periodical torrents, from the mountains, brought down the precious metal, which as soon as the water ran off, they (the inhabitants) used to gather from among the sand and gravel. This information was turned to some advantage, and gave rise to numerous researches. Upon the heights were discovered many rocks, which contained gold; but the expences that would necessarily attend the working of such mines, caused them to be abandoned. A rich vein of gold, which Opinions are various on the subject of the occupied a vast tract, did not appear sufficientadvantages and disadvantages which have ari-ly productive to defray the expences likely to be sen from the discovery of the gold mines of Brazil. Some authors affirm, that their discovery, and the working of them, have tended, and still, in a great ineasure, tend, to diminish the population of the country.

the gold, is paid; also a tax of 14 real per man, beast of burthen, or head of horned cattle. One half of the produce of this impost belongs to the Prince Regent; and the other half is divided among the military force already mentioned, according to rank.

It is morally impossible to return from the mines, without passing through Preybuna; and every person, so passing, is stopped, and searched with the utmost scrutiny. Private traders are obliged to carry their gold to the miut of Saint Janeiro, where they receive its value in current coin; which usually consists of demi-doublons, worth about 1. 16s. each. On every one of these demidoublons the crown gains 3s. 7d. on account of the alloy, &c.

The mint of Saint Janeiro is one of the finest in the world, and is provided with every article necessary for coining.

the fleets, which used to bring home the gold, are in the hands of almost every Portuguese merchant; whence it appears, that, on an average, gold to the value of 8,000,000 piastres, or £1,800,000, used annually to be imported into Portugal from Brazil.

This progress of wealth may give rise to many reflections. We consider it as certain that Buonaparte will fail of his object,-the seizure of the Spanish colonies; as he has failed of his object,-the obtaining a dominion over the mines and riches of Brazil. The gold and silver, formerly smuggled into Spain and Portugal, will now be bartered directly for British commodities: and the mother countries will be left to their own natural wealth. That has been considerable; and should the population again attend to the riches of their soil, and industriously improve its productions, they will have no As the merchants come from the mines, at occasion to regret the loss of that apparent the time that the fleet arrives from Portugal, but not real wealth, that fleeting property, the coinage must then be accelerated; and which they derived from their colonies. Spain indeed, the rapidity with which the pieces of may be a greater nation than ever she has money are struck is astonishing. The Abbé been, if, abandoning all reliance on the supRaynal says, that if the value of the gold, plies of precious metals from abroad, she annually sent from Brazil to Portugal, were attentively exerts herself to make the most of to be estimated according to the duty paid to her supplies at home. The instance of Britain the crown, it would be found to amount may convince the world that extensive colonies to 18,000,000 crusados, or about £1,875,000 are not necessary to the welfare of a state a sterling. We shall not be accused of exag- and after the feeble support on which Spain. geration, when we assert, that nearly an has long leaned is removed, time may prove eighth part of the produce of the mines is that true policy demanded a more INDEPENsmuggled out of the country. For the pre- DENT line of conduct. Some estimate may vention of such frauds, the Portuguese have be formed of the probable amount of the instituted many regulations, which have failed supply of precious metals that may be exof the desired effect. To the Abbé's calcula-pected from the Brazils; but should some tion may be added, the amount of the contraband trade with Buenos Ayres, which was formerly immense; but the politic measures adopted by Spain have reduced the value of the article, thus illegally sold, to 6 or 700,000 piastres, about £157,500 per an

num.

There are many persons, who express their astonishment at such a communication being in existence between two nations (the Spanish and the Portuguese), who, manufacturing nothing, and placing nearly similar duties upon the manufactures of foreign countries, can consequently have nothing to sell, one to the other. Such persons, however, do not consider, that the coast of Portugal, which is more extensive and accessible than the Peninsula of Cadiz, affords better opportunities for avoiding the scrutinizing eyes of excise officers. Moreover, the Peruvians find their interest in sending their capitals to Europe by this indirect way.-According to M. Paw, author of "Recherches sur les Américains," the mines of Brazil have produced since their discovery to the time in which he wrote, (a space of sixty years) about £100,000,000 sterling. The manifestoes of

ingenious Portuguese, under the encourage ment of the court, pursue and extend this discovery, there is no possibility of foretelling to what low value gold and silver may des cline. What accumulation is made yearly to the mass of coin in Europe? Certainly not equal to the quantities here stated:-what becomes of the difference?

