23. That the members of every other Board, under your Government of Fort St. George, are taken by selection from the whole service, while the members of your Medical Board alone are chosen by seniority; and the seats in the Board, for the most part, have only been relinquished by the demise of the incumbent-circumstances which preclude the most distant hope, in the minds of your junior medical officers, of ever arriving at that station, which all must be, in some measure, ambitious of attaining.

24. Your memorialist is aware, that two or three exceptions to the custom of choosing the members of the Medical Board by seniority, have occurred, since its establishment in 1786, but the principle of selection has not, to the knowledge of your memorialist, been recognised by your Honourable Court.

25. That, on the contrary, your general officers, serving on the staff, have a fixed and specific period of service allotted to them; on the ground, it is believed, that such distinctions and rewards may be more widely diffused, and be attainable by all. The extension of which principle, to the medical officers serving under your Presidency of Fort St. George, while it would hold out the most powerful incentive to every laudable exertion throughout the profession, would disseminate your rewards more equally among your medical servants, and would be found to be a great and lasting improvement to the service. From which considerations, your memorialist most earnestly entreats its submission to the favourable notice of your Honourable Court.

26. Your memorialist, in submitting this appeal to your Honourable Court, has endeavoured to offer as correct a statement of circumstances on the subject of his memorial, as his information, derived from a long period of service, aided by a careful examination of official records, will admit; and he prays that your Honourable Court will take the subject of this memorial into its consideration, in the hope, that the known liberality and justice of your Court, towards every class of your servants, will grant the indulgence prayed for, in the matter submitted to your Honourable Court.

And your memorialist, as in duty bound, will ever pray.

years service in India, is certainly contributing, senes ut otia tuta recedant. Service in the Board is lately, and since the date of this memorial, limited to four years; but will this mend the circumstances of a surgeon from his seventeenth to his thirtieth year of service, who may have lost his health in the service, and has 1927. 12s. only to retire upon?

TO A RIVER.

BEAUTIFUL River! where art thou flowing?

Whence didst thou thus in thy melody come?
Where hast thou been all thy freshness bestowing?
Why dost thou wander so far from thine home?
Dost thou not know that the tempest will meet thee,
Heave into dark waves thy calm azure breast?
Dost thou not know that the torrent will sweep thee
Along in its whirlpools, and give thee no rest?
Dost thou not know that its blendings will dim thee?
Dost thou not know that with earth it will stain?
All the sweet sunbeams that often shall gem thee,
Never can make thee untainted again.

Dost thou not know the ice-gale will come o'er thee,
E'en from the shores thou hast watered and blest?

And midst thy music, thy light, and thy glory,

Make Heaven's own beamings seem dark on thy breast.
Dost thou not know that the sea will engulph thee,
Take thy bright waters, but give thee none back;
Roar out its joy, like the wolf, as he quaffs thee,
But send not a spray-drop to freshen thy track?
No-thou knows't not; and the young heart's pure feelings
Flow on as thou dost, and meet the same fate;
Sorrow's rude storms, in their darkest revealings,
Passion's wild torrents, when seek they their mate.
Oh! can the stain and the loss of that bosom
E'er be made pure by the sun-beams of Fame,
Flourish again in its depths the white blossom,
Rooted as firmly as ere the flood came?

Ice too will meet them,-the ice of unkindness
Still all their sweet tides, and chain all their flow,
Dim the bright eyes till they turn, as in blindness,
From the sweet heavens, all dark to them now.
And the world's ocean, to which they are pouring
All their deep streams gushing warm from the heart,
Ne'er of its wealth and its smiles lavish showering,
Will to that living-waste one drop impart.

Yes, thou art emblem, thou beautiful River!

Of the young warm bosom's destiny here ;And is there none, is there none to deliver? Ope's there no path in this desert of fear? Yes there is one, one sure path of escaping, One radiant channel that leads to no ill,

Streams that through this are their bright courses shaping, Ice-chains, nor tempest, nor torrent shall feel:

Calm and untainted shall e'er be their flowing,

And Heaven's sea, when life's desert is past,

Oh, it shall be on each bosom bestowing
Waters of joy that eternally last!

S. E. H.

ACCOUNT OF A VISIT TO THE VOLCANO OF POPOCATEPELT, IN MEXICO.

On the 20th of April, 1827, this volcano was visited for the first time by Messrs. William and Frederick Glennie, of the United Mexican Mining Company, and Mr. John Taylor, accompanied by a youth named Jose Quintana. A supplement to the Mexican paper called El Sol,' of the 8th of May, contains the following abstract of the diary which the travellers kept during their journey:

On the morning of the 16th, the party left Mexico, provided with a barometer, a sextant, a theodolite, a chronometer, a telescope, and other instruments. They passed the night in the town of Ameca.

On the 17th, they took the road to Puebla, which runs between the two volcanoes, with the intention of proceeding to Atlixco. At the highest point of the pass, they turned to the right, taking the road called De los Neveros. Having ascended to the limit of vegetation, which, according to their barometrical measurement, was at the height of 12,693 feet above the level of the sea, they met some men, who informed them that they could not proceed that way, either to the summit of the volcano, or to Atlixco, on account of the quantity of sand which obstructed the road. They therefore descended; and taking the road which they before quitted, they repaired to San Nicolas de los Ranchos.

