and would have lived until this very hour, had the season of rofes fortunately continued.

If we must eat however in thefe degenerate days, let us all betake ourselves to a vegetable diet; "feeing its influence is fo confiderable and fo happy, on beauty of perfon, and tranquility of foul"! P. 83. This is fo close an argument, ad hominem, that we fhould have been furprifed if the au thor had overlooked it. His beauty of perfon we leave to the contemplation of the ladies; but his tranquility of foul, which has led him to maintain a reflefs and envenomed warfare with the whole human race, and chiefly with the most refpectable part of it, cannot be too ftrongly preffed on the reader's notice, as one of the happy effects flowing from a total abftinence from animal food!

We shall return to the fubject of this chapter, after noticing a few paffages illuftrative of the confiftency, and other diftinguifhing qualities of this notable philofopher. In p. 86, we are told, that the fierce and cruel difpofition of the wild Arabs (the Bedouins) is fuppofed to proceed from their feeding upon the flesh of camels." In p. 147, we find that the Arabs, though not without animal food, feldom eat of it; and, as if this was not enough, we are told that, "content with his milk and his dates, the Bedouin has not defired flesh; he has fhed no blood, he has preferved a humane and fenfible heart”! P. 126. The fame admirable order runs through every part of the book; and nations, juft as it fuits the author's purpose, are cannibals, flesh-eaters, or Pythagoreans. "The Peruvians," for example, "were fuch lovers of human flesh, that Cieza one day faw them devour above a hundred men, women, and children," (p. 145); " at another time they killed and ate at least three hundred Indians," (p. 145); but (p. 190) "they contented themfelves with herbs and roots, and with what the earth produced of itfelf." It is needless to quote more of this ineffable nonfense*.

66

Our

* Yet we must be indulged in one inftance more. "The Birians, a nation about 12 degrees north of the Cape of Good Hope, feldom eat meat," &c. P. 187. For this important piece of information, the author quotes Damberger's Travels. To produce the authority of an acknowledged impoftor, in fupport of a caufe which has nothing but falfehood on its fide, is fo natural, that we should not have noticed it, but for a fingular proof of honey in the author. The reference is," Damberger's Travels, London, Longman and Rees." Now, as it is well known, that his worthy friend, "Mifter Richard Phillips, the publisher of this compilation," (p. 201) was the first man that

brought

Our readers have read and trembled at the ferocity of the Eaft India tiger. We have the pleasure to inform them, that in confequence of the vegetable diet of the Marattas, that ferocity is no more. Such is the force of example!" Even the moft formidable quadrupeds (tigers, leopards, ounces, &c.) feem to have loft their natural ferocity in the fame harmless difpofitions; and hence the apprehenfions occafioned by the proximity of fuch neighbours, no longer difquiet the minds of the natives." P. 210. This is from a Monf. de Pages; and thus it is that fools minifter to the defigns of enough, we turn back to p. 83.

-; but

"A vegetable regimen prolongs infancy:-I have feen an inftance of it in an English youth (it is St. Pierre who fpeaks) of fifteen, who had not the appearance of being fo much as twelve! He was a most interefting figure, &c. His father, whofe name was Pigot, told me, that he had brought him up entirely under the Pythagorean fyftem; the good effects he had learned by his own experience."

We remember this unfortunate creature well: it was a poor little ftunted thing, that would eat any thing out of his father's fight, and whofe great ambition was to be an English jockeyboy (he was then fettled at Geneva) for which his light weight and diminutive ftature feemed to qualify him. As to the Pythagorean his father, of whom the author gives fome account in a note, he was a weak and wrong-headed man, who ruined himself and an ancient family. This humane and enlightened philofopher was one of the keenest sportsmen at Newmarket; till, having loft a great deal of money on a race which he was fure of winning, and therefore boldly ventured on, he left the turf in a pet, fold his family eftate at two thirds of its value, and removed with the produce to France, the country of li berty and virtue, which, after his defeat, were no longer to be found here. About 1789, he fettled near Geneva, where he was the object of conftant ridicule from his fingularities. He hired a dozen labourers, at fix thillings a week, to live on vegetables; and the people reported that he had killed two of them with diarrhoeas! We have feen him (for we have not always been confined to our garrets) fitting with his bare rump on fome fresh mould ftrewed upon his garden wall, by way of invigorating his faculties! When the property of this poor man (near fourfcore thousand pounds fterling) was feized by

brought to this country the impudent and ignorant forgery here mentioned, of which he printed and difperfed a vaft edition before it was detected; it is a notable facrifice he makes to juftice in fuppreffing his name, and introducing that of others, who were the mere dupes of a trick by which the former only profited.

Robespierre,

66

Robefpierre, whom he always greatly admired, he was alarmed, and took horfe for Paris. Agitation and terror threw him into a violent fever before he reached Lyons, where he died, and all was loft! So much for the author's fecond hero. The third is a Mr. " John Williamlon, alias Pythagoras, alias Bramin, alias Hole-John." P. 196. The reader wants no further information to determine that this was fome crack-brained idiot or half-witted madman. The author triumphantly notices, that he was a great enemy to "priefts and pricil-craft, the only names he ufed for the clergy and their function." P. 198. The fourth on the philofophic lift is Jolin Ofwald: "he uniformly abflained from eating animal food; nay, fo gre it was his abhorrence of blood, that rather than go through a fleth-market, he would go any dialance about." P. 199. Would it be credited, that this mifcreant, who is here faid to have put on the mild philofophic manners of the Brachman," (ibid.) was the moft ferocious, the most bloodthirfly villain that ever difgraced the human thape! During the whole reign of terror in France, he was the active agent of Couthon, Marat, Le Bon, and the rest of that diabolical crew. Having wallowed in blood at Paris till the fiream grew feauty, he folicited to be fent against the brave and loval Vendeans; there, after innumerable murders, he was at length dispatched, with his two fons (tigers like himfelf) in a Laule which he loft on the banks of the Loire. The filth worthy is no other than Mifter Richard Phillips, the publifher of this compilation;" who, however, has been fo diffident of his friend's publication, as not to advertise it in any lift of books edited by him. Of his hiftory, we know nothing but from mere report. Let thofe, who are acquainted with the facts, judge of the value of his example. The fixth and laft of the fect is the compiler himfelf, who

