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AN ANONYITOUS GIFT

JUL 25 1940

COMMITTEE.

Chairman-The Right Hon. the LORD CHANCELLOR, F.R.S., Member of the National Institute of France. Vice-Chairman-The Right Hon. LORD JOHN RUSSELL, M.P., Paymaster of the Forces.

W. Allen, Esq., F.R. and R.A.S.

Rt. Hon. Visc. Althorp, M.P., Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Capt. F. Beaufort, R.N., F. R. and R.A.S., Hydrographer to the Admiralty.

Sir C. Bell, F.R.S.L. and E.

G. Burrows, M.D.

C. Hay Cameron, Esq.

The Rt. Rev. the Bishop of Chichester, D.D.

William Coulson, Esq.

R. D. Craig, Esq.

Wm. Crawford, Esq.

J. Frederick Daniell, Esq. F.R.S.

H. T. Delabeche, Esq., V.P. Geol. Society.

Rt. Hon. Lord Denman.

T. Drummond, Esq. R.E., F.R.A.S.

C. L. Eastlake, Esq., R.A.

Rt. Hon. Visc. Ebrington, M.P.

Sir Henry Ellis, Prin, Lib. Brit. Mus.

Anglesea-Rev. E. Williams.

Rev. W. Johnson.

Mr. Miller.

Ashburton-J. F. Kingston, Esq.
Barnstaple.- - Bancraft, Esq.
William Gribble, Esq.

Bilston-Rev. W. Leigh.

Birmingham-Rev.J.Corrie, F.R.S. Chairman.

Paul Moon James, Esq., Treasurer.
W. Redfern, Esq., Honorary Sec.

Bridport-Wm. Forster, Esq.

James Williams, Esq.

Bristol-J. N. Sanders, Esq., Chairman.
J. Reynolds, Esq., Treasurer.

J. B. Estlin, Esq., F.L.S., Secretary.
Calcutta-Lord Wm. Bentinck.

Sir Edward Ryan.

James Young, Esq.

Cambridge-Rev. James Bowstead, M.A.

Rev. Prof. Henslow, M.A., F.L.S. & G.S.
Rev. Leonard Jenyns, M.A., F.L.S.
Rev. John Lodge, M.A.

Rev. Geo. Peacock, M.A., F.R.Y. & G.S.
R.W.Rothman, Esq.,M.A., F.R.A.S.&G.S.
Rev. Prof. Sedgwick, M.A., F.R.S. & G.S.
Professor Smyth, M.A.

Rev. C. Thirlwall, M.A.
Canterbury-John Brent, Esq., Alderman.
J. G. K. Burt, M.D., Treasurer.

Thomas Wilkinson, Esq., Secretary.
H. Carter, M.D., F.R.S.E.

William Masters, Esq.

Canton-J. F. Davis, Esq., F.R.S.
Cardigan-Rev. J. Blackwell.

Carlisle-Thomas Barnes, M.D., F.R.S.E.
Carnarvon-R. A. Poole, Esq.

William Roberts, Esq.

Chester-Hayes Lyon, Esq.

Henry Potts, Esq.

Chichester-John Forbes, M.D, F.R.S. C. C. Dendy, Esq.

Corfu-John Crawford, Esq.

Mr. Plato Petrides.

Coventry-Arthur Gregory, Esq

Denbigh-John Madocks, Esq.

Thomas Evans, Esq.

Treasurer-WILLIAM TOOKE, Esq., M.P., F.R.S.

T. F. Ellis, Esq., A.M., F.R.A.S.
John Elliotson, M.D., F.R.S.
Thomas Falconer, Esq.

I. L. Goldsmid, Esq., F.R. and R.A.S.
B. Gompertz, Esq., F.R. and R.A.S.

G. B. Greenough, Esq., F.R. and L.S.
H. Hallam, Esq. F.R.S., M.A.
M. D. Hill, Esq. M.P.

Rowland Hill, Esq., F.R.A.S.
Edwin Hill, Esq.

The Rt. Hon. Sir J. C. Hobhouse, Bart.
David Jardine, Esq., A.M.

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Exeter-J. Tyrrell, Esq.

John Milford, Esq. (Coaver.) Glasgow-K. Finlay, Esq.

Professor Mylne.

