Clock and Watch-maker in Pittenweem. Of these pieces of mechanism, one is a Table Clock, which is moved by springs and fusee-chains, in the same way as a watch; the other is a Standing Clock, that is moved by weights; both are musical, and both require to be wound up every eight days. The first has been valued by the artists of London at £.900, the other at £,500.

It is a fact which ought to be known to all housewives, that if they begin to grate a nutmeg at the stalk end, it will prove hollow throughout; whereas, the same nutmeg, grated from the other end, would have prov ed sound and solid to the last. The centre of a nutmeg, consists of a number of fibres issuing from the stalk, and its continuation through the centre of the fruit, the other ends of which fibres, though closely surrounded and pressed by the fruit, do not adhere to it. When the stalk is gra. fed away, those fibres having lost their hold, gradually drop out, and the nutmeg appears hollow; and as more of the stalk is grated away, others drop out in succession, and the hollow continues through the whole nut. By beginning at the contrary end, the fibres above-mentioned are ́grated off at their core end, with the surrounding fruit, and do not drop out and cause a hole. Another circumstance worth knowing, is, that in consequence of the great value of the oil of nutmegs, it is often extracted from the nuts that are exposed to sale, by which they are rendered of very little value. To ascertain the quality of nutmegs, force a pin into them, and if good, however dry they may appear, the oil will be seen oozing out all round the pin, from the compres sion occasioned in the surrounding parts.

Upwards of sixty chests, containing productions of art, collected during the late was, have arrived at Paris.

Among the most valuable, are many original pictures of the Flemish school, and a great number of rare printed books from Vienna. From that city have also arriyed a number of animals, among which are two lions, kangaroos, a cassowary, parroquets, &c. Some of these animals are destined for the menagerie of Malmaison; others for the Museum of Natural History.— They were accompanied by many boxes, containing rare and curious exotic plants.

M. Chaptal has recently made experiments to ascertain the nature of seven specimens of colour, found in colour-shop at Pompeii. No. 1, the only one which has not received any preparation from the hand of man, is a greenish and saponaceous argil, in the state in which Nature presents it in various parts of the globe,, and resembling that known by the name of Terra di Verona.-No. 2, is an ocre of a beautiful yellow,, all the impuri ties of which have been removed by washing. As this substance turns red by calcination with a gentle fire, the yellow colour, which it has preserved without alteration, affords a new proof, that the ashes which covered Pompeii retained but a slight degree of heat. -No. 3, is a brown red, like that employed at present for coarse work, and is produced by the calcination of the preceding.-No. 4, is a pumice-stone, extremely light and white;, the texture is very fine and close; the three others are compound colours, which M. Chaptal was obliged to analyse, in order to ascertain their constituent principles. From his experiments on No. 5, which is of a deep blue, and in small pieces of the same form, it appears to be composed of oxyde of copper, lime, and alumine. It resembles ash blues in the nature of its principles, but differs from them in its chemical properties. It seems to be the result, not of precipitation, but of the commencement of vitrification; and

the

the process by which it was obtained by the ancients, is lost.-No. 6, is a sand of a light blue, mixed with some small whitish grains. On analysing it, M. Chaptal discovered in it the same principles as in the preceding: indeed, it may be considered as a composition of the same nature, in which there is a greater proportion of lime and alumine. No. 7, is of a beautiful roseate hue it is soft to the touch; is reduced between the fingers to an impalpable powder; and leaves upon the skin a pleasing carnation colour. From M. Chaptal's experiments, he looks upon it as a real lake, in which the colouring principle is united with alumine. In its properties, its hue, and the nature of its colouring principle, it has nearly a complete analogy with madder lake. The preservation of this lake for nineteen centuries, without perceptible alteration, is a phenomenon which cannot fail to excite the astonishment of chemists.