BELLS-SHEEP-FRUIT-TREES.
To the Editor of the Literary Panorama.

SIR, Permit me the liberty of observing that Harwich, mentioned in Lit. Pan. Vol. V. p. 539 as having a peal of twelve bells, should, I think, have been Norwich; there being such a peal at the latter, but not at the former place.

And that a sheep of the description mentioned p. 503, is, in this county (Norfolk) called a Hogget (HOGG-el).

Mention is made of a practice nearly similar to that of the Chinese method of raising, or rather inultiplying, fruit-trees, p. 590, in Bradley's translation of Agricola, p. 117, edit. 1721. I am, &c. W. G. Yarmouth, Jan. 12, 1809.

VALUE OF THE BRITISH SEA,

PER ACRE.

Britain has lo g. been considered as mistress of the seas; but hitherto no one has thought of valuing that part of her domains. of land fetches its worth, whether by private An acre or public sale, and in some places the rents of fisheries, &c. are extremely valuable. But these are usually within the precincts of the land. A curious calculation has lately appeared, of the value of the British sea per acre; and when it is considered, that much more profit might be drawn from the ocean around our coasts than we procure at present, we presume that this estimate is not unworthy attention. Should the insertion of it be the means of inducing any of our readers to improve this estate, we heartily wish them success, as well for their own sakes as that of the public.

The circumference of Britain is about 1836 miles; allowing a tract of fifteen miles over from the coast round about for the fishery, which is by much within the truth, there will then be near twenty millions of square acres of sea, which, at the rate of £1 10s. per acre, would amount to thirty millions per annum: the Irish coast may be calculated in proportion.

[Compare Panorama, Vol. IV. p. 1295.] Richard Trevithick, of Rotherhithe, Surrey, engineer, and Robert Dickinson, of Great Queen Street, Surrey; machinery for towing and discharging ships of their cargoes. July 5

William Proctor, Sheffield, York, optician; improved methods of melting, &c. malleable wrought iron or steel., July 6.

Joseph Mason Guest, of Birmingham, Warwickshire, thread manufacturer ; mill for twisting thread. July 30. an improved

gent. ; a method of applying flat ropes, &c. to capJohn Curr, of Belle Vue House, Sheffield, York, stans and windlasses of ships and vessels, to convey applying ropes, &c. to catch whales. July 30. them in and out of port, &c.; also a method of

don, gent. ; an improved machine, for polishing, Luke Hebert, of St. Stephen, Walbrook, Lonextending, &c. leather. July 30.

Kent; a key called the tone regulating key, which regulates the tone of the flute, &c. by causing the Charles Gostling Townley, Esq. Ramsgate, box to lengthen or contract at pleasure. Aug. 9. maker; improvements in rope-making. Aug. 18, James Gale, of Shadwell, Middlesex, ropelington, Middlesex, gent. improved apparatus to A exander Tillock; of Barnsbury Street, Is work machinery, and applicable to other useful purposes. August 20.

Thomas Price, of Bilston, Stafford, coal-master; improvements in the application of steam, and its apparatus. August 24.

steam-engine upon a new principle, and employ-
Thomas Mead, of Scott-street, Sculcoates,
York, engineer; a method of making a circular
ing the elastic force of steam in a much more cf-
ficacious manner than has hitherto been done.
August 24.

Middlesex, Esq.; a new principle of measuring
William Congreve, of Garden-court, Temple,
time, and constructing clocks and chronometers.
August 24.

Joseph Cuff, Jun. of Whitechapel, Middlesex, cheesemonger and bacon merchant, certain machinery for a better method of slaughtering hogs and other cattle. August 25.

