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1798.]

Doubts as to Toads found in Stone.

conduct of the Herefordfhire yeomanry, in their election of Robert Biddolph, efq. to be their reprefentative in parliament; the circumstances of that appointment, and the generous refolutions that followed, deferve the most honourable mention; and are worthy not only of being held up to general imitation in modern times, but of being handed down in the moft refpectful manner to pofterity: for it may with truth be afferted, that there is not a fingle member in the Houfe of Commons, who has been placed there by a conduct equally fpirited and popular.

The letter was accompanied with a propofal, that when medals were ftruck, entitled to public notice, one fhould be fent to your Magazine; and it was fubmitted to your judgment, whether it might not be at once agreeable and inftructive to your readers to prefent them with an engraving of it.

This letter was a mere hint, and appcared in your Magazine: but I wished to afcertain, how far it was confiftent with your plan, to allow the fubject a more ample difcuffion. I accoringly propofed, if agreeable, to refume it, and to fend an explanation of the Herefordshire medal.

The infertion of that letter I confidered as an answer to my question; and accordingly, in conformity with my promife, fent a fecond letter, containing fome ob fervations on medals, firft, in reference to ancient literature, after the manner of Spanheim, Villalpandus, and Addifon; and afterwards, in reference to modern times, with a few particulars concerning the Herefordshire election, explanatory of the medal.—This laft letter never made its

appearance.

I, at first, apprehended, that the effay might not fuit the genius of your Repofitory, going, as it did, into a minute examination, and making refpectful mention of an art that is frequently treated as trifling. But on enquiry I have been informed that the printer has miflaid it. I beg per miffion, therefore, to give this information; otherwife I am liable to be charged with levity, or inadvertence. For 1 pledged myself to write on the fubject, if agreeable to your wifhes; and your infertion of my first letter will be confidered in the light of a compliance with my request: a farther reafon for my writing will be made to arife from a call of one of your correfpondents, unknown to me, to fulfil my engagement.-My fecond letter was communicated to you, before that letter made its appearance. I am, fir, &c. Jan. 5, 1798. G. D.

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To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine.

SIR,

THE reciprocal defire to communicate and to liften to extraordinary narra tions, especially fuch as appear to contradict the ufual courfe of nature, is every where prevalent among mankind. Tales of ghofts and witches, once the fruitful fource of the marvellous, have now ceased to affect even the vulgar. But fingular deviations from what we are accustomed to fee, are ftill received with peculiar avi. dity. To the operation of this principle, I am inclined to refer the various narratives with which you have been favoured by feveral correfpondents, of toads found thut up in folid rocks, of flate, of freeftone, and even of marble, of which laft there is a fpecimen in the Marquis of Rockingham's feat in York fhire,

I have obferved a striking peculiarity in all the inftances brought forward in your Magazine. No one is given by an eye-witnefs of the fact, but always on the authority of fome perfon of undoubted veracity, that is, in whom the narrator had implicit belief. I need hardly obferve, fir, how much in this refpect thefe ftories refemble the tales of ghofts, which are always given at fecond-hand, and we can never fee the perfon, who, himself, faw the ghoft. Now, fir, as to me it is a real miracle, that an animal which has lungs, and confequently requires air; that has a ftomach, and organs of digeltion, and therefore ftands in need of food; that has bulk and dimenfions, and therefore occupies fpace; fhould be found in the centre of a folid rock, where there is neither air,food,nor vacancy-for I think no man will be hardy enough to affert that a toad can live during the centuries required to form ftone; I must be per-. mitted, till the phenomenon is eftablished' by better authenticated proofs than have yet been ftated, to abide by the golden rule laid down by Mr. Hume, viz. to believe in the leffer miracle. Surely it is more probable that all thefe people fhould be mistaken, than that the courfe of nature should be fo unaccountably perverted. An inclination for the marvellous is a fin that easily befets us, and is with difficulty repelled: the beft mode of curing it, is an attentive study of nature, which not only teaches us that her laws are uniform, but fatisfies that inclination of the mind for the wonderful, by unfolding the real wonders with which every part of creation abounds. I am, fir, your's, &c. A. P. B.

