the only modern eaters of the plant. I was too la'e to see it in blossom, and there were but few specimens of it among these islands; but not far beyond Aba it appears in great profusion, and both the seeds and roots are eaten by the natives. Dr. Knoblecher, who ate it frequently during his voyage, informed me that the root resembles the potato in consistence and taste, with a strong flavor of celery. These islands are inhabited only by the hunters and fishers of the tribe, who abandon them in summer, when they are completely covered by the inundation. At lat. 12°, or about thirty miles south of Aba, both banks of the river are cultivated, and thence, for upwards of two hundred miles, the villages are crowded so close to each other all along the shores, that they almost form two continuous towns, fronting each other. This part of the White Nile is the most thickly populated region in Africa, and perhaps in the world, China alone excepted. The number of the Shillooks is estimated at between two and three millions, or equal to the population of all Egypt. Ibid. THE MIDNIGHT SUN.' As we crossed the mouth of the Ulvsfjord? that evening, we had an open sea horizon toward the north, a zlear sky, and so much sunshine at eleven o'clock that it was evident the Polar day had dawned upon us at last. The illumination of the shores was unearthly in its glory, and the wonderful effects of the orange sunlight, playing upon the dark hues of the island cliffs, can neither be told nor painted. The sun hung low between Fuglöe, rising like a double dome from the sea, and the tall mountains of Arnöe, both of which islands resembled immense masses of transparent purple glass, gradually melting into crimson fire at their bases. The glassy, leaden-colored sea was powdered with a golden bloom, and the tremendous precipices at the mouth of the Lyngen Fjord, behind us, were steeped in a dark-red, mellow flush, and touched with pencillings of pure, rose-colored light, until their naked ribs seemed to be clothed in imperial velvet. As we turned into the Fjord and ran southward along their bases, a waterfall, struck by the sun, fell in fiery orange foam down the red walls, and the blue ice-pillars of a beautiful glacier filled up the ravine beyond it. We were all on deck; and all faces, excited by the divine splendor of the scene and tinged by the same wonderful aureole, shone as if transfigured. In my whole life I have never seen a spectacle so unearthly beautiful. 1 Mr. Taylor is now in the province of Finnmark, the northernmost province of Norway, crossed in about the centre by lat. 70° North, and long. 22° East. 2 Fjord, or much better Fiord, (pronounced Fe-ord,) is a Norwegian word, signifying " bay or estuary," and forms a part of numerous names in the North of Europe. Ulvs-fiord is a bay to the east of the island of Tromsöe, (lat. 70°, long. 19° Èast,) which has on its western side a seaport also of the same name. 3 Fuglőe, or Fugelöe, and Arnöe, are small islands to the north of the island of Tromsöe. Two defects in most of Mr. Taylor's books of travels are, want of sufficient dates, that we may know when he was at the places mentioned ; and of careful topography, that we may know exactly where to locate him. And here I would speak in high commendation of the Gazetteer, by J. Thomas, M.D., and T. Baldwin, published by J, B. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia, of 2182 royal octavo pages. It is an honor to our country; and I have seldom consulted it but with entire satisfaction. I am also here reminded of another valuable work, thefirst volume of which has just been published by Childs & Peterson,-A Critical Dictionary of English Literature, and British and American Authors, Living and Deceased, from the Earliest Accounts to the Middle of the Nineteenth Century, containing Thirty Thousand Biographies and Literary Notices, with Forty Indexes of Subjects, by Š. Austin Alibone. It is a royal octavo volume of 1005 pages, in double columns, and a marvel of industry and research; and when the second volume is published, it will be altogether the most complete work of the kind known in our language, and almost indispensable in every household where literature is loved and cultivated. Our course brought the sun rapidly toward the ruby cliffs of Arnöe, and was evident that would soon be hidden from sight. It was not yet half past eleven, and an enthusiastic passenger begged the captain to stop the vessel until midnight. to Why,” said the latter, “it is midnight now, or very near it: you have Drontheim time, which is almost forty minutes in arrears." True enough, the real time lacked but five minutes of midnight, and those of us who had sharp eyes and strong imaginations saw the sun make his last dip and rise a little, before he vanished in a blaze of glory behind Arnöe. I turned away with my eyes full of dazzling spheres of crimson and gold, which danced before me wherever I looked ; and it was a long time before they were blotted out by the semi-oblivion of a daylight sleep. Northern Travel. INDEX TO SUBJECTS, AND TO NAMES INCIDENTALLY MENTIONED IN THE VOLUME. (FOR THE AUTHORS IN THE WORK, SEE ALPHABETICAL LIST, ON THE TWENTY-SECOND PAGE.] PAGE ......... 140 PAGE 94 685 115 333 292 404 233 131 by Griswold. 690 190 505 523 American Revolution, canse of............... 221 700 342 André, Major, Hamilton's character of.... 127 563 342 Annoyer, the, by Willis..... 54 Anthology, Monthly, account of............. 217 208 180 Application of Geological Evidence......... 236 79 190 sin of trafficking in.. 207, 462 626 333 319 564 702 177 742 675 516 708 511 773 ...... 559 ..... 430 PAGE PASR 414 Bookbinding, J. B. Nicholson on.............. 374 245 578 Books, remarks on, by Hillard.. ............ 598 534 533 Boston Athenæum, history of......... 182, 217 372 Boston in 1824, by Goodrich................... 372 Bounties of l'rovidence............. 622 55 Bowen, Francis, editor of the North Aine 212 rican Review. Bracebridge Hall.... 275 628 29 260 Brewster, James.... 764 437 192 98 Broken Household... 254 Brotherhood of Man, by Washington...... 52 856 107 Brown, C. B., Prescott's remarks on......... 178 385 Brown, Nicholas... 297 Buccaneer, Dana's.... 299 511 Bunker Hill Monument, by Webster..... 266 91 Bunyan in his Cell, by Cheever............ 572 474 644 410 30 523 Burr, Aaron, trial of, and his character... 124 197 373 463 745 373 on Ames's eloquence....... 131 713 marks on......... 234 717 365 373 225 192 192 393 686 Celestial Railroad, by Hawthorne........... 541 190 Chalmers's opinion of Edwards... 711 Champlain, Lake, by M. M. Davidson...... 743 396 Channing, Edward T.. editor of North 218 677 PAGE PAGE 374 Coppée, Prof. Henry.... ........................ 374 296 Coral Insect, by Mrs. Sigourney............. 341 446 373 487 Creole Letter, Daniel Webster's...... 259 267 373 191 401 501 Curiosities of American Literature....... 690 491“ Curiosity," by Charles Sprague...... 352 372 372 55 69 634 608 73 founder of a Law Professorship. 270 272 397 Davenport, John, influence on New Haven 499 739 Dawes, Thomas, anecdote of................... 510 730 “Day in melting purple dying"... ........ 422 101 266 526 733 117 Decalogue for Practical Life................... 77 324 437 Departed, the, by Park Benjamin............ 617 ............. 505 367 Deserted Road... ....................... 740 85 513 Despotism in America........................... 577 372 258 513 523 373 376 126 Don Quixote, George Ticknor on.. 349 627 861 864 |