Alexander McGrigor, Esq.

Charles Tennant, Esq.

James Cowper, Esq.

Glamorganshire-Dr. Malkin, Cowbridge.

W. Williams, Esq., Aberpergwm. Guernsey-F. C. Lukis, Esq.

Hull-J. C. Parker, Esq.

Keighley, Yorkshire-Rev. T. Dury, M.A.
Launceston-Rev. J. Barfitt.

Leamington Spa-Dr. Loudon, M.D.
Leeds-J. Marshall, Esq.
Lewes J. W. Woollgar, Esq.
Limerick-Wm. O'Brien, Esq.

Liverpool Loc. As.-W. W. Currie, Esq. Ch
J. Mulleneux, Esq., Treasurer.
Rev. W. Shepherd.

Ludlow-T. A. Knight, Esq., P.H.S.
Maidenhead-R. Goolden, Esq., F.L.S.
Maidstone-Clement T. Smyth, Esq.
John Case, Esq.

Malmesbury-B. C. Thomas, Esq.

Manchester Loc. As.-G. W. Wood, Esq., Ch.

Benjamin Heywood, Esq., Treasurer.
T. W. Winstanley, Esq., Hon. Sec.
Sir G. Philips, Bart., M.P.
Masham-Rev. George Waddington, M.A.
Merthyr Tydvil-J. J. Guest, Esq. M.P.
Minchinhampton-John G. Ball, Esq.
Neath-John Rowland, Esq.
Newcastle-Rev. W. Turner.

Newport, Isle of Wight-Ab. Clarke, Esq.
T. Cooke, Jun., Esq.

R. G. Kirkpatrick, Esq. Newport Pagnell-J. Millar, Esq.

Newtown, Montgomeryshire-W. Pugh, Esq.

J. W. Lubbock, Esq., F.R., R.A, and L.S.9,
H. Malden, Esq. A.M.
A. T. Malkin, Esq., A.M.
James Manning, Esq.

J. Herman Merivale, Esq., A.M., F.A.S.
James Mill, Esq.

W. H. Ord, Esq. M.P.

The Right Hon. Sir H. Parnell, Bart., M.P.
Dr. Roget, Sec. R.S., F.R.A.S.

Sir M. A. Shee, P.R.A., F.R.S.
John Abel Smith, Esq., M.P.
John Taylor, Esq. F.R.S.
Dr. A. T. Thomson, F.L.S.
John Ward, Esq.

H. Waymouth, Esq.

J. Whishaw, Esq., A.M., F.R.S.
John Wood, Esq.

John Wrottesley, Esq., A.M., F.R.A.S.

Norwich-Rt. Hon. Lord Suffield.
Richard Bacon, Esq.

Orford-Dr. Daubeny, F.R.S. Prof. of Chem.

Rev. Prof. Powell,

Rev. John Jordan, B.A.

Rev. R. Walker, M.A., F.R.S.

E. W. Head, Esq., M.A.

W. R. Browne, Esq., B.A.

Penang-Sir B. H. Malkin.

Plymouth-H. Woollcombe, Esq., F. A. S. Chairman.

Snow Harris, Esq., F.R.S.

E. Moore, M.D., F.L.S., Secretary.
G. Wightwick, Esq.

Presteign-Dr. A. W. Davies, M.D.
Rippon-Rev. H. P. Hamilton, M.A
and G.S.

Rev. P. Ewart, M.A.

Ruthen-Rev. the Warden of.

Humphreys Jones, Esq.

Ryde, Isle of Wight—Sir Rd. Simeon, Bart., M.P.

Sheffield-J. H. Abraham, Esq.

Shepton Mallet-G. F. Burroughs, Esq.
Shrewsbury-R. A. Slaney, Esq., M.P.
South Petherton-John Nicholetts, Esq.
St. Asaph-Rev. George Strong.
Stockport-H. Marsland, Esq., Treasurer
Henry Coppock, Esq., Secretary.
Tavistock-Rev. W. Evans.

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THOMAS COATES, Esq., Secretary, No. 59, Lincoln's Inn Fields

Printed by WILLIAM JACKSON, Belleville Power Press.

INDEX TO VOLUME III.

ABBEY, expenditure of a great one, 7.

Accounts, importance of accuracy in, 451.
Activity, advantage of, 31.