46

We had written thus far, when we were informed that he was no more! How fearful are the ways of heaven! The fool who, in the pride of his no-knowledge, arraigned the wif dom of Providence; the worm that, in the conceit of his noftrength, afpired to pull the Almighty from his throne, funk, in the twinkling of an eye, beneath the level of the loweft and moft contemptible of the beafts that perifh! It is faid that he was found naked, at midnight, in the court of his inn, with a large clafp-knife in one hand, and a copper kettle in the other, on which he was exercifing his impetent fury. The humanity of the neighbours conveyed him to a mad-houfe, where, in the courfe of a few hours, he expired in a paroxyfm of frenzy.

It is juft, as well as charitable, to hope that his opinions were influenced by the imperceptible growth of that malady

which deftroyed him: for the reft, he is now before a righteous tribunal, where we alfo muft appear; and where the leaft finful of the human race inuft look, no otherwise than himself, for forgiveness to the mercy of a long-fuffering Judge and Father.

ART. III. Philofophical Tranfa&tions of the Royal Society of London, for the Year 1803. Part I. 4to. 276 pp. G. and W. Nicol. 1803.

THE

HE contents of this Part of the Tranfactions confifls of ten Papers, befides the Meteorological Journal, which forms an Appendix of 26 pages.

1. The Bakerian Lecture. Obfervations on the Quantity of Horizontal Refraction; with a Method of measuring the Dip at Sea. By William H. Wollafton, M. D.

In a former paper prefented to the Royal Society, this author endeavoured to afcertain, and to explain, the caufes of horizontal refraction. Since that time, having had it in his power to purfue the fubject, by means of fubfequent experiments and obfervations, the refults of which tend to improve the theory, he ftates thofe particulars in the prefent paper.

The variations of horizontal refraction are evidently depending on the changes indicated by the thermometer and the hygrometer;

"Yet," fays Dr. W. " the law of thefe variations is not altogether fo fimple as I had hoped it might be found.

"I fhall, on the prefent occafion, firft relate the facts on which this opinion is founded, and which are in themfelves fufficiently remarkable, on account of the unexpected quantity of refraction obfervable over a fhort extent of water; I hall, in the next place, fhow that the exact determination of the concurrent changes of the atmosphere are of lefs value, and their irregularities of lefs confequence than I had conceived, as there is a very eafy method whereby the quantity of dip at fea may be at any time correctly meatured; and therefore the end which I fought by indirect means, may be at once directly attained."

He then, in conformity to this plan, relates his obfervations, which were principally made upon the river Thames; to which he fubjoins the method of correcting the dip at sea.

After the ftatement of the obfervations, he says, in page 9, "From the foregoing obfervations we learn, that the quantity of refraction over the furface of water may be very confiderable, where the land is near enough to influence the temperature of the air. At

fea,

fea, however, fo great differences of temperature cannot be expected; and the increase of dip caused by this variation of horizontal refraction, it is to be prefumed, is not fo great as in the confined fource of a river; but, if we confider that it may also be fubject to an equal diminution from an oppofite caufe, and that the horizon may even become apparently elevated, there can be no queftion that the error in nautical obfervations, arifing from a fuppofition that it is invariably according to the height of the observer, ftands in need of correction."

The method of determining the quantity of dip, confifts in taking the fun's altitude, by means of a fextant, from two oppofite points of the horizon.

By the back obfervation, the whole vertical angle between any two oppofite points of the horizon may be measured at once, either before or after taking an altitude. Half the excefs of this angle above 180°, should of course be the dip required.

But, if it be doubtful whether the inftrument is duly adjusted, a fecond obfervation becomes neceffary. The inftrument must be reverfed, and, if the apparent deficiency of the oppofite angle from 180° be not equal to the excefs before obtained, the index error may then be corrected accordingly; and, fince the want of adjustment, either of the glaffes at right angles to the plane of the inftrument, or of the line of fight parallel to it, will affect both the larger and smaller angle very nearly in an equal degree, the part of their difference will be extremely near the truth, and the errors arifing from want of those adjustments may with safety be neglected.”

II. A chemical Analyfis of fome Calamines. By James Smithfon, Efq.

The uncertainty, which, notwithstanding feveral experiments made by divers perfons, ftill remained concerning the nature of thofe ores of zinc, which are commonly called calamines, determined Mr. Smithson to inflitute an analysis of the fame.

The fpecimens he examined, were the calamine from Bleyberg, the calamine from Somersetshire, the calamine from Derbyshire, and the electrical calamine. The refult of his experiments fhows, that 1000 parts of the firft of thofe fpecimens, confift of calx of zinc 714, carbonic acid 135, and water 151. One thousand parts of the calamine from Somerfetfhire, confift of carbonic acid 352, and calx of zinc 648. One thoufand parts of the calamine from Derbyshire, confift of carbonic acid 348, and calx of zinc 652. One thousand parts of the electrical calamine, confift of quartz 250, calx of zinc 683, water 44, and 23 of thofe parts were loft in the courfe of the operations. But Mr. S. obferves, that if the water is only accidental in this calamine, then its ingredients are quartz 261, and calx of zinc 739.

The