Lancaster, miller; a method of flax-spinning and
John Dumbell, of Mersey Mills, Warrington,
making a special twist thread, &c. called telary
teguments, from silk, &c.; and for a method of
in general
refabricating the same, and producing from tatters
new body. August 25.

Jolin Warren, of Poole, stonemason; an improved apparatus to prevent chimnics from smoking, and to extinguish fires in stoves, &c. without

Edward Massey, of Newcastle, Stafford, clock and watchmaker; an improved cock for drawing. off liquors. Sept. 24.

James Browell and James Jacks, of Cornhill, London, tailors and drapers, and Thomas Len-making a dust injurious to the furniture. Sept. 15. nite, of Aldgate, London, man's mercer; a new chemical preparation to preserve from destruction by mildew, &c. all kinds of woollen and vegetable substances from which woollen, &c. is made; and to render woollen, 'cotton, leather, &c, impervious to rain. July 11.

John Heathcoat, of Loughborough, Leicester, manufacturer; a machine for making bobbin lace. July 14.

James Linaker, of the Dock Yard, Portsmouth, millwright; a method of towing, &c. ships and vessels. July 14.

Benjamin Crosby, of St. Martin, Ludgate, London, bookseller; an improved stand for books, &c. July 25.

William Hawkes, Esq. of Newport, Surrey; improvements on musical keyed instruments of 12 fixed tones. July 25.

George Richards, of Truro, Cornwall, archirect; cannons, muskets, and all kinds of fire arms, on a new principle, and a new method of charging, and of fixing bayonets on the same. July 30.

gineer; an improved wheel for various useful Thomas Paton, of Christ Church, Surrey, enpurposes. Sept. 24.

Middlesex; improvements upon piano fortes and Sebastian Erard, of Great Marlborough-street, harps. Sept. 24.

wickshire, manufacturer; improvements in umEdward Thomason, of Birmingham, Warbrellas and parasols. Oct. 28.

engineer, and Robert Dickinson, of Great Queen Richard Trevithick, of Rotherhithe, Surrey, Street, Middlesex, Esq.; a new way of stowing age-room will be saved, and the contents better cargoes of ships, &c. by which expenses of stowsecured from damage. Oct. 31.

Henry Van Wart, of Liverpool, Lancaster, merchant; a machine for manufacturing thimbles for sails, rigging, and other purposes, communicated to him by Isaiah Jennings, a citizen of America. Oct. 31.

Joseph Anthony Berrollas, of Denmark-street, St. Giles-in-the fields, Middlesex, watchmaker; a method of making infallible repeating watches.

Torre Bella, Feb. 5, 1780.

and grand park of the Duke of Lafoeus, about Dear Sir, I write this from the beautiful Zachariah Barratt, of Croydon, Surrey, gent.panied his grace a few days ago. The comforty miles from Lisbon, whither I accom

Oct. 31.

a machine for washing linen, &c. to which may be affixed or omitted at pleasure a contrivance for

pressing the water from them, now commonly

done by wringing. Oct. 31.

Phineas Andrews, of Haverstock-hill, Hampstead, Middlesex, gent.; improvements in a machine for threshing corn, grain, &c. Oct. 31. Samuel Crackles, of Kingston-upon-Hul, brush-manufacturer; a method of making brushes from whalebone, which have hitherto been made from bristles. Nov. 3.

Samuel Brookes, Bermondsey, Surrey, tanner; splitting raw hides, so that each side may be used for purposes to which an entire hide has been hitherto applied. Nov. 3.