Adjutant, or gigantic crane, voracity of, 41.
Adoration of the Shepherds, by Spagnoletto, notice
of, 146.

Algiers, historical and descriptive account of, 490.
Allspice-tree, account of, 282.

America, account of the trade with, 6.
Amiens Cathedral, description of, 52.
Amsterdam, historical and descriptive
of, 317.

account

Appearances, false, their likeness to truth, 360.
Aracari, curl-crested, description of, 105.
Argand lamp, description of, 119.

Aurora, Guido's picture of, critical notice of, 4.
Auscultation, discovery and practice of 71.

BACON, Lord, observations by,.172, 399.
Balbec, present state of the ruins of, 43.
Balsa, description of, 150.

Bank of England, description of, 348.
Barrows, account of, 494.

Bat, the Kalong, description of, 306.

Bats, nature and habits of, 305.

Bathing, cleanliness, &c., advice with respect to,

328.

Bay-tree, account of, 314.

Beards, observations on, 367.

Beauvais, town and cathedral, account of, 67.
Bedford Level, account of the, 133.

Bedouin Arabs, narrative concerning the, 297.
Bee management, improved system of, 11.
Bells, account of, 404.

Best place and best friend, 184.

Bills of Mortality, observations on the, 54

Birmingham Town Hall, description of, 239; organ,
account of, 436.

Bison, natural history of the, 273.

Boa Constrictor, account of, 394.

Bobbin-net manufacture, historical account of, 278.
Bonze, the grateful, 60.

Book, value of a good one, 238.

Books in the Middle Ages, account of, 87; remark
by Milton on the diffusion of, 237; personal cha-
racter of, 247; ancient church, their value, 415.
Boy extracting a Thorn, statue of, 233.
Bread, mode of making in the East, 2.
Bristol, historical and descriptive account of, 450,

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Caspar Hauser, biographical notices of, 4/, Du, D.
Cat, anecdote of the gratitude of a, 234.
Cat painter, biographical notice of a, 86.
Cemeteries, account of, 173; observations on, 298.
Chagrin, effect of, 223..

Chance defined, 220.

Chappows of the Turkomans, account of, 146. ··
Chestnuts, manner of clearing them from the husk
in Savoy, 244.

Chetah, or hunting leopard, descriptive sketch
of, 31.

Chinese junk, description of, 9.

Chili, aborigines of, 318; horsemanship in, 323.
Chinese barbers, 172; poem, account of a, 358;
women, description of, 371; inhabitants of boats,
371.

Chlamyphorus truncatus, description of, 49.
Church nosegays, curious custom relating to, 415.
Cinnamon and cassia, 112.

Civilization, life prolonged by, 300.

Cities of Silence, or Turkish burial-grounds, 236.
Cleanliness, advice with respect to, 438.

Clocks, historical account of, 187; description of the
machinery of, 195; striking machinery of, 220.
Cloth, manner of printing in the South Sea Islands,
172.

Coaches, historical notice of, 321.
Coffee, best mode of preparing for use,
Common qualities, value of, 184.

228.

Commons, House of, origin of, 506; facts relating
to the early condition of, 507.

Conveniences, comparison of past and present, 180.
Corfù, account of, 394.

Cornish fishermen, account of, 262.

Cornwall, mines in, on the system of contracts
pursued at, 500,

Cromwell, Richard, anecdote of, 96.
Cuttle-fish, natural history of the, 324.

DELAY, lines on by Spenser, 399.

Descent from the Cross, by Rubens, notice of, 301.
Dispensaries, self-supporting, account of, 238.
Dodo, relics of, 4.

Dogs used in smuggling, 195; wild, in Van Die-
men's Land, 197, 270; in the Western Ghauts
of India, 205.

Domenichino, biographical sketch of, 356; his pic-
ture of Eneas preparing to carry his father from
Troy, 357.

Dove-Dale, description of, 108.

Draught horses, English management of, 43.
Dress and clothes in the thirteenth century, 112.
Dutch clerks, their skill, 399.

EARLY EDUCATION, difficulty of supplying the want
of, 437.

East India Company, historical account of the, 84;
Indian notions of, 323.
Economy described, 184.

Edward I., parliament of, 493.

