestowing his kind offices. I suppose they are more than commonly obnoxious to him, because, whether their writings are good or bad, they stand a chance of enjoy-is, I am angry with him on two acing, in one way or other, some share of that notice which poor Dick has vainly tried to obtain. If a young author brings out a work which is well spoken of, Dampall is never easy till he is introduced to him: he takes care to read beforehand the opinions of all the different reviewers, and he is sure to select all the passages which bear hardest upon the work. He then introduces the subject with all due caution; he commends the book, but takes care at the same time to observe, that nothing escapes the malice of critics in these days: however, he thinks it right that an author should know what is said against him, in order that he may repel illiberal severity. Then follows all that has really been said against the work, and a great deal more that has not been said, which counts: he has abused my paper, and refused to take my advice. With respect to my paper, he says it is peculiarly fortunate for me that it appears in the Repository, as, if it were published by itself, it would be directly consigned to the cheesemongers; and as to my advice, which I was good-natured enough to offer him even after this affronting speech, he assured me that he could have but one reason for listening to it, and that was, that he might act the contrary way, for he never knew any instance in which those who took it had benefited by it. He made his exit as he concluded this polite declaration, and I hastily followed him part of the way down stairs, to beg that he would not trouble himself to call upon me again. He bustled away, affecting not to hear me: in fact, he is so well used to hints of this kind, that he never regards them; and shut your door in his face as often as you will, he is sure to pre sent himself to you again the first moment that he finds an opportunity to give you pain. S. SAGEPHIZ. Pope's entire approbation; and Michael Angelo was desired to go into St. Peter's, to see where it could be conveniently placed. At the west end of the church, Nicho ORIGINAL IDEA OF ST. PETER'S AT ROME. JULIUS II. was as distinguished for his encouragement of talents, as for his impetuosity, and his unbounded ambition in the exercise of sovereign power. It was a favourite apothegm of his, that learn-las V. half a century before, being elevated the lowest orders of society, stamped the highest value on nobility, and was the most splendid gem in the diadem of sovereignty. He was no sooner seated in the papal chair, than he was surrounded by men of genius; and Michael Angelo was among the first whom he invited; and at the same time, he sent him an order for a hundred ducats, to pay his expenses to Rome. After his arAfter his arrival, some time elapsed before any subject could be determined upon for the exercise of his abilities; at length the Pope gave him an unlimited commission to make a mausoleum, in which their future fame might be combined. Having received the commis-chapel built on purpose for it, to sion, Michael Angelo commenced a design, worthy of himself and of his patron. The plan was a parallelogram, and the superstructure was to consist of forty statues, many of which were to be colossal, and interspersed with ornamental figures and bronze basso-relievos, besides the necessary architecture, with appropriate decorations, to unite the composition into one stupendous whole. gan to erect a new tribune, but the plan had not been continued by his successors: this situation Michael Angelo thought the most appropriate, and recommended it to the consideration of his holiness. The Pope inquired what expense would be necessary to complete it; to which Michael Angelo answered, "A hundred thousand crowns." Julius replied, "It may be twice that sum;" and imme|| diately gave orders to Giuliano de San Gallo to consider of the best means to execute the work. When this magnificent design was completed, it met with the San Gallo, impressed with the grandeur of Michael Angelo's design, suggested to the Pope, that such a monument ought to have a correspond to its importance, and that every part of the composition might be exhibited to the greatest advantage; at the same time, he remarked that St. Peter's was an old church, not at all adapted for so superb a mausoleum, and any alteration would only serve to destroy the character of the building. The Pope listened to these observations, and ordered several architects to make designs, to put him in possession of all that could be done under existing circumstan ces; but in considering and recon- || stone of the Reformation. By those who are curious in tracing the remote causes of great events, Michael Angelo may perhaps be found, though unexpectedly, to have thus laid the first His monument demanded a building of corresponding magnificence; to prosecute the undertaking, money was wanted; and indulgences were sold, to supply the deficiency of the treasure: a monk of Saxony opposed the authority of the church; and it is singular, that the means employed to raise the most splendid edifice to the Catholic faith which the world had ever seen, should, at the same time, have shaken that religion to its foundation. M. GASPARD MOLLIEN'S JOURNEY INTO THE INTERIOR OF AFRICA. (FROM THE FRENCH.) DESIRING to prevent the effect of inaccurate details which have been circulated respecting his journey, M. Mollien has favoured us with some particulars, which the public will receive with pleasure, until the detailed narrative of the author, which is now in preparation, makes its appearance. M. Gaspard Mollien embarked, in June 1816, in the Medusa frigate, the melancholy shipwreck of which has become so famous. He had the good luck not to go on board of the fatal raft; he got into one of the small boats, which disembarked on the coast of the Sahara, along which, with his companions in misfortune, he pursued his course until their arrival at Senegal. The calamities which he had gone through, far from diverting him from the project which he had conceived from his infancy, of travelling over the unknown parts of Africa, served only to habituate him to dangers, and to incite him to brave still greater. Conformably to his instructions, M. Mollien set out on the 29th of January, 1818, from Diedde, a village near Saint Louis, belonging to the Damel, traversed his kingdom, and passed into that of the Yoloffs. The dangers to which the chief of