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28 Plagiarism detected....Unnecessary Expence in Printing.. [Jan.

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SIR,

were two 66

GREAT wits jump" fays the old proverb; now, Mr. Editor, were you and I to fet down in our refpective clofets (quære garrets?) with an intention of favouring the world with our compofitions on the fame given fubject; and fuppofing, after publication, it fhould be dif covered that, not only an identity of reflections, but an identity of expreffing thofe reflections, pervaded the whole what would the world fay ?-What, but that I had pillaged from you-or you from me-or that we compofite knaves?"-Granted! well then, to my fubject: amongst the numerous works of Oliver Goldsmith, his Hiftory of England in three vols. 8vo. was efteemed one of his best publications, and the fale was in proportion to the estimation: during his lifetime, was published an abridgement of the fame, confeffedly by himself. Some years afterwards, I believe,appeared another hiftory, "In a Series of Letters from a Nobleman to his Son," which has vulgarly been afcribed to Lord Lyttelton!

On perufing these two abridgments (for the "Letters are nothing more) the moft glaring famcnefs is difcoverable through the whole: the fame reflections, and the very fame expreffion of them, every where occur the only difference, where there is any, is merely occafioned by the ufc of the fecond perfon, as is ufual in an epiftolary form, or the fame fentiment fometimes thinly gauzed over by a variation of the expreffion. To felet inftances would be needlefsa ready example will be found throughout the whole. From hence it "Letters" are merely appears that the Goldfmith's Hiftory, put into that form by fome needy bookfeller, or more needy author. Ingeni largitor venter! fays DR. PANGLOSS.

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THE very high ftate of improvement to which the art of printing has arrived, must give great pleasure to every lover of literary purfaits. He reads with peculiar delight, a book printed with a clear type and on good paper, and enjoys a high luxury when most beautiful typography is impreffed upon large, thick cream-coloured, wire-wove paper, botpreffed.

But men in the middling rank of life cannot afford to indulge in luxuries of the table, neither can they afford luxuries in books; plain well-dreffed meat is better diet for them than turtle-soup, and plain

well-printed books are more proper for them than large cream-coloured, wire-wove, hot-preffed, ones. Occafionally, they may fpare a guinea to purchase a luxury, but they muit more commonly content themfelves with humble neceffaries.

It is to be withed that authors would take this into confideration; their vanity may be increafed by the appearance of their writings on a gloffy, thick creamcoloured paper, and occafionally this mode of publication may be indulged in, and approved of; but when an author publishes an intereft ng work, of general utility, he ought to confider that many perfons might obtain benefit and inftruc tion from his book, if they could purchase it at a moderate price, but they cannot afford to buy large cream coloured, wirewove paper, bot-preffed.

I am induced to addrefs this letter to you, from having feen a late publication of Dr. Rollo, on Diabetes Mellitus, in preffed paper, price twelve shillings in 2 vols. 8vo. beautifully printed on hotboards. Thele volumes contain much interefting information for medical pracalmoft conftantly incurable, but which titioners, concerning a difeafe hitherto this work profeffes to point out a mode of curing. If this publication was intended to prove ferviceable to mankind, by giving new light refpecting this dif. treffing difeafe, it ought to have been published at fuch a price, as to have been within the reach of the generality of have been, had it been printed in a lefs practitioners, and this it might easily been published in one 8vo. volume, fuffplendid manner. I think it might have pofes, for fix or feven fhillings, and this ficiently well printed for all useful purwould have been more particularly proper, because it seems probable, from

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1798.]