Election, a recent one in Greece, 14.

Elephant, first arrival of one in England, 63.
Eltham Palace, subterranean passages at, 399.
Ely Cathedral, account of, 245.

Entire application, necessity of, 184.

Esquimaux, board and lodging of, 336; near Cape
Lisburn, account of, 360.

Exeter Cathedral, description and historical sketch
of, 157.

FEASTING the poor previous to the establishment of
the Poor-Laws, 60.

Fire, on the means of procuring, 284.
Fish, drowning a, 319.

Fishmongers' Company, account of the, 57.
Flamingo, natural history of the, 225.
Franklin, Dr., character of, 24; loan by, 371.
Freiburg, account of, 178.

Fugger Family, account of the, 269.

GAMBIER ISLANDERS, thievish disposition of, 315;
mode of salutation among, 327

Gas, history of, 373; manufacture of, 427, 452, 458;
oil-gas, 492.

Gaveston, Piers, detail of the circumstances con-
nected with his death, 363

Cenius, a definition of, 184.

Ghosts, remarks on the belief in, 234.*

Gibraltar, historical notice of, 19; monkeys at. 20-
"ount of, 6.

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HAARLEM ORGAN, notice of, 386.

Habit, a depraved one cured, and false prejudice
overcome, 142.

Haddon Hall, description of, 263.

Hair, effect of the atmosphere on, 300.
Halifax, account of, 100.

Hampton Court Palace, description of, 25.
Hastings, castle of, and St. Mary's Chapel, 375.
Hawking, historical and descriptive account of,
390, 410, 463, 475.

Heriot, George, biographical notice of, 280.
High lights, remark of Lord Bacon on, 358.
Himalaya Mountains, site of a convalescent esta-
blishment in the, 14.

Hogarth's Works, descriptive account of, 121; Mar-
riage-à-la-Mode, 124; the Cockpit, 124; Indus-
try and Idleness, 209, 249; the Enraged Musi-
cian, 287; the Distrest Poet, 329; the Rake's
Progress, 378; Blunders in Perspective, 401; the
Politician, 491.

Homœopathy, account of the system of, 115.
Houses, their style and furniture in the age of
Queen Elizabeth, 235.

Hull, historical and descriptive account of, 354.
Hybernation of animals, observations on, 499.
Hydra, account of the island of, 322.

ICELAND, extraordinary article in the ecclesiastical
code of, 107.

Illuminated printing, 63.
Imagination, on the faculty of, 96.
Incredulity the wit of fools, 184.
Indian rivers, description of, 399.

Indian chief of North Amerien, narrative of his
life, 282.

India, Western Ghauts of, account of the wild dogs
of, 205.

Inns and conveyances in London in 1684, 463.
Ischia, description of the island of, 941.

JAGA, or Bread-fruit tree, description of, 433.
Java, barbarous combats in, 408.
Jews, persecution of the, 72.

KENSALL-GREEN, cemetery at, account of, 299.
Kitchens of King John, 60.

Knife-grinder, by Teniers, notice of, 257.
Knowledge and ignorance, 184.

Knowledge, remarks on by Bacon and Buchanan,

360

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Le Roi Boit,' by Jordaens, notice of, 499.]
Leo X., biographical sketch of, 473.
Leonardo da Vinci, biographical notice of, 99.
Line, Equinoctial, usage on passing the, 150.
Local attachment, anecdote concerning, 119.
Locust, descriptive account of, 23.
London, Milton's view of the mind of, 239.
Lords, House of, information relating to, 466.
Lotus, the Egyptian, description of, 217.
Louvain, account of, 12.

Luxor, obelisk of, account of its transportation!
Paris, 61, 66.

MADEIRA, description of the island of, 460.
Mahomet II., biographical sketch of, 140.
Mahommedan devotions, account of, 372.

Malta, account of, 151.

Mammee-tree, description of, 268.

Mango-tree, description of, 81.

Manilla, cigar manufactory in, description of 246.
Manna-tree, process of obtaining the gum from,

204.

Marmot, Alpine, natural history of, 247.
Marriages, ancient, 107.

Matrimonial forbearances, 107.

Mechanics' Institutions, hints for improving, and
for extending the utility of, 484.

