the body, as it usually did, the trunk of the tree would form a convenient receptacle for it, and might be easily extracted, and used again for a similar purpose.

The troops landed on Pine island, from which they made a descent on the New Orleans coast. The author gives a full detail of the preparations which were made for an attack on the lines of New Orleans. The result, so fatal to British honour and valour, is well known. The loss of men and of character on the part of England in this disastrous attempt, was not the whole of the calamity which was endured by her in this transaction, but there is every reason to believe that it inspired in the minds of the Americans a spirit which led afterwards to a bolder tone, and a more confident resistance of British demands on their part. An American officer asked one of our captains who had been taken, if he did not think that the Yankees would be able to lick the troops of the continent easily? The other replied mildly in the negative, when the American proceeded to show, that as the French beat Europe, as the British beat the French, it followed as a consequence, that the Americans in beating the English vanquished the French, and the troops of all Europe beside.

It is gratifying to hear from our author, that after the defeat, the wounded English who fell into the hands of the enemy, were treated with humanity. But the credit due to them for such conduct was almost counterbalanced by the importunity with which they tried to corrupt the English soldiers into desertion; in these attempts, unhappily, they were too frequently successful. A group of two sergeants and a private of the Rifle Corps were accosted by an American artillery officer, and invited to abandon the British lines. The former listened to the harangue by which this solicitation was enforced for some time, aud then replied in language of the coarsest kind: they said that they would feel infinitely more pride in filling the character of privates in the British troops than be raised to the rank of officers amongst such "a set of ragamuffins as the Americans." The artillery officer, on hearing this, went back to the line, and pointing the gun of which he had charge, fired and wounded, but did not kill, the private with whom he had just

conversed.

"There was," observes our author, "another source of annoyance adopted on the part of the Americans on this occasion, but which, affecting only the mental, and not the bodily powers of our soldiers, was not so much heeded. Every day almost, they assembled in large bodies on the parapet of their line, with flags of various descriptions, some with sailor's rights,' and numerous other devices, &c. painted on them, using the most insulting gesticulations towards those who were near them, a band playing 'Yankee Doodle,' and other national airs, all the while, and sometimes ironically favouring us with Rule Britannia.' Considerable numbers of our men deserted about this time."

The British army moved off from the scene of defeat, over a country which was rendered exceedingly difficult of being travelled, by its being so much of a marshy nature. The greatest labour and patience were necessary to be employed before the poor soldiers could be brought to the place of embarkation, which was full seventy miles from the field of battle. A considerable number of the slaves whom they met on the estates which they passed, followed the soldiers to the shore; their sprightliness was a source of amusement to the fatigued troops, for they danced and played at games, and did all in their power for the entertainment of the strangers.

In casting back his eyes on the expedition, whose fate we have just seen described, the author candidly confesses, that the signal failure which had befallen our troops was to be regarded as the just punishment of the contempt which, in the pride of self-sufficiency, we entertained for our opponents. This contempt our author acknowledges that he liberally partook of, naturally concluding that it was impossible to expect that an army of raw recruits, destitute of discipline, could, however numerous, withstand the skilful attack of a military force, which drew its experience from a long contest with the flower of the French army. But the mistake has been fatally revealed.

In remarking on the conduct of the British troops, it is observed by the writer, that great advantage accrued to the Americans, in consequence of their being seasonably apprised of the intended attack. The bad tactics, as displayed in the plan and execution of the operations, had a considerable share also in producing the calamitous consequences, and something must likewise be ascribed to the ill conduct of some parties, and of one individual in particular.