An Experiment on the Congelation of Mercury

the preface, that this will, in a fhort time, be fuperfeded by more complete edition; in this cafe, the purchafers of the prefent, if they with, as most men do, to have a perfect work, will probably be obliged to pay a guinea for the whole, in three volumes, and may perhaps lole feven fhillings by the first edition.

I mean not more particularly to point out Dr. ROLLO as blameable in this refpect; feveral other authors are, in my opinion, fully as much fo as he is. I have alluded to his book, because it has more immediately ftruck me as much too fplendid for general ufe, but I by no means with to be understood as cenfuring him alone. Let works of taste and ftandards of excellence, purchafed by the rich and magnificent, be published with every embellifhment and elegance that art can be ftow, but let works, intended for general utility and propofed improvements, be contented to appear in a more humble drefs, and at a price which may not abfoJutely deter the unopulent philofopher from fearching into them for wifdom. September 22.

S. M.

For the Monthly Magazine.
AN EXPERIMENT ON THE CONGELA-
TION OF MERCURY, MADE BY CITI-
ZENS HASSENFRATZ, WELTER,
BONJOUR, AND HACHETTE.

THE nitric acid that was to ferve for
the operation was first prepared;
for that purpofe, acid was taken of which
the fpecific gravity was 1.526, and this
was mixed with a certain quantity of
fnow, at the temperature of the atinef-
phere, which occafioned a production of
heat. Succeffive dofes of fnow were af-
terwards added, till heat was no longer
produced. The acid was then reduced
to the fpecific gravity of 1.420, and was
of the fame temperature as the atmol-
phere.

After this preparation, a mixture was made of three parts of fnow, and one of fea falt, containing its water of cryftallization, the temperature of the atmosphere being 9° (of Reaumur's thermometer). By thefe means a degree of cold of 17° was ob

tained.

It was obferved that this temperature, refulting from the mixture, did not change during three days, though that of the atmosphere varied from 5 above nought to 9° below; nor did the mixture take the temperature of the atmosphere till the falt was entirely diffolved.

This fecond mixture being made, two little glafs pails, one full of fnow, the

29

other of nitric acid, prepared in the manner indicated above, were plunged into it, and in half an hour took the temperature of the mixture, that is to fay, 17°; but the fnow had not quite reached the faine degree of cold. By means of a tin kand, fome of this fnow was gradually introduced into the pail containing the nitric acid; and the mixture, which had a thermometer of fpirits of wine plunged into it, was carefully ftirred about. The thermometer fell gradually, in a manner perceptible to the eye, till, in about eight or ten minutes, it reached 31°. The mercury, inclofed in very thin bulbs of glafs, was then plunged into the mixture alfo, and became perfectly folid. The perfon who held the glafs tube belonging to the bulb, thought he perceived the moment of the change, by a flight fhock which his hand underwent, and which may have been occafioned by the fudden contraction of the mercury; a phenomenon fimilar to what is obferved when phofphorus paffes from a liquid to a folid fate. It was alfo perceived that a portion of the metal was cryftallized.

The folidity of the mercury was afterwards afcertained by beating it upon a flat plate (un tas) with a hammer, both cooled in the fecond mixture, that is to fay, at the temperature of 17° by this operation it was confiderably flattened. One of the experimenters rook in his hand the metal thus flattened, and still folid, and, keeping it there for fome time, felt a painful fenfation, fimilar to that of a burn. The mercury icft a white mark, which afterwards turned red, and was perceptible for feveral days.

It was remarked that, at the temperature of 31o, the addition of more fnow did not increase the cold; but, on the contrary, diminished it by a production of heat the moment of its doing fo was eafily determinable, because the fnow then fwam upon the acid, in the form of little icicles.

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On Subfcriptions among Diffenters.

de

30 "Arminian; but that I am of Calvi"niftic principles of the "nomination; and that I do not ufually "adminifter or receive the ordinance of "the Lord's Supper, commonly called "the Sacrament, kneeling, nor have done "fo for the laft fix months."