Meerza Abul Hassan, the Persian ambassador
narrative relating to, 407, 413.
Mehmandar, account faj

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Suspension Brige, a

ney with, 94
Vering sheep, account of, angehit

ative or visit to 192.

in Spain, 346.

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of the

cod of obtaining the

nata from clay iroa ton, 396; different methods
of smelting iron, 402, copper-ores. 482; copper.
mines of Cornwall, 502.

Mines in Cornwall, on the

sued at, 500.

Mirage, description of, 28.

stem

Mohammedan schools, account of, 434.

Moonbeams, effect of at sea, 315.

Morning meetings, Spanish custom of, 14.
Mounds of the Tigris, account of, 365.

Murillo, biographical sketch of, 113.

Music, observations on, 156, 170, 188; its influence
on the mind, 462.

Music for the Many, historical notices concerning,
82, 93, 110.

NAUPLIA, account of, 310.

Negro character, amiable trait in, 172.

'Never too late,' applied to the cultivation of the
mind, 223.

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, account of, 185.

Newfoundland dog, qualities and habits of the,

15.

Newspapers, on the transmission of by post, 96.
Niagara Whirlpool, anecdote relating to the, 275.
Norwich Castle, description of, 103.

OLD TRAVELLERS: William de Rubruquis, 266
303, 326, 350; Busbequius, 485.
Opium, qualities and use of, 397.
Ostade, critical notice of his works, 180
Ostrich, swiftness of the, 88.

Otaheite, making friends in, 371; administration
of justice in, 375; houses in, 430; prophetic bird
in, 462; sacred pig in, 478; Wallis's visit to, 478;
human sacrifices in, 482.

Otter, habits of, and mode of hunting, 495, 503.
Oxford, historical and descriptive account of, 418.

PAINTED CHAMBER, account of the, 458.
Painting in the thirteenth century, 109.

Parliament, Houses of, historical and descriptive
account of, 442, 443; account of the burning of,
446, tapestry of the House of Lords, 453; the
Painted Chamber, 458; information relating to
the House of Lords, 466; origin of the House of
Commons, 506; facts illustrative of its early con-
dition, 507.

Parrot, the gray, anecdote of one, 119.
Parsees, account of the, 138.

Patronage, observations on, from the Rambler,'
220

Pauperism, remarks on the progress of, 231.

Peak Cavern, in Derbyshire, description of, 148.
l'ere la Chaise, cemetery of, 270.

Perpetual motion, observations on, 2.
Perseverance of an ant, noticed by Tamerlane, 149.
Persia, instance of compulsory service in, 238;
usages with respect to presents in, 319.
Peruvian sepulchres, 107.

Peter the Wild Boy, some particulars concerning, 8.
Piazza del Popolo, account of, 362.

Pin, new patent, account of, 8.

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SACKHEUSE, JOHN, the Esquimaux, biographical
sketch of 309.

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, description of, 130.
St. Paul's Cathedral, historical and descriptive ac-
count of, 161.

Salmon-fishing on the coast of Antrim, and saga-
city of a dog, 184.

Salt-water lake in India, description of, 222.
San Marino, account of the republic of, 201.
Sandwich Islands, first use of the gallows in, 358.
Savages, on the physical powers of, 99.
Savoy, manuer of cultivating the vines in, 247.
Scarborough Castle, historical notice of, 143.
Scratchell's Bay, in the Isle of Wight, 135.
Self-advancement, instance of, 275.
Self-love, remark on, by Bacon, 435.

"Place of Fire," and Naphtha Springs of Sherwan, Shakspeare's Cliff, 27.
account of, 41.

Poets in Persia, account of, 117.

Pola-Phuca Waterfall in Ireland, notice of, 328.
Pompeii, house of the Faun at, description of, 229.
Pompey's Pillar, account of, 137.

Post Office, history and present state of, 38.
Practical Instruction, anecdote concerning, 184.
Praise, remark of Goldsmith on, 150.

Presents, usages with respect to, in Persia, 319.
Professions and Trades of the Metropolis, 46, 70.
Pulse, observations on the, 63.

Pyramid Cemetery, description of, 389.

RATS, anecdote of, 492.

Reading, advice respecting, 462.
Remote views, 184.

Reserve, remark on, 107.