John Hartley, John Musgrave, and William Farmery, of Leeds, York, machine-makers; a machine for preparing, &c. cotton, &c. into threads, preparatory to their being manufactured.

modore, who is at sea on a cruize, left me at Lisbon on some business about a month ago,

and I have made the best use of my time in seeing every thing in my power, which one, who intends to give the joblic some account of his tour, would wish to do; and I have had every assistance which could be desired from the literati.and noblesse of Portugal, who seem much pleased that a translation of their favourite poet has been well received in England. The Marquis of Niza, the lineal descendant of Gama, has, with much seeming pleasure, shewed me some history paintings from the Lusiad, where his ancestor is frequently introduced; and what 1 particularly remarked, between the portraits of the Portuguese heroes, who distinguished themselves in Asia, of which he has a large collection, those of Camoens, Barrow, Faria and the other historians, are alternately placed. lish, and are well acquainted with our liMany of the Portuguese nobility read Engderaiure, particularly the duke, under whose. roof I now am, who was many years absent from Portugal, and has visited every court of Europe, where he is known under the title of Braganza. Last night I asked him if he Frederick Nolan, of Stratford, Essex, Clerk; had read the late English tragedy, which improvements in the construction of flutes, flage-bore his ancestor's name (he is legitimate lets, &c. Nov. 26.

Nov. 8.

Nicholas Fairles, of South Shields, Durham, Esq.; a windlass, &c. whereby great manual labour is saved, and considerably less time is required to get on board, &c, ships' anchors. Nov.15. Jonathan Dickson, of Christ Church, Surrey, steam-engine-maker; improvements in tuns, &c. used by brewers, &c. Nov. 15.

Charles Gostling Townley, of Ramsgate, Kent, Esq.; an improvement applicable to musical in

struments. Nov. 26.

Charles Seward, Lancaster, block tin manufacturer; imprrovements in lamps. Nov. 26.

John Schmidt, of St. Mary Axe, London, watch-maker; a phantasmagoric chronometer, and an instrument which he calls the mysterious circulator, or chronological equilibrium.' Dec. 20. John Frederic Archbold, of Great Charlottestreet, Blackfriars-road, Surrey; improvements in making brandy. Dec. 20.

great grandson of John IV), and his remarks upon it, led him to observations on the convinced me how much he is master of the French and English stage, which farther whole circle of polite literature; and, indeed,

it gave me no small pleasure to find so illus trious a foreigner, so opposite to the opinions of Voltaire on the English drama. On a former excursion I was 120 miles up the William Tompson, of Deritend, Aston, War- country, was most courteously entertained at wick, locksmith; a new-invented lock. Dec. 29. the royal and noble monasteries of Alcobaça, Malcolm M George, of Bell-yard, Carey-street, and Batalha, &c. &c. Middlesex, musical instrument maker, and Wil- detain you with the relics shewn in monasBut why should I liam McFarland, Strand, Middlesex, umbrella-teries, when I intend to give you some account manufacturer; improvements in umbrellas and of the stage of Lisbon? parasols. Dec. 29.

William Steel, of Liverpool, Lancaster, Glassdealer; a new machine for making white salt.

Dec. 29.

PORTUGUESE THEATRE.

We have been favoured, by a friend of our Work, with the following original letters of the late Mr. Mickle, the translator of Camoens' Lusiad. They were written to Thomas Caldecott, Esq. of New College, Oxford, and contain a curious account of the state of the Portuguese Theatre, during Mr. M.'s visit in that country, which, we trust, will not be unworthy the attention of our readers.

In the time of the late king, the Portuguese boasted of the superior excellence of their opera, and had some good actors. They have naturally in their common discourse much expressive action, and apt modulation of by a late edict, no actors are permitted to apvoice, excellently adapted for comedy. But pear on the stage, and yet they have plays audiences. The first opera I saw was a transand operas, attended by crowded and polite lation of the Olympiada of Metastasio, presented to boxes full of nobility, and to a pit. which would have been esteemed a good benefit at Drury Lane,-by puppets. But puppets as they are, be assured they are far

