ligence along the wires from their exposure to atmospheric influences. By the earl's invention this difficulty is removed, and an important desideratum effected in the art of telegraphing, as the substance employed completely envelops the wires, which will be carried underground instead of being, as at present, stretched on high poles-thus being more efficient, much more secure from injury, and getting rid of the inconvenience of poles and wires in public thoroughfares. The composition is indestructible, and can be supplied at little more than half the cost of anything previously used.

Researches at Pompeii-Canosa.-A correspondent of the London Athenæum says: "At Pompeii the works were for a long time suspended. A bronze statue of Apollo had been brought to light, a little larger than life, Roman in style; it was found near the small theater. The excavations are now being prosecuted very feebly, but with a view to discover the lower part of the boundary walls of the ancient city. The point of greatest interest, however, has been, and still continues to be, Canosa, in Puglia,— and the excavations of the Greek tombs have been carried on under the able direction of Signor Carlo Bonucci. These tombs are in the form of small chambers, decorated with columns and paintings. Here have been found objects of quite a novel and extraordinary interest, in arms, terra-cottas, and glass; ornaments of gold, as necklaces, bracelets, diadems, earrings, and rings; cameos and vases which are remarkable for the beauty of their paintings, and the interest and the grandeur of the subjects. I have already spoken of the wonderful vase on which is represented the wars between the East and the West, or Asia and Greece, in which Darius is seated in the midst of his satraps, while the various provinces of Asia, personified by beautiful women, bring their offerings for the war; and I only allude to it now for the reason that I have just seen some fragments of these beautiful productions of art. When I speak of fragments, it should be known that no part is missing, and that the vase will be restored to perfection."

Crawford's Great Work.-A correspondent of an English journal, writing from Rome, speaks

as follows of Crawford :

"From Mr. Gibson's I pass to Mr. Crawford's studio, where everything now yields to the grand work ordered by the United States Government. It is to be of statuary marble, and is to be placed at the eastern extremity of the Capitol extension at Washington. As It engages much of the attention of the artistic world, I will give a detailed description of what it is to be; for at present nothing is to be seen but huge portions of plaster models. The central figure of the pediment represents America standing on a rock, against which the waves of the ocean are beating. She is attended by the eagle of the country; while the sun rising at her feet indicates the light which accompanies the march of liberty. In one hand she holds the rewards of civic and military merit-laurel and oak wreaths;her left hand is extended toward the pioneer, for whom she asks the protection of the Almighty. The pioneer is the athletic figure of a backwoodsman clearing the forest. The Indian race and its extinction is explained by the adjoining group of the Indian chief and family. The son of the chief is returning from the chase, with a collection of game slung on a spear over his shoulder. In the statue of the Indian chief, Mr. Crawford has endeavored to describe the despair and profound grief resulting from his conviction of the white man's triumph. The wife and infant of the chief complete this group of figures; while the grave,

being emblematic of the extinction of the Indian race, fills up this portion. The opposite half of the pediment The first figure on the right of America represents its is devoted to the effects of Liberty and Civilization. Soldier. He is clothed in the costume of the Revolu

tion, as being most suggestive of the country's strug gle for independence; his hand upon his sword indicates the readiness of the army to protect America from insult. By the soldier is placed a Merchant, sitting on the emblems of trade; his right hand rests upon the globe, by which the extent of American commerce is symbolized. The anchor at his feet connects his figure with those of two boys advancing cheerfully to devote themselves to the service of their country. The anchor is easily understood to be the emblem of Hope; behind them sits the Teacher instructing a youth. The Mechanic completes the group. He rests upon the cogwheel, without which machinery is useless. In his hands are the emblems of trade; and at his feet are some sheaves of corn, expressive of fertility, activity, and abundance, in contradistinction to the grave at the corresponding corner."

Here is a short announcement that savors of old times: "The Greek government has selected a marble block in the Parthenon for the monument of George Washington, now being raised in the city named after him. It is to bear the following inscription:-To George Washington, the heroic general, the high-minded citizen, the founder of modern freedom, the land of Solon, Themistocles and Pericles, the birthplace of ancient freedom, dedicates this old marble as a sign of reverence and admiration.'"

