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convey to the mind feelings equally difguft- ready exceeded our intended bounds, we must ing." refer the amateur to the work itself for further information on this engaging fub ject.

We could dwell with pleasure on every ftage of this delightful art; but, having al

Memoirs of the Literary and Philofophical 125. Boards.

T

HE origin of this Society and the nature of its Memoirs are fet forth in a prefatory addreis.- Many years fince, a few gentlemen, inhabitants of the town, who were infpired with a taste for literature and philofophy, formed themfelves into a kind of weekly club, for the purpose of converfing on fubjects of that nature. Thefe meetings were continued, with fome interruption, for feveral years; and many refpectable perfons being defirous of becoming members, the numbers were increafed fo far, as to induce the founders of the Society to think of extending their original defign. Presidents and other officers were elected, a code of laws formed, and a regular Society conftituted, and denominated, The Literary and Philofophical Society of Manchefier."

The following are fonie of its laws and regulations:

That the number of members invested with the privilege of voting, electing members, &c. be limited to fiity.

That honorary members, refiding at a diftance from Manchefter, be eligible, &c.

That every election be conducted by ballot, &c.

That two prefients, four vice-presidents, two fecrétaries, a treafurer, and librarian, be elected annually, &c.

That a committee of papers be appointed at the fame time, confifting of the above and fix ordinary members, who are to decide by baliot, concerning the infertion in the reg fter, or the publication, of any paper which thail have been read before the Society, &c.

That vifitors be introduced with permiffion of the chairman.

That the fubjects of converfation comprehend Natural Philofophy, Theoretical and Experimental Chemistry, Polite Literature, Civil Law, General Politics, Commerce, and the Arts; but that Religion, the Practical Branches of Phyfic, and British Politics, be deemed prohibited.

That the Society meet every Wednesday evening, except during the months of June, July, Auguft, and September; and that each meeting commence at half paft fix, and be concluded at half paft eight o'clock.

That each member thall pay one guinea annually, to defray the rent of the room, and other incidental expences; and also to estą. blish a fund for the benefit of the Society.

Society of Manchester. Vol. I. & II. 3vo. 1785. Cadell.

That it be recommended to each member to enter the Society's room with filence and without ceremony.

That a library be formed for the use of the Society.

That a gold medal be given to the author of the best Experimental Paper on any fubject relative to Arts and Manufactures; and to encourage the exertions of young men who attend the meetings of the Society as visitors, that a filver medal be annually given to any one of them, under the age of twenty-one, who fhall, within the year, have furnished the Society with the best paper on any subject of literature or philofophy: and

We

That the Society fhall publish a volume of Mifcellaneous Papers every two years.This we beg leave to object to: it is the refolution of a fraternity of publifkers, rather than of a fociety of literati and philofophers. The harvest of literature is uncertain, and the volume, we prefume, must be of or near unto fome certain fize. If a paucity of papers occur, the chaff mult be thrown in to fwell out the bag. If an abundance fhould in any two years be the cafe, valuable papers must be fhut out for want of room. humbly conceive, that this and every other Philofophical Society fhould publish their Tranfactions whenever they have collected a volume of fome certain fize, without any regard whatever to ftated times of publication; and generally the fmaller the volume, and confequently the more frequent the publication, the better: for in this philofophic age no time fhould be loft in communicating discoveries to the world: every spark either adds to the light, or kindles a fresh flame; and who can foresee the period of existence of the present blaze of human invention and discovery? Like a fire that has been long (mothered under a weight of rubbish, it now burfts forth with a degree of fervor perhaps. before unknown: but bright as it now appears, it muft, as all nature, have an end; and no time fhould be loft, nor opportunities neglected, to increase, whilft we can, the extent of human knowledge.

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The Rev. Sam. Hall, A. M.

Chas. White, Efq. F. R.S. &c.
George Lloyd, Efq.

Mr. George Bew,

The Rev. Thos. Barnes, D. D.
Mr. Thomas Henry, F. R. S. S
Mr. Ifaac Moffe,

Vice-Prefi

dents.

Secretaries.