Shortly after the troops were put on board, an attempt was made by them to attack Mobile, a town about thirty or forty leagues eastward of New Orleans. For this purpose, the principal part of the troops were landed at the Isle of Dauphine, not far from Mobile. Here they found plentiful provisions in the pigs which were fed in the island; but, when abundance led the soldiers to become somewhat fastidious in their tastes, the grand discovery was made that the pork had a fishy taste. We must make room for the following extract upon this subject:

A hoax was played off upon great numbers of our young hands respecting this fishiness. There was on one point of the island a considerable oyster-bed, and it was generally pretty near this that the cattle were found and shot, that being the most distant from our bivouac. It was, therefore, said the flesh of the cattle became of that peculiar flavour from feeding upon oysters. Some, without reflecting, credited this strange story, as the assertor generally said he had seen the cattle opening the oysters with their tongues. This oyster-bed, however, was a source of great luxury to us, for it not only afforded us the means of rendering the salt junk more palatable by having an excellent sauce to make it go down, but it even afforded a most wholesome and delicious meal, upon occasions, by eating them raw.

We also made the best use of our time, when not employed on military affairs, in endeavouring to catch as many fish as we could; and for this purpose my mess purchased from one of the poor Spanish fishermen beforementioned (and who, for the information and kindness they had shown us, were obliged to quit their habitations and follow us) an excellent castingnet, with which the acting quarter-master and myself occupied ourselves from day to day, generally bringing home a sufficient quantity of fish to serve our mess. I never laboured more assiduously in any occupation than I did in this, not only from a relish for such amusement, but because we really wanted something to eke out our scanty meals. We at length got a sieve-net from one of the men-of-war, with which we were not only able to supply ourselves most abundantly, but always had a large quantity to give away to the soldiers. Wild-fowl also were very plentiful when we first entered the island; but from the number killed, and the constant shooting at them, they soon became scarce and difficult to get at.

Here also there were abundance of alligators, and on our fishing and shooting excursions we frequently started them from their lurking-places, which were generally among the reeds by the side of an inland lake, or rather creek of the sea. On these occasions we seldom saw them, for they always endeavoured to avoid us; but wherever they ran along the bottom of the water, they stirred up the mud so greatly all the track they took, that we had no difficulty in tracing them. I never remember to have seen a live one on these occasions, but a dead one once afforded us considerable amusement. One evening, on our return home from our constant occupation, there being three or four of us of the party, I was in front, and the acting quarter-master and the others in the rear of me. On a sudden I was alarmed by the cry of "Oh stop, here's an alligator!" and before I could look round a shot was fired, apparently into the earth, close beside their feet. I went back to see what was the matter, and found indeed, as he had said, an alligator, but one which I suppose had been dead for several months at least. It was buried in the sand, and only a part of its body appeared; but whether he imagined it might have placed itself in that situation intentionally, with the view of enticing its prey within its reach, or what other thought he had, I cannot tell, but, to make assurance doubly sure, he fired his rifle into the body of the half-rotten alligator. He was long and often severely roasted about this afterwards. A young one was caught alive, however, by some of the 14th dragoons, and brought home to England, and afterwards, I understand, presented to the British Museum. All this while the siege of the fort was going forward, but, as we had nothing to do with it, we had plenty of time, not only to hunt for extra prog, but to amuse ourselves in any other manner we pleased.―pp. 392-394.

It is unnecessary to proceed further into the details of the war: it is enough to state that the ratification of a treaty of peace was signed, and the army returned home.

A severe disease of the lungs, which became critical in 1826, obliged Surtees to retire to his native town, where he died towards the close of the year 1830.

The present volume, which is literally drawn from his own mann. script, does credit to the talents and judgment of the author. It is free from all affectation of refinement or display; it is writter i

homely familiar style, evidently with the sole view of rendering the events which it narrates intelligible to the most inferior capacity, whilst the occasional pious references to the parental care of the Great Benevolent Being, whose Providence rules the world, plainly shows that Surtees had higher objects in publishing this work than the mere gratification of a love of fame.

ART. XIV.-An Account of the Life, Lectures, and Writings, of William Cullen, M.D. Professor of the Practice of Physic in the University of Edinburgh. By JOHN THOMSON, M.D. &c. Professor of Medicine and General Pathology in the University of Edinburgh. In 2 vols. 8vo. Edinburgh and London: 1832.