The

Until

A foreign correspondent of the Tribune writes that "whatever political differences there may be between the politicians of the two countries, the learned men of Germany have a high estimation of the scientific character, as well as of the attainments of our countrymen. English are too jealous to give us due credit for our discoveries, and the French too uncosmopolitan. The Germans freely acknowledge our claims to the greatest scientific discovery of the century, namely, that of Etherization. lately chloroform was in general use on the continent as well as in Great Britain, but it will soon be supplanted by a milder and less dangerous agent, namely, sulphuric ether, which was originally employed in Boston. A death occurred a short time since at the General Hospital from the use of chloroform. In a conversation a few evenings since, at the Imperial Institute, with Hofrath von Oppelzer and Haller the former the most distinguished physician,

and the latter the first chemist of Austria-I found both of these eminent men in favor of the Boston method of etherization." The Boston faculty was the first to apply the new discovery; and it has invariably adhered, in at least its hospital practice, to etherization-rejecting

chloroform.

It has hardly had a single evil result to report. We believe with this writer, that the new agent, or at least its new application, is the greatest improvement of the age. It should be used in every painful operation in surgery, in all instances of childbirthin almost every case involving severe pain. It is God's greatest gift of the times to our poor humanity.

Leutze's statue of Washington at the Battle of Monmouth will be shortly exhibited at Brussels. It is at present in the sculptor's studio at Berlin.

Dr. Elster, a well-known German writer on Art, died suddenly, a short time since, at Berlin.

JOHN

OHN JAY, LL.D., was elected the second president of the American Bible Society in the year 1822, having been previously one of its vice-presidents. Owing to his advanced age, and infirm state of health, the Board dispensed with his personal attendance at their meetings. He

refers to this circumstance in his address acknowledging the honor conferred upon him, and which was read by his son, Peter A. Jay. At the sixth anniversary he says:

"I assure the Society that although restrained from active services by long-continued maladies, and the increasing infirmities of age, my attachment to this institution, and my desire to promote the attainment of its great and important objects, remain undiminished."

This address was eloquent, and filled with noble and pious sentiments. As soon as it had been read, the American Bible Society passed the following resolution VOL. V.-29

"That the Society are very much gratified at the choice made by the managers of the Hon. John Jay, as the successor of their late venerable president, Dr. Boudinot, and at his kindly consenting to accept the appointment; and that the thanks of this Society be conveyed to the president for the excellent address which, in his unavoidable absence, he has been pleased to transmit to the present meeting."

Mr. Jay possessed a mind formed for eminence and imbued with virtue. Seldom has there been found in any American citizen a more enlightened intellect, united to a heart of more purity. A statesman of transcendent abilities, he successfully managed the most weighty interests of the land. His country was the idol of his affections, and in her history he early became a legislator of unswerving integrity-an advocate and counsellor of the most exalted standing. His wisdom and address united in giving him an influence

In any country Mr. Jay would have reached distinction; but in his own he acquired that admiration and renown which the union of goodness and greatness can alone command.

The ancestors of John Jay were French Huguenots. Augustus Jay, his grandfather, was one of the three sons of Pierre Jay, an opulent merchant of La Rochelle. On the revocation of the Edict of Nantz, Pierre fled from the persecutions which followed this insane measure of Louis XIV. He sailed for England, the vessel containing all that remained of his fortune. Two sons accompanied their father, one of whom he had the misfortune to lose during the voyage. The other, a brave man, died in England of wounds received at the celebrated battle of the Boyne, when he fought under the illustrious Count Schomberg, in one of the French volunteer and Protestant regiments.

At this period the grandfather of Mr. Jay embarked from England, with other Huguenots, for South Carolina; but, not liking that climate, he proceeded to NewYork. In this province he settled at Esopus, which, at the time, was a favorite residence of the French Protestants. Thence he removed to New-York and married Miss Bayard, in 1697. He died, much respected, at the advanced age of eighty-five, leaving three daughters and one son, (Peter,) born in 1704, who married a daughter of Jacobus Van Cortlandt. These were the parents of John Jay. Before the American revolution, he had retired from mercantile pursuits to an estate at Rye; but was forced to leave it, at the commencement of that struggle. He died at Poughkeepsie in 1782.

His son, John Jay, was born in the city of New-York, December 1, (old style,) 1745. An estimable mother instructed him in the first rudiments of literature. When eight years old, he was placed in the school of the Rev. Mr. Stoep, rector of the Huguenot Church, New-Rochelle, and at fourteen entered King's, now Columbia College, then recently founded. Dr. Johnson was president of the institution, and was succeeded by Dr. Cooper, both accomplished scholars, the latter especially excelling in Belles lettres. It is a well-known fact that some of the best American minds have graduated from this venerable seat

ilton, Dewitt Clinton, and Washington Irving. After taking his Bachelor's degree, he was admitted to the bar about 1768.