On the 18th, they continued their journey towards Atlixco. The road runs to the east of the volcano, and along the skirt of an extensive plain covered with large stones and fragments of rock, which probably were once lodged in the mouth of the crater. Having ascertained that the town of Tochimilco was nearer to the volcano, they resolved to proceed thither, in order to obtain information relative to their expedition. Don F. Olivares, the Alcalde of Tochimilco, who had never ascended to the summit of Popocatepelt, though it is situated on his own territory, not only furnished them. with all the information he possessed, but also offered to accompany them, and to procure them guides and attendants to convey their instruments, &c. It was arranged that on the following day they should proceed to Santa Catalina, which is at the foot of the great

mountain.

On the 19th, they set out for Santa Catalina; but before they reached it, Senor Olivares found that business would prevent him from continuing the journey. He, however, gave them a guide, who conducted them through a sort of wood to the upper boundary of the pine-trees, which they found at 12,544 feet above the level of the sea. Here they passed the night, wrapped in their cloaks, be

side a great fire. About twelve o'clock it rained, and afterwards a hard frost came on.

On the 20th, they proposed to reach the summit of Popocatepelt. The instruments were placed in the charge of their Indian attendants; and mounted on mules, they began the ascent by moon-light, at half-past three in the morning. They soon got beyond all trace of vegetation, and arrived at a level covered with sand and loose stones, which, though rendered somewhat firm by the rain of the preceding night, nevertheless proved extremely fatiguing to the mules. They continued ascending the mountains from south to west until six in the morning, when they found it impossible to proceed farther with the mules, for, besides being overpowered by fatigue, the animals would have been unable to ascend the steep acclivity which now rose before them.

The travellers, therefore, dismounted and put on their cloaks, taking with them two skins filled with water for drink, and their barometer, which was carried by the boy Quintana. They began to ascend over a tract covered with loose sand, and fragments of pumice-stone, their object being to reach some masses of rock which appeared to be connected with the summit of the mountain. But here they experienced great difficulties, for the eminence was so steep and the ground so unsolid, that at every step they ascended they almost slipped down again. The fatigue of this exertion, joined to the diminution of atmospheric pressure, compelled them to rest at every fifteen or twenty paces. In this manner they proceeded upwards to the distance of about half a mile, when they reached the masses of rock towards which they had directed their course. Here they halted to wait for the Indians, who were ascending more slowly. Hitherto the thermometer had continued at 28 deg. Fahrenheit (2 deg. below the 0 of Reaumur ;) the sky was perfectly clear, but the horizon was obscured by a dense cloak of vapour, which prevented them from discerning any object. They seemed to be in the midst of an ocean of fog. At eight in the morning the sun began to be visible.

As soon as the Indians joined them they partook of a slight repast, and they then continued their journey, passing over some great loose stones, which had rolled down from the upper part of the precipice, and having lodged one against another, formed a sort of pathway. But these stones were so feebly held together, that when stepped upon they frequently rolled away, which rendered the path extremely unsafe. At this the Indians became alarmed, and showed a disinclination to proceed. However, by dint of entreaties and offers, they were induced to ascend a little higher; but finding that the road further on was as bad or even worse, they absolutely refused to advance. Perceiving an opening on the left, the travellers determined to attempt the ascent in that part, but the road was bad, and besides, the clouds in which they were enveloped prevented

them from seeing their way. As it was found impossible to induce the Indians to continue the journey, they were furnished with some provisions, and directed to descend and wait at the place where the party had slept on the preceding night. This circumstance was exceedingly mortifying to the travellers, because, being unable to carry all their instruments with them, they were prevented from making the astronomical and other observations they intended. However, they determined to advance for the purpose of reconnoitring and marking those points which would afford them the most easy means of ascent on some future occasion.

Soon after the Indians left them they passed the clouds, and reached an extremely steep and stony path, which they ascended with much difficulty. Fatigue, accompanied by pains in their knees, obliged them to halt at every eight or ten paces, and after journeying in this way for about an hour, they arrived at an amphitheatre of basaltic rocks, so steep that they could only ascend by climbing on their hands and feet, and that with many risks. Turning to the right they next came to a place covered with sand, consisting, apparently, of pounded pumice-stone, and they ascended to a very elevated rocky peak, which, as seen from Mexico, has merely the appearance of a small sharp point. This is a huge compact mass of black basalt, resembling broken pillars, whose large crevices were filled with solid snow. Here small stones occasionally fell upon them, as if thrown down by people from above. They also began to feel headache and nausea, which proved more distressing to Quintana than to any of the party. The barometer now showed that they were 16,895 feet above the level of the sea. After partaking of some light refreshment and resting for an hour, they resumed their journey.

In this brief abstract it is impossible to enter into minute details, or to describe clearly the many difficulties and dangers which our adventurers encountered, before they reached the sandy slope which forms the dome or summit of the mountain. Having attained this point they again rested for short time. Mr. Glennie placed the barometer at the greatest height within their reach, and while they were engaged in observing it, Quintana suddenly fell down overcome by fatigue and illness. He complained much of pain in his head. He had been smoking a great deal during the day, which might possibly have occasioned his illness, as drinking spirits is known to produce similar effects in elevated regions. He found himself unable to go on, and he was, therefore, directed to wait until the party should rejoin him on their return.

They now came in sight of a sandy esplanade, which, on the left, was covered throughout with crystallized snow in conical and prismatic masses, forming pillars and Chinese-like ruins, and innumerable fanciful figures. As they proceeded to ascend, making their way through the snow, they heard a noise like that of distant thunder, which they attributed to a fall of rain in some other part of Oriental Herald, Vol. 15.

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