Mrs. Elizabeth Inchbald was the daughter of Mr. Simpson, a respectable farmer at Staningfield, near Bury, Suffolk. She was born in 1756, and at an early age was remarkable for the beauty of her person, and a particular fondness for reading. Losing her father in her infancy, Miss Simpson was left under the care of her mother, who continued to occupy the farm. Her natural predilection for books soon induced her to form a romantic idea of visiting the metropolis, and finding that step discountenanced by her family, she eloped from them in Feb. 1772. After experiencing a variety of incidents, she attracted the notice of a performer of Drury-lane, who learning her situation, recommended her to the stage, and offered to instruct her, in spite of an impediment in her speech. She soon, however, ascertained that his designs were far from being honourable, and accordingly applied to the manager of the Bristol theatre. She next applied to Mr. Inchbald, with whom she had become acquainted, and who recommended her to a theatrical friend; her confidence in her new patron was however soon destroyed, and indignant at his dishonourable proposals, she hastened to Mr. Inchbald, who, endeavouring to soothe her sorrow, was married to her in a few days. Mr. Inchbald first introduced his wife on the stage at Edinburgh, where she continued four years. In consequence of the appearance of Mrs. Yates, she quitted Edinburgh for York; but her health declining, she and

her husband went to France, where she stayed about a year, and two years after her return to England in 1779, Mr. Inchbald died. She now returned to London, and continued to act four years at Covent-garden theatre. She next visited Dublin, on quitting which place she returned to Covent-garden theatre, where she continued to perform for some time, but retiring from the stage, she devoted her attention to dramatic writing, and in 1784, produced a farce called the Mogul Tale, the success of which induced her to go on, and she soon completed a comedy called "I'll tell You What," which ultimately met with great success. The tide of Mrs. Inchbald's fortune now began to turn; and in 1789, she quitted the stage, and afterwards depended on her literary labours, which being of the first order of merit, she became a great public favourite. Her successive works obtained great popularity, and many of them yielded considerable emolument. The following is a list nearly in the order of their publication:-Appearances Against Them - the Widow's Vow-Such Things Are-the Midnight Hour-All on a Summer's Day-Animal Magnetismthe Child of Nature-the Married Man-the Hue and CryNext-door Neighbours-Young Men and Old Women-Every One has His Fault-the Wedding Day-Wives as they were, and Maids as they are-Lover's Vows, altered from Kotzebue-Wise Man of the East-and, To Marry or Not to Marry, all of which appeared between 1785 and 1805.

In the year 1806 she was engaged to edit a new edition of the British Theatre, with biographical and critical remarks. This was followed by a collection of farces on the same plan, and the Modern Theatre in ten volumes. Mrs. Inchbald was also no less successful in novel writing than in her dramatic compositions. Her"Simple Story" is characterized by its touches of nature, and spirit of its language and incidents, in which some of the leading circumstances of her life are supposed to be delineated. She afterwards published a novel called "Nature and Art," equally remarkable for the spirit of its composition, but more particularly distinguished for its display, in her own elegant manner, of the principles of civil liberty. Of her conduct through the world, as a woman of honour and correct principles, there is but one opinion among all who knew her. Her manners were artless and fascinating, and she was received

in the best circles of society. In her theatrical engagements she maintained an unblemished character. Her acquaintance, highly esteemed her worth, and her connexion with Mrs. Siddons and lady Derby strengthened into. friendship. A short time previous to her death, she delivered to an intimate female friend the only copy she had ever made of her diary, with an injunction that it should be destroyed. It was represented to her that a compliance with this request would be an injustice to her literary fame; but with delicacy she observed, that what she had written, might, if published, hurt the feelings of those who survived her, she therefore insisted on making the sacrifice, and the work was accordingly destroyed. Her remains were deposited in Kensington churchyard, agreeably to her request in her will, by which she bequeathed a respectable property to Coventgarden fund and her friends.

THE

HE first of the two attempts was undertaken on August 3, the anniversary of the ascent of M. de Saussure. Dr. Hamel, in passing by the baths of St. Gervais, heard that two persons of the country had reached the summit of Mont Blanc, and descended the same day at Prarion, whence they had set out. This report made Dr. Hamel desirous of attempting this new route, which, according to the account given of it, was less difficult, and dangerous, and much shorter, than that by Chamouny, which, since Saussure's time, had always been followed.

It appears, that the same persons, who had already ascended by this route, proposed again to undertake it, in order to remove some doubts which had been entertained at Chamouny with respect to the practicability of the journey. With these persons and the curates of St. Gervais, and St. Nicolas de Verosse,

the attempt was made by Dr. Hamel.

In order to insure success, it was proposed to effect the ascent in two days, passing the night near la Pierre Ronde, the name given to some rocks situated beneath L'Aiguille du Gouté, and at half-past seven, the travellers halted to pass the night, sheltered by the rocks, and not far from a torrent coming from the Glacier de Bionnassay.

