We call thefe calcareous fpars. This, then, is the last degree of attenuation of the chalk, the state in which it is the most diftant from animal origin, and in which it most resembles a true falt.'

Monf. Fourcroy however affumes a pofition too gratuitous; for the ftrata of calcareous earth, though not primæval, or deeply lodged, are yet in extent and appearance fo much like thofe of other earths, as not to require a different fource. In its union with flints, which calcareous earth frequently, incrufts, it has almoft certainly been depofited from water; and, in its state of marine fhells, is not foluble in that fluid. It is a little unphilofophical also, to affume a second caufe; the earth is not formed by fea-animals, but only fecreted in another form. It must have previously existed, or it could not have made a part of these animals.

The merit of the tranflation we have already spoken of; the notes, we have observed, are accurate, and the language in which they are delivered, is clear and philofophical; but we think, they should have been more numerous. The annotator, for he feems a different perfon from the tranflator, might, in more inftances than one, have added to the work, and corrected mistakes. Monfieur Fourcroy congratulates himself that he had established the relative affinities of the vegetable and mineral alkalies to acids, in the fame order as Bergman; but the annotator ought to have remarked, that it had been done long before by Dr. Black: and, when he fays that alkaline air is heavier than common air, he should have corrected the error. It is well known, that when properly prepared it is fomewhat lighter, and has actually been employed to fill balloons. On the fubject of the bile, he might have made fome important additions from Dr. Maclurg's Experiments. But thefe volumes are ftill very valuable: we have long withed for a fimilar publication, and could hardly have expected it with fewer errors or defects.

Pieces Morales & Sentimentales de Madame J. W. C—t-sse de R--g. Small 8vo. 35. 6d. Robson. Moral and Sentimental Effays, on Miscellaneous Subjects, written in Retirement, on the Banks of the Brenta, in the Venetian State. By J. W. C—t―s of Rf-g. 2 Vols. Small 8vo. 55. Robfon.

Hough the language of thefe two works differ, the con

tents are nearly the fame: neither can be properly styled a tranflation; for the author, to whom both languages are familiar, feems fometimes to have written in one, and some times in the other. But, while we are not informed of the

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original, we think the French language more her own. chief defects in this verfion are in the idiom; but they are neither frequent nor important: in the English, we find preluding a preface,' facilities,' hard,' instead of harsh or fe'minutious;' illuftration,' for advance to dignity; ennuied,' and many fimilar blemishes.

vere ;

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As to the fubjects of the work, we cannot give a better idea of them, than by comparing them to that number and diverfity of article which form a lady's dress. No author is without a certain degree of coquetry: nor ought he to be, as his object is to pleafe: but coquetry has ever been thought lefs becoming in men than in women. The choice of every thing that can contribute to ornament, is allowed to the fex without constraint; the arrangement fubject to no rules: it is caprice, under the direction of tafte, which chufes, and which places its objects always in an agreeable manner, and conformably to the end it happens to have in view. But as the dress of a woman, how great foever the variety of the articles of which it is compofed, has always a determined character, fuch as a national drefs, a court drefs, a hunting drefs; fo to this work, confidered as a drefs of the mind or understanding, we may affign the character of fentiment. When this character, in itfelf fo interefting, animates the whole, and diffufes its warmth throughout, in a manner fo fpontaneous and natural as we obferve it to do in these pieces, it ever furnishes an agreeable kind of reading; although the fubjects treated may be old, trivial, or even fantastic. The wild flights of the imagination, the intricacies of metaphyfical difcuffion; even the shafts of fatire, of irony, and perfifflage, have, under this amiable pen, a tincture of that character. That frank and ingenuous manner, too, fo confpicuous in the following pages, adds new value to their ton of fentiment; inafmuch as we are the more disposed to believe it true, and to delight in it; just as, in fociety, we prefer the attachment and converfation of thofe perfons, whofe characters announce feeling, frankness, and fimplicity.'

We have chofen the words of the very intelligent editor, because, with the allowance of a natural, perhaps a laudable, partiality, they properly characterife the work. It must be acknowledged, that fome of the observations are trifling, and a few erroneous: that the heroine of each little tale is the author, who fhould rather have chofen to convey her fentiments through the mouth of another that, in fome instances, perhaps from errors of the prefs, a fentence is unintelligible; yet, with all these defects, there is a neatness in her general style,

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ftyle, brilliancy in her expreffions, and precision in many of her ideas, which always attract attention, and generally please. We fhall make no apology for extracting her opinion on prefentiment: it is curious and new, if not just.

I one day confulted the abbé T-, profeffor of aftronomy in the univerfity of P-, upon my foible. This man, full of candour, freely confeffed to me, that he refpected the doctrine of prefentiment, and did not reffe it all his credit. "Every point of futurity," faid he, has a point in the paft, which correfponds with it by an equal diftance from the prefent. The death of my fon may be as far diftant from the prefent moment, as the death of my father, which is paft. The chain of events is pre-established: it is the faculty of memory which informs us of the paft: why fhould there not exist another faculty, capable of indicating to us the progreffion, or feries of future events, the fame as in geometry, where the firft term of a progreffion determines any other, term we wish to arrive at or, indeed, why should there not exift another fort of faculty, which I will call the harmonic vibration of correfpondence between events, by which an, accident fhould make its proper impreffion upon us, and then, by a distant echo, announce to us other accidents analogous in the fu

ture ?"