A Roman peasant recently discover ed in a field at Monterosi, a coin which is thought to be the most ancient of any extant. It is conjectured to have been struck under Servius Tullus the Sixth, King of the Romans, who died in the year of Rome, 218, and must consequently be 2,300 years old. Its weight is eleven ounces, 17 dwts. and its diameter two inches, ten lines. On one side is the head of Minerva, seen in profile, with a helmet (Pal las galeata,) and on the other an ox, with a small 1. denoting the first of the Roman figures. On the exergue is inscribed, in large characters, RoThis type is the same as that described by Pliny, Plutarch, and Varro, and ascribed by those authors, to the time of Servius Tullus. In Cardinal Zeladas's collection of coins, there is a specimen of a similar type to that lately found; but the antiquaries, who have examined it, have found, that it was not of the weight which those coins must necessarily have been,

ma.

That described above is of the actual weight of a Roman pound; for the difference of seven dwts. can be ascribed only to the injuries of time. The characters of the word Roma are of the same form as those of Etruria and Samnium. The metal is very pure, and has considerable analogy with the Egyptian copper of the coins of the Ptolemies.

The Eugenian Museum, at Milan, has lately been enriched with eight new pieces, discovered in the excavations made at Aquilegi. They consist of a group of two busts in marble, remarkable for the elegance of their drapery; a statue without a head, likewise of marble; an arm adorned with bracelets, the hand of which holds an instrument that was employed in sacrifices; the upper extremity of a cippus, several sepulchral caskets of lead, a stone inkstand, and several sarcophagi.

The Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, have lately presented Mr John Morison with their silver medal and forty guineas, for his ingenuity in providing himself with artificial arms, after he had experienced the misfortune to lose his natural ones by the discharge of a cannon. This worthy man, who lives in the neighbourhood of Holborn Bars, undertakes to supply other persons labouring under similar misfortunes with that which he deplores, with artificial arms, legs, and other instruments, adapted to almost every purpose of life.

Common spirits of turpentine have been recently administered by several medical gentlemen of the metropolis, with good effect, in the cure of tape worm. The doses given were in some cases so large as two ounces, but those of half an ounce at a time, repeated twice a day, were generally found to answer the purpose. The vehicle in which the turpentine was administered, was generally honey.

Table

COLLEGE OF PRINCES.

The Prince Primate,

Baden,

Berg and Cleves,

Hesse,

Wurtzburg and the Teutonic

Order,

Saxe Weimar,

Saxe Gotha,

Saxe Meinungen,

Saxe Cobourg,

Saxe Hildbourghausen,

Mecklenbourg Schwerin,

Oldenbourg,

Anhalt Dessau,

-Bernbourg,

210

Nassau,

Hohenzollern Hechingen,

Salm Salm,

Salma Kirbourg,

Isenbourg Birstein,

Aremberg,

Liechtenstein,

10

A Tour from ARBROATH to MONTROSE, principally with a view to its remote Antiquities.

THE

HE venerable abbey, still majestic tho' in ruins, attracts every eye, and has been so often, and so ably described, that any remarks from me would be totally superfluous.

Aber brothock, the name of the town, is pure Gaelic. Aber signifies the Marsh and Brothac the Bosom. The gently sloping vale thro' which the river Brothock runs, is neither so large as to deserve the name of a glen, nor so precipitous as to be denominated a Den. It is most aptly called Brothac, i. e. the Bosom, and the river Brothock seems to have taken its name from this circumstance.

Aber and Inver appear to have been frequently confounded, at least I do not recollect to have seen a proper line of distinction drawn betwixt them. An analysis of these two words may therefore, in this place, be proper.

Aber, i. e. Aw or Ow Bar signifies the bar of the water. Aber has been generally, and indeed properly rendered a Marsh, for whatever resists the course of a river, causes stagnation,

and forms a marsh.

Inver, i. e. An Mhor, signifies, in the sea, and is pronounced An vor, and hence corruptly Inver. Whereever Aber precedes the name of a river, that river, either now, or at least antiently, at its entrance into the sea or some other river, formed a marsh, or expatiated beyond its usual dimensions. But Inver prefixed to the name of a river, simply denotes its influx into the sea, or some other river, without any material alteration either in its form, or usual dimensions. This distinction is not only founded on the radical import of the words, but holds good in about forty instances, which I have had good access to investigate.

That this beautiful Brothac, or Q

pening, gave name both to the river and the town, cannot be doubted.