Undoubtedly the worthy teftator had a right to limit his pofthumous bounty to poor diffenting minifters of any particular defcription, and to exclude all others by this or any other teft. To this meafure he was probably led by having been habituated to a fomewhat fimilar practice, in the management of the congregational fund; the beneficiaries of which have, I believe, been always expected to give in, not merely fuch a declaration as this, but a regular and explicit confeffion of their faith. Whether, however, fuch requifitions are ftrictly justifiable in any, but efpecially in perfons who profefs to diffent from the eftablishment, upon the principle of the fole authority of Chrift in his church, and the unlawfulness of human impofitions; and whether they do not naturally lead to the evil confequences fo well defcribed in the following letter, I leave to your readers, fuch of them, particularly, as it may more immediately concern, to judge. I have only to add, that it was found among the papers of an excellent perfon fome time fince deccafed, who will be known to many of your theological readers by his ufual fignature of VIGILIUS: It appears to have been the first copy of a letter addreffed to a leading manager of the board above mentioned, more than forty years ago. I am, &c.

REV. SIR.

V. F.

"WHEN I fettled as minister to the congregation of proteftant Diffenters in this place, I was informed that for many years they had been affifted in fupporting the miniftry amongst them, by an annual exhibition from the Independent Fund.

"Accordingly I received five pounds from that fund, about the clofe of last year but one, which was the firft of my miniftry here, and for which I am truly thankful.

"At the clofe of last year, hearing nothing of the ufual allowance, I got a friend, one of this fociety, to enquire, by a relation in town, into the reafon of the ftop, and folicit a continuance of the ufual affiftance. After fome time we received the following anfwer, as from you,

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[Fan.

that " as I was a ftranger to you, if I "would send you a letter of my principles, you, or fome of your brethren, "would take care that fomething should "be given us, if the letter was approved "of." I confefs I was a good deal furprized at this anfwer, because the demand is fo general and indeterminate. I could not fuppofe that you expected I fhould give an account at large, of all the articles of my Chriftian faith, nor could I conjecture which were especially meant, as no particulars were specified. When I was admitted to preach as a candidate for the miniftry, and afterwards at my ordination to that facred office, many years ago, I gave an account of my principles, I believe fatiffactory to fome of the most eminent in the diffenting miniftry in thefe parts, fuch as the late Dr. Charles Owen of Warrington, Mr. Gardner of Chefter, Mr.Culcheth of Macclesfield, and others; nor am I confcious of having admitted any material change in my principles fince that time. Some alterations in matters of finaller moment, I prefume, may be fuppofed the confequence of farther light and inftructions, and of, I truft, a ferious enquiry into the truths of the gofpel. In general, I firmly believe the gofpel of our Lord Jefus, and endeavour to make the holy fcripture the rule of my life and ministry; but if a more explicit declaration of my fentiments, with regard to fome particular points, be ftill infilled upon, as the indifpenfible term of the continuance of your favour, and of the affiftance of your fund, I must on that very confideration, beg to be excufed; for though (for aught I am certified of) my fentiments in the particulars intended, may be conformable to your own, nay, though I were fatisfied they were perfectly fo, yet this is a term I dare not comply with: for as I hope, through the affiftances of divine grace, to conduct myfelf in the great concern of faith and falvation on principles of fimplicity and godly fincerity, not with fleshly wifdom, I would not admit pecuniary confiderations to have any weight either in the forming or declaring my belief. But if I were apprehenfive that my fentiments differed from yours in fome things, and that they would be difapproved by you if honeftly declared, and that on this account I muft forfeit your favour and fupport, I cannot answer for it how far the above pecuniary confiderations, once admitted, though they could afford no evidence to convince my

judgment,

1798.] Subfcriptions among Diffenters.....Apotheosis of Milton.