If we were to appreciate the different effays, we should affign many of them a confiderable rank, on various accounts. The Conjecture on a Difcovery,' and the Effay on Convulfions,' are humorous, by combining fubjects which are seldom supposed to be analogous. • What will not please every one,' was very pleafing to us, as it contained a very natural unaffected relation of the impreffion of fuperftitious terrors, and of the means by which the mind regained its natural liberty. We would tell the ftory; but it fhould be related in no words but those of the lively author. The effay on Laughing,' fhould be read by every admirer of lord Chesterfield; and that on the Occult Quality,' by which the countefs means the force with which we feel what is true, in oppofition to the feeble conviction produced by fophiftical arguments, would be highly useful to cafuifts and philofophers.

The definition of an Apologue is clear and exact: the apologue, which it ferves to introduce, contains the rife, progrefs, and decline of the, papal power. It has fome merit; but, in this walk, an inferior genius might have excelled : we wish that our author had foared above it. The Venetian novel deferves confiderable commendation. The ftyle is new, the fituations uncommon, and the whole is conducted with

con

confummate, addrefs. The conclufion is fingularly happy. The young hero, for it is the author's intention to celebrate heroic actions, though the actors are in humble life, is a young gondolier. He loyed the fifter of one of the fame occupation, but whofe family had been diftinguished by prizes gained in different regattas. A fimilar victory was the only means to gain the bride; and her brother, a veteran in thefe lifts, agreed to row with him. His eagerness was extreme, for on the event depended his happiness. In the moment of trial however, by an unfkilful movement, his antagonist first gained the picket: every exertion could not make up for this lofs; when, in the moment of victory, the conqueror fell into the water. Our hero, by one ftrenuous effort, gained the goal, and feized the firit and fecond prize. Returning inftantly, he rescued his rival from the waves; and, though the first honour was his due, fcorned to owe it to accident, but gave it to his competitor. His delicacy and generofity gained a victory which he had not expected; they gained every heart, and the hand too of his mitrefs.

The author's name was Wynn. Her father was of a protestant houfe in Wales: her mother a Greek woman, and a zealous catholic. Her father's long refidence in Venice gave rife to her connection in marriage with the late count of Rofenberg, the imperial ambassador to the Republic. Her mind therefore, early cultivated with uncommon care, received a brilliant polish from the converfation of people of the firft rank, and moft diftinguished talents. We have indeed said, that these Essays are not free from faults; but these are at least equalled by their merits; and we have little hesitation in recommending them as inftructive and entertaining.

Report of Dr. Benj. Franklin, and other Commiffioners, charged by the King of France, with the Examination of the Animal Magnetism, as now practifed at Paris. Tranflated from the French. With an Hiflorical Introduction. 8vo. 2s. Johnfon. IT is a juft and beautiful remark of the tranflator of this Report, that truth is uniform and narrow: error endlessly diverfified. In the field of truth, the mind is paffive; in that of error, the expands and difplays all her boundless faculties, all her beautiful and interefting extravagancies and ab. furdities. The phyfiology of the body is fupported and ex-plained by the deviations of nature, and the ravages of difease; from the eccentricities, from the difeafes of the mind, we may confequently expect that its natural ftate fhould be illuftrated, Credulity is its native vice: before it has been fortified by

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reafon,

reafon, and the judgment matured by experience, every thing new and uncommon interefts and fixes its attention; but there is a period when novelty muft, in fome degree, cease; when increase of knowlege fhall detect impofition, and more frequent examination deftroy the adventitious ornaments, derived from inexperience. In this ftate the mind, active to deceive itfelf, or open to the deception of others, explores new worlds, or yields to confident affurances. Religion and medicine are then the prolific fources of its wanderings: the one in its nature incomprehenfible by the human understanding, the other rendered fo by the artifices of defigning impoftors. It is obferved by the tranflator, that a good ecclefiaftical hiftory would be the hiftory of the wanderings of the mind; that of quacks would be no lefs interefting, from the fame fource. Animal magnetifm, which is our present object, is only a new form of old errors.

It may be proper to premife, for the fake of fome of our readers, that Mefmer, a German phyfician, the pupil of Hehl, who applied the loadstone in the cure of difeafes, foon forfook the plainnefs of his doctrine, and attempted to employ the magnetical fluid in a more general way, without the affiftance even of a magnet. His fyftem was oppofed in Germany, rejected by the academy of Berlin, but found an afylum in Paris. The lively imaginations of the French were attracted by his confident pretenfions, and contributed to establish his fancies. It must be obvious, that no better term can be applied to the efficacy of a power which has no fource; and which, when actually employed, feems to have little, if any, effect. The rage for this remedy was fo great, that it attracted the attention of the parliament. Mefmer refufed to fubmit to an examination; but his pupil Deflon, who seems to be an honeft bigot, fuffered the commiffioners to make every neces fary enquiry. After the moft minute and careful examination, after varying the experiments in almoft every poffible way, it appeared, beyond even the reach of a cavil, that the whole was an impofition; and the impreffion, if any, was chiefly on the imagination.

Mr. Thouret, in his work, entitled Doubts and Enquiries. refpeding the Animal Magnetifm,' traces this kind of impofition to Paracelfus, from whom it defcended to Van Helmont, Goclenius, Burgravius Libavius Wirdig, Maxwell, Santanelli Tentzel, Kircher, Digby, and Borel. In the last century, Greatrix, a gentleman of Ireland, pretended to the faculty of caring difeafes by the touch; and his atteftations were figned by Boyle, Wilkins, Muchcott, Cudworth, and Patrick: lapientable inftances of credulity even in enlightened minds!