Nor merely on account of the peculiar services which he rendered to medical science, but as a model of the patient and inquiring philosopher, Dr. Cullen is a character highly deserving of the attentive consideration of the enlightened mind. Great as were his abilities, virtuous and profitable as was the application of these abilities, yet Dr. Cullen was sought to be robbed of his extraordinary merits by jealous and unjust men. His labours and conclusions have been denounced as rash speculations, and he himself has been held up as a theorist whose doctrines were guided more by imagination than they were by experience. It was to remove such unjust impressions, and to vindicate the true deserts of William Cullen, that these volumes were composed, and those who love equity will rejoice at any provocation, however depreciating, which has been the means of eliciting such a defence as Dr. Thomson has so ably placed on record.

The subject of this biography was a native of Hamilton, a small town on the Clyde, about ten miles above Glasgow. His father was an attorney, and acted as agent to the Duke of Hamilton. Young Cullen was educated at the Glasgow University, and after he had completed his studies, was apprenticed to a general practitioner named Paisley, then residing in Glasgow. In his 26th year, after he had been at various places for the improvement of his knowledge in medicine, he settled in his native town as a practitioner. Here he met, by accident, a young student of Glasgow, named Hunter, who was destined for the church. The young man, pleased with the conversation of Cullen, sought his presence with great ardour. The result may easily be anticipated. Hunter studied medicine under Cullen, and became one of the most brilliant promoters of that science of which the country can boast. It is well known, that John Hunter never would have thought of the science of medicine, were it not for the example of his brother, and thus we find, that the introduction into the profession of two of the

most famous men that ever adorned it, was merely the consequence of accident.

In 1746, Cullen commenced lecturer on the theory and practice of physic at the University of Glasgow. Lectureships had already been founded at this institution for anatomy and botany, but like those of Oxford and Cambridge, the offices were mere sinecures. The first course of lectures delivered by Cullen, astonished the whole profession, for they were pronounced in the English language, it having been the uniform custom previously that they should be read in Latin. Cullen, however, was born for innovation, and not only did he renounce bad habits in mere formal matters, but also in substantial things; for instead of servilely following in the track of his predecessors, and contenting himself with repetitions of the exploded doctrines of Boerhaave, he traced a course of instruction altogether deduced from his own experience. By great exertions and perseverance, Cullen finally organized a complete medical school in the University of Glasgow.

In 1756, he was appointed professor of chemistry at the University of Edinburgh, and about that period he commenced collecting that vast mass of materials which enabled him to arrange his great system of medical theory and practice. He was the first medical man who introduced the practice of clinical lectures into these countries. Clinical lectures, or comments on the cases of patients who are placed in public institutions, were first given in Italy. The practice was then adopted successively in the medical schools of Holland, Utrecht, and Leyden. Boerhaave carried it to a great extent in the latter university, which was very much frequented by British students during the time of that illustrious physician. It is to a conviction of the use of clinical lectures, as shown at Leyden, and as acquired by our students, that we owe the speedy adoption of the practice in the British schools. As Cullen was the first, so was he entitled to rank as the best of clinical lecturers. His character in this capacity is thus sketched by Dr. Thomson:

Dr. Cullen possessed in a remarkable degree the qualifications necessary for a clinical teacher. To a minute and extensive knowledge of all the auxiliary branches of medicine, and to the great experience which he had acquired by private practice, he added a peculiar talent for the observation and accurate description of diseases, accompanied with a strong desire, and the ready power of communicating his knowledge in the most interesting manner to his pupils. During the whole of the eighteen years that he was occupied in lecturing on clinical medicine in the Royal Infirmary, he bestowed much time and most uncommon pains on the proper performance of that duty. Of the notes from which he spoke his clinical lectures, those of the first five years and of the eigthth year have by some accident been lost; but those of the other twelve years have been preserved. In these notes, constant reference is made to the case-books and the daily reports of his patients, showing how closely he followed, and what use he made of these