this nation represented that he would expose himself if he took the road of Woolli, induced him to follow that of FoutaToro. He had foreseen the obstacles which the Poulas would oppose to his passage, and it was only by disguising the object of his journey that he obtained from the chief, or Almany, leave to proceed. Upon twenty subsequent occasions, this he had yet undergone to those which still awaited him! On arri Tangué, he began to ascend at five o'clock in the morning, and only reached the summit at two o'clock in the afternoon. From this point the country below appeared to the eye to be level, and, notwithstanding, it is covered with very lofty mountains. The cold which he was so extreme, that he endeavoured to catch the rays of the sun, for the purpose of warming his frozen limbs. It was only by laying hold of the branches of trees that he could, with his guide, make his way through a road almost impassable to man. Their cattle were wounded. M. Mollien subsequently enter ferocious nation demanded his head, or at least the plunder of his baggage; but the powerful protec-ving at the foot of the mountain of tion of the king provided him with the means of reaching Bondou without accident. Obtaining there a guide on whom he could depend, he communicated to him the object of his mission. The Negro assured him that he would never be able to succeed by going to Sego; that it was by penetrating to the south-experienced on the top of Tangu ward that he would make the discoveries which were his object. This man's advice he followed; and after having traversed a desert of three days' journey, which separates Bondou from the countries beyond the Gambia, he found himself on the banks of this river, which he crossed at a place where a chain of rocks, forming a ford, opposes an obstacle to navigation.ed into the country of Bandéia; he The information which M. Mollien rested several days in the village of has collected respecting the com- that name, for the purpose of remunication between the Senegal cruiting his strength, exhausted by and the Gambia is extremely in- the privations of every sort which teresting, and will appear in his he had endured in the almost barnarrative. On the eve of the day ren countries through which he had when he crossed the Gambia, he passed. He left his horse at Bandiscovered lofty mountains in the déia, took a new guide, and after south-east. The Poulas with whom again scaling almost inaccessible he travelled had assured him, that heights, he found himself in Foutahe could never surmount the pre-Dyallou: he approached the sourcipices with which they were beset. On entering into Niokolo, a mountainous country inhabited by the Poulas and Dialonnas, who lead a savage life, the traveller had a foretaste of the fatigues which he was to encounter. The rocks of Bondou, and the solitudes of Dentilia, had so worn out his horse (a native of the sands of the Cayor country), that for a long time he had become quite useless to him. What, however, were the fatigues ces of the Gambia and the Rio Grande. He then avowed his plans to his new guide, who hesitated long before he consented to follow him, as death surrounded them on all sides, the Poulas of those countries being equally cruel with those of Fouta-Toro. M. Mollien took his fowling-piece, to pass for a hunter, and descending by winding paths from the ferruginous rocks, he travelled a plain of great fertility. He was now at the sour ces of the Gambia and the Rio Grande, situated at 1200 paces from each other; he penetrated into the ancient and sacred woods which shade them, and, notwithstanding the repeated shots which the Poulas prepared to discharge at him, quenched his thirst at these sources. Three grains of amber satisfied his guide, who, in a few days after, led him to the source of the Falémé, which in the country is called Théné. 66 degree of nicety which would make one think that the Poulas are not deficient in industry: the spaces which separate them are shaded by banana and papaw trees. Under the pretence of going to purchase salt for his provision at Symbalako, a village at no great distance from Timbou, M. Mollien repaired to the sources of the Senegal, which are close by: this river is called in the country Bale, Bafing, or Foura, both of which signify black river. His delight may be easily conceived at having, as some reward for his fatigue, made so im he had not the means of making astronomical observations, it appears that his views bring the three sources of the Senegal, the Gambia, and the Rio Grande, much nearer to each other than the most recent maps that have been pubblished. We hope that M. Mollien, when he publishes his details, which he reserves to himself, will support his assertions by an accurate analysis of his itineraries, otherwise they will still leave grounds for dispute. We have seen, notwithstanding the authority of Mungo Park, that some persons still doubt whether the Niger and Senegal have not a common source. According to M. Mollien, there is a He was a long time before he could prevail upon his guide to conduct him to Timbou, the principal town of Fouta - Dyallou.-portant a discovery; for, although Almany," said the guide to him, "will put me to death for having introduced a white man into his capital." At last he succeeded in quieting the apprehensions of this Negro, and on the 20th of April he entered Timbou. The rainy season commenced the same day. The absence of Almany, and of a great number of the inhabitants, who had gone to Sangarary, enabled him, at the end of three days, to quit a place where, but for this circumstance, he would in all probability have remained prisoner for a year. One of his fowling-pieces and twenty grains of amber opened the gates to him, and the inhabitants presented him with a small quantity of rice, to enable him to continue his journey. The extent of Timbou announces it for the most considerable town of Fouta- Our traveller's only remaining Dyallou. Several forts protect it object was to see the source of the from sudden attacks, but the ene-Niger: success in that appeared to mies of the Poulas are not very formidable. The king's habitation is surrounded by an earthen wall, fifteen feet high and three feet thick. The houses are built with a distance of eleven days' journey between the sources of these two rivers. him infallible; the fatigues of three months' almost continual progress had not in the least discouraged him; the prospect of attaining the principal object of his mission |