ction with those in progress on the continent of Europe,
and particularly in the Austrian dominions, give a full promise of the
speedy realization of M. Humboldt's wish, so earnestly expressed, that the
materials of the first general magnetic map of the globe should be
assembled; and even permit the anticipation, that the first normal epoch
of such a map will be but little removed from the present year.

EARLY HISTORY OF THE USE OF COAL. (FROM CHAMBERS'S EDINBURGH JOURNAL.)

Bituminous matter, if not the carboniferous system itself, exists
abundantly on the banks of the Euphrates. In the basin of the Nile coal
has been recently detected. It occurs sparingly in some of the states of
Greece; and Theophrastus, in his "History of Stones," refers to mineral
coal (_lithanthrax_) being found in Liguria and in Elis, and used by the
smiths; the stones are earthy, he adds, but kindle and burn like wood
coals (the _anthrax_). But by none of the Oriental nations does it appear
that the vast latent powers and virtues of the mineral were thus early
discovered, so as to render it an object of commerce or of geological
research. What the Romans termed _lapis ampelites_, is generally
understood to mean our cannel coal, which they used not as fuel, but in
making toys, bracelets, and other ornaments; while their _carbo_, which
Pliny describes as _vehementer perlucet_, was simply the petroleum or
naphtha, which issues so abundantly from all the tertiary deposits. Coal
is found in Syria, and the term frequently occurs in the Sacred Writings.
But there is no reference any where in the inspired record as to digging
or boring for the mineral--no directions for its use--no instructions as to
its constituting a portion of the promised treasures of the land. In their
burnt-offerings, wood appears uniformly to have been employed; in
Leviticus, the term is used as synonymous with fire, where it is said that
"the priests shall lay the parts in order upon the wood"--that is, on the
fire which is upon the altar. And in the same manner for all domestic
purposes, wood and charcoal were invariably made use of. Doubtless the
ancient Hebrews would be acquainted with _natural_ coal, as in the
mountains of Lebanon, whither they continually resorted for their timber,
seams of coal near Beirout were seen to protrude through the
superincumbent strata in various directions. Still there are no traces of
pits or excavations into the rock to show that they