In the year 1774 Mr. Jay married Sarah. daughter of that distinguished patriot. William Livingston, Governor of NewJersey. Soon he attained great eminence as a lawyer, not only in New-York, but in the neighboring provinces of Connecticut and New-Jersey. The American revolution was now about to break out, a momentous era, and his fellow citizens began to look up to him as a guide through the dark and gathering storm which was evidently approaching. In 1774 he was selected as one of the delegates to the first American Congress-an imperishable honor. The members of that august body will ever command the gratitude, not only of the American people, but of the world. In 1776 he was chosen president of Congress. The next year he was a member of the convention which framed the constitution of New-York, and made the first draft of that paper. During the year 1778 the government of this state was organized, when Mr. Jay became its chief justice. We find him, the next year, again in Congress; and, while its presiding officer, he was appointed minister plenipotentiary to Spain. The objects of this mission were to obtain from that nation an acknowledgment of our independence, a treaty of alliance, and pecuniary aid. Early in the summer of 1782 he received the appointment of a commissioner to negotiate peace with England; but to continue the Spanish negotiations also.

Dr. Franklin, Mr. Adams, and Mr. Laurens, joined Mr. Jay in concluding the treaty of peace, and all arrived at Paris in 1782. That important treaty was signed in 1783, and the following year Mr. Jay returned to the United States.

During the year 1787 there was an alarming riot in the city of New-York, caused by the culpable imprudence of medical students, who had disinterred some dead bodies for dissection. Such was the excited state of the public feeling, that the young men were compelled to seek protection from the violence of the populace in the city prison. A large crowd assembled for the purpose of forcing them from this retreat, and of inflicting on them summary punishment. The militia were or

dered out; but they appeared indisposed to act, and serious consequences began to be apprehended. At this moment of alarm, Mr. Jay and Colonel Hamilton, among others, volunteered to be peacemakers, and, while near the prison, they were violently assailed with stones, one of which struck Mr. Jay, inflicting a dangerous wound in his forehead, which confined him to his bed a long time. At this period was published the celebrated Federalist by Mr. Madison and Alexander Hamilton. Mr. Jay had written the second, third, fourth, and fifth numbers, when he was obliged, by the above accident, to discontinue writing any more for some time. He, however, afterward wrote the sixty-fourth number upon the treaty-making powers, a subject with which he was most intimately acquainted.

Mr. Jay was appointed envoy extraordinary to Great Britain in 1794, and signed the treaty which has since borne his name. Upon his return from that important mission, he found himself elected governor of the state of New-York, which office he filled with distinguished ability until the year 1801, when he declined a reëlection. He had also been honored with the post of chief justice in the Supreme Court of the United States, which he did not accept, and, no longer a candidate for public life, he retired to his farm, at Bedford, Westchester County. Here, secluded from the world and its strifes, he passed in religious quiet and retirement the remainder of his days.

Few statesmen had less reason to dislike public life, or left it with more satisfaction, than Mr. Jay. For twenty-seven years he had been engaged in the service of his country, and had discharged, with eminent fidelity, many of its highest responsibilities. He sought not glory from men, but served his beloved land from a sense of duty. Like Washington, he was a perfect example of political conscientiousness.

The health of Mr. Jay becoming more feeble, in the year 1827 he resigned the presidency of the Bible Society. At a former period he had intimated a desire to surrender his office for the same reason, but was requested to remain, if he could only be able to address the members by an annual written communication; but his growing infirmities forbade even the discharge of this pleasant duty. He had also

Such was the prosperity of the American Bible Society during the presidency of Governor Jay. In all the duties of this honored, useful, and excellent man, he observed great exactness; this was especially the case in his domestic life. Every morning the whole family was summoned to religious worship; and precisely at nine o'clock at night the call was repeated, when he read to them a chapter from the Bible, and concluded with prayer. No company interfered with these important duties.

In 1827 Mr. Jay was seized with severe and dangerous illness. Asked by one of his children to tell on what foundation he now rested his hopes, and from what source he drew his consolations: "They have the Book," was his concise and expressive reply. For many months before his death he was scarcely able to leave his room, where occasionally he had the Lord's supper administered to him. On the evening of May 14, 1829, he was seized with palsy, and expired on the 17th, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. His funeral was without ostentation, agreeably to his will:—

"I would have my funeral decent, but not ostentatious. No scarfs-no rings. Instead thereof, I give $200 to any poor deserving widow or orphan of this town, whom my children may select."

The intelligence of his death called forth willing attestations of his worth from the public journals, the courts, and all parties. Congress ordered his bust, as the first chief justice of the United States, to be placed in the chamber of the Supreme Court-room, where it now stands. The whole life of Mr. Jay exhibited the rare picture of the Christian, patriot, and statesman united, and justified the universal respect which was always accorded him.