from being despicable actors; their excel-, lence indeed, is wonderful, and, at a distance, the deception is admirable. Before the orchestra, the lamps, as usual, are lighted; but the space of the usual stage is vacant, and divided from the interior stage by another row of lamps, behind which the puppets perform their parts; and from the farther part of the pit, and the boxes behind it, in one of which was seated, no stranger, without being informed, would suspect that he saw other than living actors. The voice of the speaker is so well adapted, and the action is so just, that I could not help wishing that several of our London performers were sent to the Lisbon puppets to study attitudes, particularly the use and management of their arms. About the middle of the play, one of my Portuguese friends came and desired me to go with him to his box, which was next to the stage. Here, indeed, the deception was not so good; the voice did not often seem, as it did at a central and forther distance, to come from the puppet. The wires which hung from the roof, and directed every motion, peared; and we could just perceive a partition of wire which rose across the stage from the floor to the roof, close by the inner row of lamps, and which was placed there, no doubt, to throw a dazzle on the sight, and thereby prevent an accurate view of the objects behind it. At the end of the piece, a caldron, or altar, with two or three gallons of burning oil, mixed with lumps of fat, was produced on the stage (I know not how you do it in England), where the lovers were to be put to death. But the fat and oil unluckily boiled over, and spread flames over the stage, which began to catch the puppets, who looked very awkward and helpless at their danger, being quite untaught how to act the part of firemen. The flames began now to catch the scenery, and the house to be in an uproar, when in violation of the royal edict, living actors were obliged to come upon the stage to extinguish the flames, and the audience were very well contented to part without any other catastrophe.

W. J. MICKLE.

ap

At Sea, in the Bay of Biscay,
Aug. 15, 1780.

A strange variety of dates, indeed! The truth is, I had a good deal more to say of the Lisbon stage; but what with the commodore's arrival, who was at Lisbon before I returned from Torre Bella, and the inconceivable multiplicity of business I have since had, I have not been able to finish the above epistle, but which I shall now attempt.

The Portuguese have many original dramas in their own language, but the authors have paid no respect to Aristotle and the critics.

Tragedy, comedy, farce, pantomine, and pastoral, are blended together in every piece I have seen; and a laughing kind of satire, not always very delicate, is the universal seasoning, and particularly relished; but their music is certainly excellent, worthy of the remains of the first opera in Europe. Besides the opera, there is another playhouse, where they act what they call Precipios, i. e. Scripture histories, in the genuine taste, I presume, of the old mysteries and interludes acted three or four centuries ago in England, I cannot help giving you some account of the principal one, which I saw performed by puppets, before a crowded and pretty genteel audience. When the curtain drew up, the first scene presented a view of the clouds, where a figure, like a Chinese Mandarin, seated in a chair, was like an arbiter or judge, placed between St. Michael and Satan. Satan accuses Michael, and Michael scolds like an oyster wench, and at last kicks Satan on the head, and tumbles him down out of sight, telling him to go to hell for his impudence, The Chinese-like figure then walks about the stage, and repeating the words of the Latin Bible, creates the world. When he orders the sun to govern the day, a lanthorn, with a round glass in it, circles over the stage, which is darkened; in like manner the moon and stars appear; the waters next appear, with fishes' heads jumping through them; but when land animals are to be made, real sheep, and dogs are produced through the trap-doors, one of which latter entertained the audience by barking at the sheep, and was like to have been rude to his supposed maker, had not a leg projected from behind the scene given him a kick, which sent him off howling. Adam is next made, he rises through the stage, walks about a while, lies down to sleep, and the Chinese figure pulls Eve out of his side, and gives them their charges: these two are quite naked, but much smaller, and no way to be compared, in excellence, to the puppets of the opera. The next scene presents an orange-grove, a serpent climbs a tree, talks to Eve, and gives her an orange out of his teeth, which she takes, and tempts Adam. The next scene presents the Mandariu figure calling upon Adam, who appears with his spouse in their fig leaves; they are condemned, and the serpent, who till now. walked erect, falls flat on his belly; Adam and Eve are now presented in sheep-skins, he with a spade, and she with a distaff; Adam' laments dolefully, but Eve comforts him, and puts him in mind that they were to beget children. Cain and Abel next appear, offer sacrifices, and Cain kills his brother, and kicks him sadly; the Mandarin figure condemns Cain, and ascends the clouds; the mouth of hell then appears, like the jaws of a great dragon, amid smoke and lightning,