Leaving the town you enter the estste of Tarry, now divided into two separate estates, called North and South Tarry. As to the antient dimensions of this estate, it might be difficult now to form a probable conjecture. The division and subdivision of property has not only curtailed the dimensions of our antient estates, but greatly perplexed their antiquities.The antiquity which gave name to the whole estate, is now often found on one property under a different name, and the name on another property, at a considerable distance from the antiquity.

When you have advanced about two miles from Arbroath, your attention is attracted by Dick Mont Law, commonly called the Law Hill, on the highest eminence in the vicinity of the town. This is none other than the place where the Feudal Chieftain gave law to his numerous vassals, and it is in as high a state of preservation as any Justice hill in Scotland. Dick Mont Law, i. e. Dicke Mon Lagh, literally means the Justice Hill. The original name is Dicke Mon; and Lagh, synonimous with Dicke, is an iteration (as I have frequently mentioned) peculiar to the Gaelic Legh is the Etymon of our English Law, Mon of the Latin Mons, and Dicke of the Dikè. This Justice Hill stands on North Tarry. Having found the Justice Hill one of the appendages of feudal sovereignty, we may take it for granted the rest were not a wanting. The next appendage we naturally look for is the Gallowshill, or place of execution. This hill (tho' I had no opportunity of ascertaining the fact) is said to stand on South Tarry. If it does, this circumstance amounts to a demonstration, that tho' now divided, these estates were originally one, for every feudal lord had the whole Insignia Feudalia on his own property.

But

But wherever this gallows hill stands is of inferior importance, whilst the name of the estate remains; for Tarry i. e. Tor Riedh (pronounced Torry, and corruptly Tarry) literally signifies the Gallows-hill. It may here be proper to point out, that tho' TorRidh and Mon-Riedh, signify the same thing, there is a peculiar difference betwixt them. Mon-Riedh, signifies a natural eminence set apart for a gallows-hill, but Tor-Riedh signifies an artificial eminence raised for that purpose. Tor and Tur, are synonimous, and the radix of the Latin tarris, and the English tower.

The peaceful Britons of the present day whose minds are humanized, view the feudal system with a degree, not only of apathy, but detestation, and are unwilling to assent to etymological facts, however well founded, which sound harsh to their more refined ears. But our doughty, (I might have said bloody) ancestors thought and felt differently. Like the Roman Consuls, the Fasces were always carried before them, and they appear to have viewed their Law-hills and Galbw-hills with as much complaisance as their present descendants do with abhorrence. Were this not the case, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to account for one half of the names in Scotland. Mon-Richd, corruptly pronounced Monrieth, i. e. the gallows-hill, is the title of a very respectable Knight. Pan Darg, i. e. Pan Darg, i. e. the bloody house, is the residence of a gentleman, whose family have as wellfounded a claim to antiquity as any in Angus. One of our Kings was surnamed Caumore, i. e. large-head, which would rather be a retrograde compliment at the present day. The chief Druid of Ireland assumed, and gloried in, the name of Lamh derg, i. e. bloody hand, &c.

These observations have led me from the main point, but it was perhaps proper to make these few remarks, lest any one should foolishly

Account of the Battle of SHERIFF-MUIR; in a letter from a Gentlemnn at STIRLING to his friend at EDINBURGH. (From Collection of Pamphlets in the pos

session of Mr Blackwood.)

SIR, Stirling, Nov. 15, 1715. GIVE you the following account of what has passed since Friday the 11th instant.

The Duke of Argyle, being inform ed of Mar's motions and designs, called a council of war, in which it was resolved to march to Dunblain, and try to engage the rebels at Sheriff-muir, thereby to prevent their passing the Forth.

His Grace accordingly passed over the bridge with his little army of 3300 men, on Saturday morning by nine o'clock; and the same evening reached the fields beyond Dunblain, lying under arms all night within sight of the enemy.

By break of day, next morning, both armies being in order of battle, the rebels, with a large body of troops, which we, at first, took to be their whole army, advanced towards us. But the parties we had sent out, soon informed us that they were marching another considerable body on our left, two miles to the eastward of us, under cover of the rising grounds. When his Grace observed, that the first body, instead of advancing directly to us, turned up from the lower part of the

moun