Treasurer.
Librarian,

Mr. Thomas Robinson, with about thirty ordinary members, and upwards of forty bonorary members, among whom the names of Dr. B. Franklin, Dr. Priestley, and other great men are enrolled; forming together the brightest conftellation of Philofophers which, perhaps, ever appeared in a provincial fociety. The felect papers of fuch a Society cannot fail of being highly interefting to the philofophical world at large, and an analysis of them muft, we flatter ourfelves, prove acceptable to our readers.

Some Remarks on the Opinion that the Animal Body poffeffes the Power of generating Cold. By George Bell, M. D. Read May 16, 1781.

This paper contains fome valuable obfervations on the well-known experiment of Drs, Fordyce and Blagden in a heated room; where, finding that the heat of their own bodies did not increase in proportion to the heat of the air in the room, they concluded that animal bodies have a power of generating eld. This our author confiders as an erroneous conclufion; and accounts for the effect in the following manner:-"The first caufe," he says, "which prevented their bodies from receiving a greater degree of heat was, the rarefaction of the air with which they were furrounded-Second, The evaporation made from the furface of the body-And lastly, The Succeffive afflux of bind to the furface of a temperature inferior to that of the surrounding air; by which means the fmall quantity of heat which penetrated the skin would be immediately carried off and transferred throughout the body; and it would have required the space of many tours before the whole mafs could have received any confiderable increase of heat."After fupporting his theory by a variety of other reasonings, our author thus concludes his ingenious paper :

"Thefe may be faid to be the means through which the human body is preferved in nearly the same temperature, when it happens to be placed for a time in an atmosphere fa fuperior degree of heat. They seem to me fo adequate to this effect, that I would even vatare to impute the increase of the temperatare of the body, from 96 to 1eo degrees, which happened in the experiments, rather to the acceleration of the blood, than to the influx of heat from the external air. While the caufe of animal heat remains unknown, ECROP, MAG.

it would be prefumption to affert, that thefe are the only means by which the body is enabled to refift the effects of external heat. There may be others; and it is not unreafonable to fuppofe, that as external cold, per

haps by its tonic influence, increases the power of the body to generate heat, fo external heat may diminish that power, and thus leffen the quantity of heat generated within, while the evaporation, produced by the fame caufe, guards against receiving any acceffion from without."

On the Advantages of Literature and Thi

lofophy in general, and efpecially on the
Confiftency of Literary and Philofophical with
F. R. S. Read Oct. 3, 1781.
Commercial Purfuits. By Thomas Henry,

This is a well-written paper; but we dif-
fer effentially from its ingenious author with
refpect to the general application of literature
and philofophy to commerce and manufacto-
ry.-Geography and the living languages
may be as useful to the merchant, as fome
knowledge of mechanics, hydraulics, che.
mistry, and the polite arts, fo far as they
ferve to establish a juftness of taste, may be
to the manufacturer: but we are firm and
clear in our opinion, that bufinefs, in what-
ever shape, and fludy are utterly incompatible,
saving fuch ftudies as are immediately con-
nected with the bufinefs of the ftudent; and
to the young tradefman we would rather re-
commend Poftlethwaite than the Claflics,
and the converfation of men of business than
that of men of erudition. There may be
fome few "tradefmen of fortune" in the
neighbourhood of Manchester, who may seem
to be an exception from this general position;
but we conceive it to be a mittaken and mif-
chievous employment to fow the feeds of re-
finement, the parent of inactivity and extra-
vagance, in a manufacturing country. We
agree with this very fenfible writer, that the
gentleman and the profeffion Lit reap many
advantages from study; and that "the pur-
fuit of knowledge, when properly applied,
and under due influence, is of the greatest
importance to mankind.” By civilization,
even "the horrors of war itfelt are foftened;
an enemy is treated with hum nity and kind-
nefs; the milder virtues find admitance
among the clath of arms; and then, when
compelled to hoftilities, teek victory not to
enflave or destroy, but in the moment of trie
umph feek opportunities to evince their cle-
mency and generofity to the vanquished foe."
Nevertheless we are of opinion with our
author's adverfaries, that the commerci..A
man fhould confine his knowledge to trade;
and that his compting-houfe thould be his
ftudy." We alto agree with them, in that the
knowledge of the manufacturer thould be fuch
F

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as will lead him to judge of the quality of raw materials, and whether his wares be properly fabricated and finished, rather than in reading history, folving problems in Euclid, or poring over the pages of polite literature; left his refined ideas thould teach him that fufpicion is mean;" and left his "credulity fhould plunge him into ruin."