judgment, might prove a temptation to accommodate my expreffions, to fuit with what I might apprehend to be your fentiments, and to conceal my own; nor can I tell how far it might pleafe God in righteoufness to leave me, to fall by fuch a temptation. You have lived longer in the world, and feen more of mankind than I, yet I have lived long enough even in this obfcurity, to fee and lament more than one inftance of thefe arts of expreffion and concealment, unworthy the fimplicity, rectitude, and integrity of heart, becoming Christianity and the miniftry; and therefore upon farther reflection, I cannot but eftcem it a piece of neceffary juftice to you, to fuppofe that my friend's relation miftook, and inadvertently misreprefented your meaning. I perfuade myself that you have too much of the amiable fpirit of the gofpel, and tendernefs for the the confciences of your brethren, to al. low it to be your intention or practice, to demand of them an account of their principles for your approbation, attend. ing thofe demands with worldly mo tives, the fuggeftoins whereof (efpecially when enforced as in many cafes by the prevalence of indigence, and the demands of numerous dependents) fo obviously draw into prevarication, a thing which I am fure you leaft defire: befides that, I am convinced you have too great Iand continual reverence for the great Shepherd not to be folicitous, that when he shall appear to exact from each of us an account of our refpective trufts, you may not be found to have perverted that great and extenfive truft repofed in you for the fupport of the gofpel, into a fum-bling-block, and an occafion of falling thrown in your brother's way. Your own foul, I am fatisfied, profecutes the thought, and dreads the confequence.

"If indeed it be fo, that the perfon who waited on you, on our account, did not mistake your meaning, and that you really demanded an account of my principles, in order that in cafe upon trial they met with approbation, I might hope for the continued alliftance of your fund, and not otherwife, I can only account for it by fuppofing that fome mifemployed tongue or pen hath given you a difadvantageous account of me; and as I know not from whence the attack comes, or upon what part of my character, as a believer or preacher of the gofpel, the ftroke hath fallen, I mut endeavour to bear the hurtful effects of it, with patience and refignation, But however

31

you may fee fit to determine with regard to me, give me leave to intercede with you, good fir, in favour of this fmall fociety of ferious Chriftians, fo long the charge of the worthy and amiable Mr.

"Should you finally withdraw your affiftance, they will have great difficulty to fupport a minifter, and probably muft foon diffolve. If I am obliged to give way to the difcountenance and difcouragement I meet with, perhaps they may procure another minifter, who may not labour under my difficulties, to give you all required fatisfaction; and whoever he fhall be, may he prove more skilful and fuccefsful than I, in promoting the great interests of the Redeemer's kingdom, and of the faith, holiness, and comfort of his people here! As for myfelf, if the great Head of the churches hath any farther work for me in his vineyard, may I be found faithfully endeavouring to difcharge my duty according to the measure of abilities imparted to me, and I humbly truft in his gracious fupport and final acceptance. derive from him all fuitable frength, fupport, and bleffing, to direct and to fucceed you in every faithful endeavour to advance his honour and intereft among men, is the fincere and fervent petition of, reverend fir,your affectionate brother, and very humble fervant.

That you may

"W.T."

For the Monthly Magazine.
TN the eleventh volume of the works of

Dr. Johnfon, there is, in a vifion, intitled "The Apotheofis of Milton," a fpecimen of reafoning upon loyalty, of fo very extraordinary a kind, as might make him, who had read fuch different reafoning from the fame writer, blefs himself for wonder

In Westminster Abbey, the genius of the place informs the vifionist, that in the room facred to the fpirits of the bards (whofe remains are buried or monuments erected within that pile) there was to be held, on the night of the vifion (fupposed to be that following the erection of the monument to Milton) an affembly of great importance, for debating whether he should be ad-mitted one of the honourable fraternity? and that a ftrong oppofition would be made by fome members on account of the principles of Milton. More than nine-tenths of this little piece are taken up with very good defcriptions of the charac ters which compofe the affembly; of the debate we have but two fpeeches.

Chaucer,

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