EGYPT.

The following view of the State of Egypt is given in Silliman's Journal of the Arts and Sciences, published in the United States :

Every traveller in Egypt attributes to the Viceroy all the qualities of a statesman. The Christians, who live under his laws, are under many obligations to him; and enterprising travellers of all nations and religions may now traverse Egypt, with a security before unknown to the Ottoman Dominions. The army of the Viceroy consists of not less than 45,000 men, comprehending infantry, cavalry, and artillery. His naval force is composed of twenty-two vessels; and the navigation of the Nile is protected by a great number of gun-boats, each of which carries forty men. The revenues of Mahomed Ali, as Viceroy, amount to 25 millions of Spanish piastres: they arise from custom house duties, taxes, tolls, fisheries, public domains, contributions from conquered countries, and from caravans, &c The Viceroy pays, in title of Vassal, 2,400,000 livres to the Sultan he sends the same sun to the treasury of Mecca; 800,000 measures of rice, &c. to Constantinople; furnishes provisions to the caravans of Cairo; keeps a brilliant Court; and often sends presents to the Sultan, to the favourite Sultana, as well as to the Ministers of his Highness, and to persons in credit at the Seraglio. The actual population of Egypt does not exceed 3,000,000. It contains 2496 towns and villages; of which 957 are in Upper Egypt, and 1539 in the Delta-Miss. Reg.

WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

Two important openings for Missionary Exertion, in coun tries toward which the Committee have been, for sometime, directing their attention, have taken place. The Cape Colonial Government has given a favourable answer to an applica

tion from Mr. W. Shaw, to commence a mission among the Caffres, and has liberally afforded encouragement to the undertaking. Still higher up the Eastern Coast of Africa, a large tract of land has been ceded to the British Government, near Delagoa Bay: one of the stipulations of the Natives was, that they should be furnished with Christian teachers; and Capt. Owen, the officer who conducted the negotiation, being about to sail from the Cape to this New Settlement, took with him Mr. Threlfall, who is now employed there: Mr. Whitworth, late Missionary in the West Indies, has been appointed to take charge of this station: should this new African Settlement prosper, a communication will probably be opened between it and a part of Madagascar not yet visited by any Missionaries, and thus afford facilities for the introduction of Christianity into the darkest parts of that important island also. Two additional missionaries will likewise speedily sail for South Africa, with reference to the opening in Caffraria, and another for the Western Coast.

Mr. Cook, who has been employed on a mission in France is on the point of setting off for Palestine. On his arrival at Jerusalem, he is to collect information on the facilities which may exist there, or in any other part of Palestine, for the es◄ tablishment of a permanent mission.—Miss. Reg.

CONVERSION OF A VILLAGE.

A village called Mulhaused, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, consisting of about sixty families of three hundred souls, was, at the commencement of the present year, entirely Catholics. At the present moment, forty-eight of these families, or fourfifths of the population, are Protestants, and the greater part of the remaining fifth are expected to join their former coworshippers. The following is the manner in which this surprising change has been effected. The Curé of the village was a man of remarkable good sense, and great assiduity in his

pastoral duties, esteemed for his christian virtues, and admir ed for his learning and moderation. In his sermons to his

ocese.

flock, he endeavoured more to impress on their minds the gene. ral truths of the christian system, than the particular dogmas of the Catholic church. Above all, he inculcated the uselessness of observing external rites and cerémonies to the exclusion or neglect of internal piety. Charity, justice, and all the moral and social duties, were more frequently on his lips, than the virtues of masses, the power of relics, or the pains of purgatory. This conduct did not suit the vicar-general of his diThe Cure was summoned into his presence, reproached for his laxness and moderation, and desired henceforth to evince more Catholic zeal, or to leave his cure. The good man returned to his village undismayed by the menaces of his ecclesiastical superior. He called his flock together with the seigneur of the village at their head, and having recapitulated both the doctrines which he had preached, and those which the vicar-general required him to adopt, he assured them that his conscience would not allow him to change his system, but that he would continue to be their pastor as heretofore, if they followed him in the old course, and protested against the superstitious bigotry which was attempted to be enforced. The seigneur, and upwards of forty families, immediately joined him, and for ever separated themselves from the Catholic communion. A petition was sent to the government to appoint another Curé for those who continued Catholics, but it is now supposed that the expense may be spared, as they are rapidly uniting themselves to the congregation of their old pastor. If the inquisition had existed in Baden, this curate and his flock would have been condemned to an Auto-da-fe!-Bap. Mag.

Scientific Department.

Observations made on Vesuvius and its Products.

An account has been published by MM. Monticelli and Covelli of Naples of the phenomena presented by Vesuvius, in the years 1821-22. It abounds with interesting facts and observations, several of which we are induced to select at this time, from the abstract given of the work in the Bibliothéque Universelle, xxiii.

Examination of recent Lava.-On the 11th of Feb. Vesuvius began to emit much smoke, scoria, &c. &c. ; on the 22nd about an hour and a half after sunrise an eruption commenced, and soon after, a current of lava descended from the top of the mountain, and moved over that of 1810, forming a cascade of fire; this current was renewed by others thrown out from the mountain, and attended by all the phenomena of a magnificent eruption. On the 24th MM. Monticelli and Covelli visited the lava to make their experiments. Being covered by cool ed scoria, it did not appear in any part to be ignited, but it moved on a nearly horizontal soil, at the rate of 15 feet in 34 minutes. At about 12 feet from the lava the thermometer stood at 93° F., whilst in the free air it was 59° F., but at three feet distance it could not be measured, far surpassing that of boiling water.

Nitre in powder thrown into the crevices of the lava fus. ed without detonating or scintillating. The atmosphere about the lava was not in an electric state, and a chemical examination proved that the lava taken, whilst still glowing, contained no free acid, but only some substances soluble in water, amongst which were muriatic acid, sulphuric acid, and lime. The vapours exhaled by the lava, had no action on paper tinged by turnsole or syrup of violets, they appeared to be

A a

composed of steam, with a very small quantity of salts of iron

and copper.

The vapours had no other effect on the neighbouring lava than' to change its colour. The saline efflorescences which deck the surface of the lava with the most brilliant colours, only appear when the lava cools, and when the vapours previously disseminated over the whole surface, concentrate into small, fumaroles. These efflorescences which have been erroneously considered as sublimations appear to have existed ready formed in the lava, they were mixtures of chloride of sodium, muriate of iron, and peroxide of iron, as well as carbonate and subcarbonate of soda, sulphate of soda and of potash.

With regard to the presence of sulphur and sulphurous acid in the volcano and its layas, the latter was soon found in the fumes from the crater, and also from the fumaroles in the Java, but on continuing their researches these philosophers were led to conclude, that the sulphurous acid is not contain. ed ready formed in the lava, but is developed by the contact of the air; fragments of red-hot lava plunged into tincture of turnsole, not changing its colour, whilst those which had been cooled in the air easily turned it red.

Sulphur in crystals is not found in the crater. It is requi, site for its production that the temperature of the surface of the crater or of the lava should be below 212° F. The sulphurous acid only appears when the temperature is sufficient for the combustion of the sulphur, and the contact of the external air is necessary to its production. Thus the distinction of volcanoes into two classes, namely those which with Vesuvius, produce muriatic acid, and those which with the Solfaterra, produce sulphurous acid is unfounded; since the two acids appear at Vesuvius according to the temperature, and since the Solfaterra does not really produce sulphurous acid, as has been till now supposed, but muriatic acid free and combined, carbonic acid, and sulphuretted hydrogen.

The lava which flowed from the crater on the 26th Feb. was