On Crystallization. By Alexander Eason, M. D. Read Nov. 14, 1781.

This paper contains fome loofe thoughts on the interefting fubject of crystallization. The writer thinks it "highly probable that the crystallization of falts, the freezing of water, and the formation of precious tones, bifaltes, &c. are all the effects of the faine caufe; and if, he adds, we conjecture,the fetting of metals is a fpecies of cr; ftallization, we fhall not be wide of the truth, This much is certain, that all the femi-metals, when broken, difcover a laminated texture, and in each particular metal, the lamina are always of a given or conftant form."

On the Prefervation of Sea-water from Purefact on by means of Quicklime. By Thomas Henry, F. R. S.

Here we fee thus fenfible and inftructive writer in his proper element, chemistry. "A. bout the time," he fays, "I published my method of preferving water, at fea, from putrefaction, &c. a gentleman, who had obtained a quantity of fea water, for the purpose of bathing a child, complained to me that it ioon Became putrid, and requested that I would think of fome expedient to preleve it.

"The principal falts contained in fea water are, rft, common matine or culinary fait, compounded of totiil alkali and marine acid;

2dly, a falt formed by the union of the fame acid with magnesian earth; and lastly, a fmall quantity of felenite. The quantity of faline matter contained in a pint of fea water, in the British feas, is, according to Neumann, about one ounce in each pint. When this water is flowly evaporated, the common falt first crystallizes, and the marine magnesian falt is left in, what is called, the bittern, from which, by a fubfequent process, the purging bitter falt, commonly named Epfom falt, is obtained. By this feparation, the fea or bay falt is rendered much better adapted for the prefervation of animal fubstances, than the falt of the rocks and fprings in Chefhire and Worcestershire, where, from what I apprehend to be a mistaken notion, that this bittern does not exift in the brine, the

liquor is fo haftily evaporated, that the cryi

tals of common falt retain much of the magnefan falt among them. For the magnesian falt is highly feptic, and greatly impairs the properties of the other.§

"The two methods which occurred to me, as likely to anfwer the wifhes of my friend, were, ift, the addition of quicklime, and 2dly, that of common falt. To the trial of the former I was induced by its known antifeptic effects on common water; and it is afcertained, that a fmall portion of common falt promotes, whereas a larger retards, putrefaction.

"Experiment. To one quart of fea water were added two fcruples of fresh quicklime; to another, half an ounce of common culinary falt; and a third was kept as a standard, without any addition. The mouths of the bottles being loofely covered with paper, they were expofed to the action of the fun, in tome of the hottest weather of the lait fummer.

*To this paper is annexed an account of a newly invented machine for impregnating water or other fluid with fixed air, &c. communicated to Mr. Henry, by J. Haygarth, M. B. F. R. 5. Read Nov. 21, 1781.

+ An account of a method of preterving water, at fea, from putrefaction, and of restoring to the water its orginal purity and pleatantnets, by a cheap and eafy procefs, &c. London,

1731.

I In Sir Torhern Bergman's analysis of fea water taken up, in the beginning of June 1776, about the latitude of the Canaries, from the depth of fixty fathoms, the folid contents ia pat of the water were

Of common falt Salted magnefia

Gypfum

Total

Gis.

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Atoms of the works at Northwich, the evaporation is carried on in fo gentle a manpe, at targ" cubical cryitals we formed; and the falt thus prepared is fad to be equal in Agato by far.

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“In about a week, the ftandard became very offenfive; and the water, with the additional quantity of falt, did not continue fweet many hours longer; whereas that with lime continued many months, without ever exhibiting the leaft marks of putri dity." - To this fucceed twelve other experiments; after which the author makes, among others, the following obfervations.

