circumftances as Great Britain and Ireland be under the full command of one entire fovereign authority. Ireland is the right arm of our empire. But now it feems as if the two hands, defigned by nature for reciprocal affiftance and co-operation, were continually impeding and baffling each other; as unfortunate as if the two feet fhould entangle and trip up the natural body. We cannot both profper under a divided government. It would be equally poffible (or rather im poffible) for the human body, though compofed of different members, whofe offices are different, to be therefore governed by the influence of more than one mind. We must be firmly interwoven and, knit together in a bond of connection, which shall be broad, comprehenfive, and indiffoluble. We fhall then poffefs all that combination, and all that oppofition of interefts; all that action and counter-action which in the political as well as in the natural world, from the reciprocal ftruggle of difcordant powers, draws out the harmony of the univerfe. "This mafter-piece of politics, which was the darling project of the illuftrious Lord Chatham, will be carried into execution by his ftill greater fon and fucceffor. He is an able, vigorous, and well informed statesman. If to the falvation of the political existence of Europe, which he promifes to effect, any fresh glory can be added, or any fresh laurels be gained, it will refult from this measure of an Union. The alliance of the three kingdoms, of England, Scotland, and Ireland, will be then firm, when their pursuits and averfions are invariably directed towards the fame objects. We fhall be then all equally sheltered under the canopy of a common caufe. Our connection will be then clofe and indiffoluble; a confolidation of force, which shall combine us with a degree of cohesion and firmness, before unknown, into one mighty body, informed by one foul. Our reciprocal interefts will reft on the firm pillars of Justice, Religion, Council, and Treafure. National and local distinctions, prejudices and griev ances will be removed; no ftings of refentment will be left to rankle in the hearts of a fuffering party; all will be melted and blended into one great people, and then, at length, shall we be able to exclaim with joy and triumph on both fides of the Irish sea-CUNCTI GENS SUMUS UNA!" ART. XI. An account of a Voyage in fearch of La Pérouse, undertaken by order of the Constituent Affembly of France, and performed in the Years 1791, 1792, and 1793, in the Recherche and Efperance, Ships of War, under the command of RearAdmiral Bruni D'Entrecafteaux. Tranflated from the French of M. Labillardière, Correspondent of the ci-devant Academy of Sciences, Member of the Society of Natural Hiftory of Paris, and one of the Naturalifts attached to the Expedition. 2 Vols. 8vo. Pr. 986. With a Quarto Volume of Plates. l. 11s. 6d. Debrett. 1800. WE WE gave our opinion of the merits of this work, in the Appendix to our fixth volume, P. 510, and, though the tranflator of the edition before us is entitled to praise for the fidelity and ability which he has difplayed in the execution of his talk, more particularly in the only useful and interefting parts of it, those which relate to Natural Hiftory and to navigation, we have not found the smallest reason for changing that opinion. The dedication, and tranflator's preface are wellwritten; the former, containing a tribute of justice, to a most deferving character, we hall extract, "To the Right Honourable Sir JOSEPH BANKS, Bart. K. B. Prefident of the Royal Society, &c. &c. &c. « SIR, "When I confider the obligation which you have conferred on the author of the Account of the Voyage in fearch of La Pérouse, I cannot, as the tranflator of his work, refift the inclination I feel, to pay you that tribute of applaufe to which you have fo juft a claim. The fciences, to the improvement of which you have not only devoted. your days, but, in the prime of life, facrificed your eafe and comfort, have now to acknowledge your having been inftrumental in affording M. Labillardière an opportunity of enriching natural history with a defcription of the fpecimens which he collected during his voyage with Admiral D'Entrecafteaux. any natu "In thefe volumes you will, no doubt, Sir, find many objects which have before attracted your notice in the course of your circumnavigation of the globe; but among the plants here defcribed, you will meet with feveral of new genera and species, or at least which appear not to have hitherto fallen under the obfervation of ralift. Of these I have endeavoured to convey, to the English botanical reader, an accurate idea; and it will be no fmall gratification to me to learn, that my