Rheims, city and cathedral, description of, 370.
Rhinoceros, one-horned, account of, 153.
Rialto, at Venice, description of, 410.
Riches, stanza on by Spenser, 336.
Robin, anecdote of a, 503.

Roman History, impression produced by reading,
184.

Roman Piazze, or Squares, account of, 362.
Rotterdam, historical and descriptive account of,

332.

Shaving, observations on, 386.
Similes from Firdousee, 188.

Slate, its applicability for pavements, 96.
Slavery in the East, descriptive sketch of, 243.
Smoker,' by Ostade, notice of, 181.
Snow-harvest at Naples and in Sicily, 335, 347.
Snow-houses inhabited by the Esquimaux, 223.
Solitude, verses by Cowley on, 60.

Songs of the Seasons: the Spring Song, 96.
Spada, biographical notice of, 223.
Spagnoletto, critical remarks on the paintings of,
145.

Spider, natural history of the, 131; its process for
disengaging itself from its skin, 235.

Sponge, mode of diving for, 27.

Spring, indications of, 150, 287.
Statistics of Paris, abstract of, 218.
Stonehenge, description of, 69.

Stork, the White, natural history of, 89.

Sueno's Pillar at Forres, description of, and his-
torical remarks on, 308.

Suspension Bridges, observations on, 439; of the
Himalaya, 280.

Swedish peasants, their frugal fare and affection
for horses, 72.

TAMARIND TREE, brief notice of, 97.

Tapestry of the House of Lords, description of,
453.

Tapir, the Indian, natural history of, 193.
Temperance, advantages of, 30.

Teniers, biographical sketch of, 258.

Terriers, English and Scotch, description of, 65.
Theories, observation on, by Chalmers, 238.
Thirst quenched without drinking, 300.
'This is Life,' verses by Henry King, 14.

Thrushes, their manner of breaking the shells of
snails, 12.

Tiger, effect of fear on a, 303.

Tilbury Fort, short notice of, 64,

Time-piece, a curious, 14.

Treves, Black Gate of, historical sketch relating to,
487.

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WALTHAM CROSS, account of, 1.
Westminster Abbey, descriptive account of, 289.
musical festivals at, 294; historical account of,
338; monuments of, 339.

Wilkinson, Isaac and John, their improvements in,
the casting of iron, 327.

Wish, verses by Rogers, 51.

Wolf, character and habits of the, 169.
Wonder, remark on, by Bacon, 435.

Writing, advantages of the practice of, 463.

YORK Castle and Clifford's Tower, sketch of
351.

• Young Beggar,' by Murillo, notice of, 114
Youth, observation on by Johnson, 172.

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8

PERPETUAL MOTION.

(From a Correspondent.)

An able writer in the 'Penny Magazine' has clearly
shown the futility of seeking to square the circle, a
pursuit in which, he says, persons are still engaged.
How many may waste their time on such an object I
have no means of knowing;-not any considerable
number, I should think, as nobody can expect any
At all events, such
profit to arise even from success.
enthusiasts must be few indeed compared with those
who are spending their days and nights, and ex-
hausting their means, in the equally vain hope of dis-
Professional men,
covering the perpetual motion.
employed in preparing patents, could tell of project
after project submitted to them by the impatient in-
ventor who is afraid of waiting to perfect his machine,
lest his invaluable secret should get abroad, and he
should be deprived of the riches which he has all but in

his grasp.

Two classes of persons are inveigled into this hopeless quest: the first is the projector, generally a man who can handle tools, and who is gifted with some small power of invention,-a faculty, as Mr. Babbage Justly observes, by no means rare, and of little use unless coupled with some knowledge of what others have done before him. Of the inventions already made, ---of the experiments which have been tried and have failed, our projector is usually profoundly ignorant. What are called the laws of mechanics, namely, general truths which were established by the observations of scientific men in times past, and which are now admitted by all who take the trouble to investigate them, le has either never heard of or chooses to set at nought without inquiry. The other class is that which finds capital. The projector, having perhaps exhausted his own funds, takes his scheme to some person who has a Little money to spare, and dazzles him with the prospects of sudden and splendid wealth: little by little he is drawn into expenses which neither of them perhaps had anticipated. Failure after failure ensues, but still all is to be right at last. The fear of ridicule, the necessity for retrieving, the one his capital, the other his credit,these motives carry them on till the ruin of both puts a termination to their folly.