We alfo fee, that there are limits to the adition of quicklime, beyond which we cannot proceed without forming lime watel. The quantity of two fcruples to a qit of fea water, though not fuflicient to decompfe the whole of the magnesian falt, was you nulequate to the prefervation of the Watta. One drachm more quicklime feparated the whole of the magnefia, and, when a further addition was made, a lime water was immediately formed.‡

On the Nature and effential Character of Poetry, as diftinguithed from Profe. By Thomas Bornes, D. D. Read December 5,

1781.

After much laborious writing-an unne. ery abundance of fancy-printing-with mog arguments and learned quotations-we inter very honeftly leaves the fubject where he found it.

On the Affinity fubfting between the At, with a Plan for promoting and extendng Manufactures, by encouraging thofe Arts

In

on which Manufactures principally depend. By the fame. Read Jan. 9, 1782.

The foregoing paper.evinced in a fufficient degree, the learning and ingenuity of its author: this does more, fhewing us at the fame time his good fenfe and judgment→→→ qualifications, we conceive, of infinitely greater value. After having fet forth in a fatisfactory manner the utility of general knowledge in the acquifition of particular arts and fciences, he fays, "I have ventured to chalk out the outlines of a plan-the fole object and principle of which is, the improvement of our manufactures, by the improvement of thofe arts on which they depend.Thofe arts are Chemistry and Mechanics. The fift object of this scheme is, to provide a public repofitory among us, for chemical and mechanic knowledge. this repofitory are to be collected models of machines, &c.-ingredient, for dyeing, &c.— with a fuperintendant to give lectures, advice and afliftance. An end of this mechanic fchool is to finish the education of a young tradefman or manufacturer.

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But the principal advantage I should propofe from this fcheme, is this: Here would be a kind of general oracle, which thofe might confult, who were engaged in mechanical improvements, and who might here, at once, gain that information, which it might coft them months and years to obtain by their own unaflifted efforts.”

We mention this fcheme the rather, as out of it grew the prefent College of Manchefler. (To be Continued.)

A Philofophical, Hiftorical, and Moral Effay on Old Maids, by a Friend of the Sifterhood. 3 vols 8vo. London, T. Cadell, 1785. [Continued from Page 444 of Vol. VIII.]

A

GREEABLY to our promife, we glad ly embrace the opportunity of rendering jce to the venerable Sifterhood, by cffer3 to our readers the more pleating confideratom of those amiable qualities, which, like Er fubles, are peculiarly their own.

To involve either the whole fex indifcriminately, or any clafs of females in one blind, andiftinguished cenfure, would be equally iberal and abfurd: as well might a man pronounce a pine-apple a very bad fruit, becafe he accidentally tafted only a piece of the rhind, which had left a blifter on his lips. "While other antiquarians," fays our thor," have laboriously employed and exbited their powers in fearching for old ruins of Gothic architecture, or fome Druidical reMedis, I have traverted the kingdom in queft

of curious characters in the fifterhood of old maids, and whenever I gain intelligence of a new curiofity belonging to this clafs, I forfake all other occupations, to fudy it with the patient attention of a true virtuoio.

"As toon as I am properly introduced to the fresh ancient maiden, I fit philofophically down and endeavour to difcover through that incruftation of little fingularities which a long life of celibacy has produced, her genuine character, the real difpofition of her heart, aud the exact altitude of her head.

"Having made an accurate drawing of this piece of antiquity in its prefent ftate, I confi der what the must have been in her youth; and, having fettled my conjectures on that point, I proceed to reflections on the kind of wife fhe might probably have made, and

"Thefe proportions may vary according to the strength of the quicklime employed."

F 2

teach

1

teach myself whether I ought to contemplate her prefent ftate with fatis action or concern.

"Every man has his tafte. Whether my fpeculations may be fnperior or not to those of more fashionable antiquaries, is a point Ishall leave to the world to confider; I will only fay, that if the Society of Antiquarians fhould think this ftudy of mine may entitle me to be admitted of their community, I could enrich their Archæologia with sketches of many a fair neglected ruin, which have hitherto efcaped their researches.