The night was beautiful, and at half-past two in the morning, the journey was resumed by moon-light, and at 22 minutes after five o'clock, the travellers reached the base of the Aiguille du Gouté; and after about three hours of very difficult ascent among loose stones, the summit of the Aiguille was attained at 50 minutes after eight; the height of which is upwards of 12,000 feet. After taking rest, and adopting precautions against the cold, and the rays of the sun

reflected by the snow, they set off at a quarter past nine towards the Dôme du Gouté, and arrived at the summit at half-past 11.

The height of this is 13,300 feet, and Dr. Hamel could advance but few steps without waiting to take breath, on account of the rarity of the air; and finding, from the state of exhaustion he was in, that he must have staid at least half an hour before he could resume his journey towards the summit of Mont Blanc, and calculating that it would be impossible to come back to the Aiguille du Gouté before night, he resolved to return by the route by which he had ascended, without attaining his object. The descent is represented as more difficult and dangerous even than the ascent, but it was safely performed, and the party arrived at about nine at night at an inn called Pavillon de Bellevue, situate on the Montagne de la Chaletta between Mont Lacha and Mont Prarion.

Dr. Hamel's account of his second journey, which was attended with great danger to the whole party, and proved fatal to some of the guides, is the following:

"In looking over M. de Saus sure's work, I found that he had tried this same route; but the dangers which he encountered in the ridges of l'Aiguille du Gouté prevented him from proceeding further: he did not even arrive at its summit.

"This induced me to believe that the route by Chamouny, by which he afterwards ascended, must be at least as convenient; and I wished to meet with an opportunity of trying it, so that I might decide which of the two routes was preferable.

"Soon afterwards, I learned that some persons at Geneva were also desirous of ascending Mont Blanc: one of them was M. Selligue, a mineralogist and mechanical artist. He informed me that he had invented a barometer upon an entirely new principle, which he wished to try on these mountains.

"As the claim of Mont Blanc to be considered the highest mountain of Europe has been lately disputed, and as no travellers who have ascended it since M. de Saussure have taken the trouble to measure it again, I wished to determine its height, with the assistance of several barometers. Prof. de Saussure had the goodness to lend me an excellent walking-stick barometer, made at Turin. The reservoir for the mercury is a glass cylinder, and the level is regulated by a screw and piston. M. Selligue constructed a syphon barometer; and in case these two barometers should be deranged in ascending, I filled with mercury, two glass tubes 18 or 20 inches in length, and bent at one end like a syphon. The mercury having been boiled, I closed the opening, so that no variation in the volume of the mercury might cause air to enter the longer leg of the syphon. On arriving at any height, I had only to remove the cork, and allow part of the mercury to come out, and then to measure the height of the column standing in the tube. I had thus four barometrical instruments to measure the height of the summit.

"In my first ascent I was surprised at the action which the sun's rays had upon the skin; and I intended to make some experiments on the power of these

rays

concentrated by lenses. Col. Beaufoy had previously paid some attention to this subject, and I think, as he does, that these experiments may become interesting in the theory of light and heat.

"I purposed also to make observations upon myself and my companions as to the effects of rarefied air upon animal organization; and after what I had already observed during my first ascent, I flattered myself that I should obtain results which would be useful in physiology.

"I procured a bottle of limewater to determine the presence, and by approximation, the quantity of carbonic acid in these elevated regions, and to discover whether air which had been respired contained the same quantity of carbonic acid as it does in those regions in which at each inspiration one-third more oxygen enters in the same volume of atmospheric air. I intended also, when high up, to bleed some animal, in order to observe by the colour of the blood whether it was or was not sufficiently decarbonized.

"I filled four bottles with spirit of wine, which, when poured upon a sponge, was intended to be used for combustion; and I proposed to bring back some of the air of the summit in these bottles for analysis.

"A Papin's digester, of very simple construction, was intended to prove the possibility of cooking meat at great heights. The monks of the grand St. Bernard complain that they are unable to dress their food sufficiently. The reason of it is, that water in large open vessels, being less compressed by the atmosphere at

great heights than in plains, boils at a lower temperature. A separate apparatus was prepared to measure the exact temperature at which water boils at different heights.

"A small table, with a camera lucida, was furnished by M. Selligue, to sketch a panorama from the summit of Mont Blanc.

"Prof. Pictet supplied me with the instruments requisite to observe and measure the temperature, the electricity, and the moisture of the atmosphere, &c. &c.

two

"Mr. Joseph Dornford, and Mr. Gilbert Henderson, English gentlemen, and both of the University of Oxford, were anxious to join us; the former of them had, when in England, formed the project of ascending Mont Blanc. We set out on Aug. 16, at three o'clock in the afternoon from Geneva for Chamouny. We arrived the next day at le Prieuré, reaching the excellent hotel de l'Union, kept by M. Charlet, at two o'clock.

"We applied to Joseph-Marie Coutet et Mathieu, son of Pierre Balmat, whom M. Pictet had recommended to us as guides who were equally robust and trusty. They advised us to take 12 guides, or three for each traveller. We referred the choice to them; and our obliging hostess undertook to prepare all that was necessary for the journey. The next morning at a quarter past five o'clock, we set out in the finest possible weather. We went at first in the direction of the Glacier des Bossons, but before we reached it, we turned to the left, and began the ascent in a forest. At seven o'clock, we had got above the forest, and reached the chalet,