humble attempts, in this respect, have not been unattended with fuccefs; and that, upon the whole, my tranflation has proved a faithful picture of the original, and not altogether undeferving of the approbation of one, who has fo fully exemplified the truth of Dr. Hawkefworth's remark in his Introduction to Cook's First Voyage: 'It is fortunate for mankind, when wealth and science, and a ftrong inclination to exert the powers of both for purposes of public benefit, unite in the fame perfon." I have the honour to be, With great refpect, London, May 2, 1800, Your moft obedient and most humble fervant, THE TRANSLATOR. In his preface the tranflator certainly estimates much too highly the abilities of his author, and gives to his book a character which, unquestionably, it does not deserve; at least, if if it do deferve it, our apprehenfion must be uncommonly dull, for we have not been able to difcover any of those “lively pictures of the most interesting productions of the creation" with which, we are told, it abounds. A fact is here stated, which ought to have come from the author himself, who has indeed noticed it, but not in the manner in which it ought to have been noticed by him. "On the 12th of March, 1786, M. Labillardière arrived at Paris from the Ifle of France, and finding his collection of fpecimens of na. tural history in the poffeffion of the British government, he urged the' perfons exercifing the government of France to claim them; this ap plication being warmly feconded by Sir Jofeph Banks, they were delivered up with the moft fcrupulous exactnefs, and in a manner that reflects the highest honour on the perfons immediately concerned, and, with all the other papers, charts, plans, &c. tranfmitted to Paris in August 1796."* As many of our readers may be unacquainted with the nautical practice of chriftening every perfon on board the ship, who croffes the line for the first time, we fhall transcribe the tranflator's account of it, as practifed on board of English men of war. "It may not be uninterefting to fome readers to have a more particular account of this ceremony, as practifed on board of English men of war. Whenever a fhip croffes the line or the tropics, one of the feamen, who is fuppofed to be a fellow of infinite jeft,' being dreffed in a whimfical manner to reprefent Neptune, goes over the bows, and, through a fpeaking trumpet, hails the fhip, afking her name: that of her commander; whence the came; and whither the is bound? These queftions being refolved, he rifes majestically from the briny waves, and wielding his trident, comes on the forecastle, accom panied by his confort, who is perfonated by another feamen, alfo fantaftically attired. Being feated in his car (which is previously prepared, and is generally composed of a half-tub fixed on a grating, lafhed to capftern bars), he is borne on the fhoulders of his fuite, and carried in proceffion from the forecaffle to the quarter-deck. The watery god there welcomes the captain to his dominions, and expreffes a hope that he will have no objection to his levying among the officers and people who have never before vifited them, his accustomed tribute, which confifts of a fhilling each from the men, and a prefent in liquor from the officers. Such of the fhip's company as are unable to pay this tri "So exact were Ministers in their compliance with this application, that the Board of Admiralty ordered a Lieutenant of the navy to be fent to Havre in a flag of truce, with the twenty-one cafes which contained M. Labillardière's collections, and which had previ-" ously been in the care of Sir Jofeph Banks." bute bute, are obliged to fubmit to the penalty of being shaved, in order to be in a condition to be presented to his aquatic majefty. This ceremony is performed in the following manner: the novice being feated over a large tub of falt water, in lieu of a lather of foap, his chin is befmeared with tar, and a piece of rufty iron hoop fupplies the place of a razor. The operation is terminated by the infolvent tributary undergoing firft a ducking in the tub over which he fits, and afterwards a copious ablution of falt-water from Neptune's attendant Tritons. It is almoft unneceffary to add, that the rest of the day is pent in the fort of conviviality congenial to the difpofition of British tars." T. The tranflator has very judiciously prefixed to his work an index of the articles of Natural Hiftory which occur in the course of it, containing their Linnæan or other scientific name, with the correfponding English or other name by which they are moft commonly known. The plates are well executed, and are much fuperior, not only to thofe which accompany the original, but to the plates annexed to the quarto edition of the English translation. CHEMISTRY, MEDICINE, &c. ART. XII. A Short Introduction to the Knowledge of Gaseous Rodies. By Dr. A. N. Scherer, Professor of Chemistry, and Counsellor of Mines to his Serene Highness the Duke of Saxe Weimar, Translated from the German. 