"With fome of these sketches I have indeed attempted to adorn my own little voJumes; but others I fhall ftill retain in my private Cabinet, till I have happily awakened in our country a more lively and affection

who retain their health and faculties, rarely cease to practife any ingenious art, or to dif play any amusing accomplishment, which had ever gained them applause.

Indeed that perfect leifure, and that exemption from the burthen of household cares, which the old maid enjoys, is highly calculated to affift her progrefs in works of ingenuity; and fuch works, by detaching the mind from idle, impertinent, and cenforious ideas, contributes much to fupport the natural benevolence of the heart, and to confer a degree of happiness on many a worthy fpinfter of gentle manners and of eafy fortunes.

The truth of this remark is exemplified by the hiftory of the elderly daughter, of a Doctor

W relifh for the fingular branch of virtu, Coral. The Doctor was educated in the study

I am now introducing for the first time to the notice, and I hope the cultiva

tion of the public.

"In the many years of profound speculatien which I devoted to the study of old maids, before I began this elaborate, and I truft this mortal effay, I obferved that the better part of the fifterhood are diftingu.thed by three amiable characteristics-Ingenuity, Patience, and Charity?"

To each of thefe our author has given a separate chapter: cur limits will however only permit us to touch each subject flightly, which he has with great fill expatiated on at large.

Though ingenuity may be confidered as a characteristic of the fair fex in general, yet there are many circumstances which tend to weaken and diminish this quality in the marr.ed woman, and many others which have an equal tendency to itrengthen and increase it in the old maid. The married dame, the author not unaptly though fomewhat feverely compares to the high-fed indolent prelate, who having gained the object of his purfuit, and elated with the ceremonious dignity of his ftation, is liable to neglect the cultivation of hofe fpiritual talents which ought to adorn it; while the ancient virgm is fuppofed to refemble the unbeneficed ecclefiaftic, who, confcio is of his humiliating condition, endeaYours to formount its ditadvantages, by The acquifition and difplay of thote accompliments, which, if they do not raife him to a higher rank, fecure him undignified as he is both attention and efteem.

Married ladies, it is a general complaint, are apt to neglect those ingenious puríuits which diftinguished their youth; the harpfichord and the pencil, thofe graceful as well as pleating amufements, are generally configned to oblivion foon after marriage, owing to the huuef or difhipat on which fucceed the te. fivity of Hymen. Old made, on the contrary,

of phyfic, but having a greater paffion for the curious than the ufeful, degenerated from a phyfician to a virtuofo. He was, however, enabled to live without the aid of his profeffion by means of his wife's fortune, who, being of a delicate constitution, and dying in child-bed, left him an only daughter, of whom he was as fond as a virtuofo can be of any living and ordinary production of nature. As she grew up, fhe difplayed a talent for drawing, and by furprising her father by anaccurate delineation of three of the most precious articles in his cabinet, fo warmed the old naturalift's heart, that he declared, he would give her 5oool, onthe day of marriage. Theodora, who had now reached the age of nineteen, was of to affectionate a difpofition, that the not only loved her father mot tenderly, but looked upon his whimfical hobby-horfe with a partial veneration. This circumftance contributed much to their mu tual happiness, and rendered the young lady lefs eager to escape from the custody of a fanciful old father. Theodora, however, admitted the vifits of a Mr. Blandford, 3 young man of acute understanding and polithed manners, who had the address to ingratiate himfelf with the Doctor, who very candidly told the young man what he intend ed for his daughter,declaring at the fame time, that he left her entirely at her own difpofal. Theodora, though prejudiced in favour of her admirer, had hitherto given no other anfwer to his addreffes, but that the thought herself too young to marry. While matters were in this fituation, Dr. Coral was fummoned to a diftance by a letter from a friend, informing him of the death of a brother virtuofo, with a hint that he might enrich himself by the por chafe of a very choice collection of the moft valuable rarities, which, if he was quick enongh in his application, he might poffibly obtain by private contract. This was too great a temptation to refift; without waiting the

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