Unhappily, however, the stage is quickly occupied by other adventurers, profiting nothing by the fate of their precursors; and yet one would think that a very slight consideration of the subject would be sufficient to show the absurdity of the undertaking. What is the object aimed at? Is it to make a machine which, being once set in motion, shall go on without stopping until it is worn out? Every person engaged in the pursuit of the perpetual motion would perhaps accept this as a true statement of the object in view. Yet nothing is more easy than to make such a machine. There are from ten to twenty of them at work at this moment on the Rhine, opposite Mayence. These are water-mills in boats, which are moored in a certain part of the river; and, as the Rhine is never dry, these mills, which are simple in their construction, would go on for years, go on, indeed, until they were worn out. But if this instance were mentioned, the projector would perceive that the statement of his object was imperfect. It must run thus: a machine which, being set in motion, shall go on till worn out without any power being employed to keep it in motion.

Probably few persons who embark in such a project sit down beforehand to consider thoroughly what it is they are about to undertake, otherwise it could hardly require much knowledge of mechanics to see the impossibility of constructing such a machine. Take as many shafts, wheels, pulleys, and springs as you please: you throw them in a heap in the corner of your room, you do not expect them to move; it is only when put

if

together that the wildest enthusiast expects them to be endowed with the power of self-movement; nor then unless the machine is set going. I never heard of a projector who expected his engine to set off the moment the last nail was driven, or instantly on the last stroke of the file. And why not? A machine that would continue to go of itself would begin of itself. No machine

can be made which has not some friction, which, however slight, would in a short time exhaust any power that could have been employed merely for the purpose of setting it in motion. But a machine, to be of any use, must not only keep moving itself, but furnish power; or, in other words, it must not only keep in mos tion, but it must have power to expend in some labour, as grinding corn, rolling metals, urging forward a vessel or a carriage; so that, by an arrangement of parts which of themselves have no moving power, the projector expects to make a machine, self-moving, and with the power of performing some useful task!

"Father, I have invented a perpetual motion!" said "It is thus: I would a little fellow of eight years old. make a great wheel, and fix it up like a water-wheel; at the top I would hang a great weight, and at the bottom I would hang a number of little weights; then the great weight would turn the wheel half round and sink to the bottom, because it is so heavy, and when the little weights reached the top, they would sink down because they are so many, and thus the wheel would turn round for ever." The child's fallacy is a type of all the blunders which are made on this subject. Follow a projector in his description, and if it be not perfectly unintelligible, which it often is, it always proves that he expects to find certain of his movements alternately strong and weak, not according to the laws of nature, but according to the wants of his mechanism. If man could produce a machine which would generate the power by which it is worked, he would become a creator. All he has hitherto done,-all, I may safely predict, he ever will do,-is to mould existing power so He can make the as to make it perform his bidding. waterfall in the brook spin his cotton, or print his book by means of machinery, but a mill to pump water enough to keep itself at work he cannot make. Absurd as it may seem, the experiment has been tried; but, in truth, no scheme is too absurd for adoption by the seekers after perpetual motion. A machine, then, is a mere conductor of power into a useful channel. The wind grinds the corn,-the sails, the shafts, and the stones are only the means by which the power of the wind can be turned to that particular purpose; so it is the heat thrown out by the burning coal which performs all the multifarious operations of the steamengine, the machinery being only the connecting links between the cause and the effect.

Perhaps these remarks may induce any projector who has not yet begun, to pause on his enterprise; and may cause those who are about to advance their capital in such vain speculations, to examine the probabilities of a return for their outlay.

BREAD IN THE EAST.

A PERSON accustomed to the lengthened processes by which food is prepared in Europe, is considerably surprised when brought to observe the rapidity of similar preparations in the East. A sheep is killed, flayed, and cooked in the course of an hour and a half; coffee is roasted, ground, and boiled in about ten minutes; and meal is kneaded and baked-and perhaps the corn ground-in seldom more than twenty minutes. Much of this may be accounted for by the heat of the climate, by which many articles would be spoiled if kept too long previously to being used. Meat would be tainted in less than a day; the oily principle in coffee would soon be lost, and its pleasant aroma evaporate; and

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