8vo. Treppas and Hatchard, London. And Manners and Miller. Edinburgh. 1800. DR R. SCHERER, the same gentleman, we suppose, who a few years ago visited this country, and who published in the Annales de Chimie a short view of the state of Chemistry in Britain, was appointed in 1798 public lecturer on chemistry by the Duke of Saxe-Weimar. The treatise here presented to the public, in an English dress, contains the heads of his lectures, and was published, he tells us, merely to serve as a text book to his pupils. In that view it may be a very useful book; but we are afraid it cannot be of much service to the world at large. The heads or propositions are extremely short and not always expressed with clearness and precision they must, therefore, prove not only unsatisfactory, but even unintelligible to those who are not already acquainted with Chemistry; and those, who are acquainted with the science, will find very little new either in matter or arrangement. The treatise consists of an introduction and five sections. The introduction contains what the author calls a synoptual view of the principal theorems in chemistry, which we find to be neither more nor Less less than a definition of chemistry, and a catalogue of all the substances which are at present considered as simple. Chemistry," he tells us," is employed upon the examination of the component parts of natural bodies. Component or constituent parts of a compound body, are particles, whose properties neither resemble each other, nor the properties of the mass from which they were derived. They are considered as heterogeneous, when united, so that the whole appears uniform. They form mixtures, otherwise heaps." From this definition, though we by no means pretend to understand it fully, we may gather that by component part the author means rimple substance. In his opinion, then, the subject of chemistry is to ascertain the simple substances which compose bodies. This is, undoubtedly, one object of chemistry, but by no means the whole object nor even the most important object, as we have upon former occasions very particularly specified. * Undecompounded substances are divided by our author into two classes, those perceptible by the senses, and those not perceptible by the senses. We do not see the propriety of this division. If by substance be meant the substantial substratum (if we may be allowed the expression) of metaphysicians, no substance whatever is perceptible by our senses; but if by substance be meant the constant combination of certain properties, then all substances must be perceptible by our senses, otherwise we can have no knowledge of them at all. We would have supposed that by senses the author meant merely the sense of seeing, had he not included carbon among imperceptible substances; which surely is a substance that can be both seen and felt if the diamond be pure carbon, as we have reason to believe. In emulation of Vauquelin and Fourcroy he has placed lime, borytes and strontion among the alkalies. The truth is, that the earths and alkalies run into each other so imperceptibly, that it is scarcely possible to draw a well-marked line of separation, though those at the greatest distance from the middle possess properties very different from each other. Perhaps it would be better to include all under one common name. Among the names of the earths we find the word talc, evidently instead of magnesia. Surely this must be a mistake either of the author or his translator. He never could intend to substitute talc, which has a very different meaning, for magnesia, a word to which no objection has ever been made. The first section has the following very extraordinary title; Consideration of gases in general. "By the word gas," says the author, we distinguish every permanent elastic fluid, which possesses gravity, is colourless, transparent, invisible, and which can be included in vessels." It is not true, that every gas is colourless and invisible; for oxy-muriatic acid gas has a yellow colour, and is therefore visible, If the author says that this is not a gas, because a cold of 32o Fahr. condenses it; then he must affirm that ammoniacal gas, and all the acid gases, are not gases, for they also are condensible at a very low temperature; and, perhaps, there is a temperature at which every gas is condensed. Substances," he says, " are converted into gases |