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ftrike at the basis of Dr. Black's, or the prefent received, the ory relating to quick-lime, and fixed air; and as M. Macquer takes pains, we think without fuccefs, to explain it.

According to the prefent theory, mild calcareous earths expel the volatile alcali from fal ammoniac, in a concrete, folid, or mild ftate; because they furnish it with fixed air: and quicklime expels the volatile alcali from the fame falt, in a fluid and cauftic ftate; because it does not contain the fixed air which is requifite to render the volatile alcali mild. M. Bucquet, however, affirms, that the earthy pellicle, or cruft, formed on the furface of lime water expofed to the air, and which (as being, according to the present theory, in a mild ftate) ought to act upon the fal ammoniac in the fame manner as lime ftone, or chalk, on the contrary, expels from it a volatile alcali in a fluid and cauftic ftate.

Though it is more proper to make experiments to clear up this difficulty, than to form theories, or to reafon upon it; the latter only happens at present to be in our power: except indeed with refpect to what we have to object against M. Macquer's folution of it. We fhall obferve, therefore-firft taking the fact for granted that M. Macquer's manner of accounting for it is by no means fatisfactory. He fuppofes, that the cruft is principally formed, in confequence of the mere avolation of a part of its former folvent, the water; and confequently, that it is ftill left in as cauftic a state as when it was diffolved in it: lime water being a faturated solution of the lime in water; and therefore not capable of retaining the whole of the lime in a state of folution, when a part of its folvent, the water, is evaporated. M. Macquer propofes, at fome length, the trial of a particular experiment, to ascertain the justice of this manner of accounting for the fact but a much more fimple and expeditious mode of inquiry, which overturns his folution, occurs to us; and has been executed, even while we are writing on this fubject.-A quantity of ftrong lime water was expofed to the air, previously diluted with a much larger quantity of fimple water than the mixture could poffibly lofe, by evaporation, during the course of the experiment. In less than two hours, a palpable cruft was formed on its furface; though the quantity of water, which had been added to the lime water, would not have been evaporated from it in the course of several days.

We think that the phenomenon is eafily and naturally to be accounted for, by only fuppofing that the lime (or, as it certainly ought rather to be called, the calcareous falt) fuddenly loses its property of being foluble in water, on its recovering a very fmall portion of its fixed air from the atmosphere. In that cafe, it does not contain a fufficient quantity of the last mentioned principle to contribute to the formation of a mild volatile alcali.

Under

Under the new Article, Burning-glafs, M. Macquer has related a variety of experiments formerly made by others, as well as other trials lately made by himself; particularly with the Jarge and magnificent glafs of M. Trudaine. This capital inftrument confifts of two large curved plates of glafs, each eight lines thick, whofe concave furfaces are turned towards each other; fo as to form a lenticular cavity of four feet in diameter, and which is filled with 140 French pints [we believe, English quarts] of spirit of wine. The thickness or depth of the fpirit at the center of the glafs is fix inches and five lines; and each of the glaffes has been formed on a radius of eight feet. Its focus of parallel rays is at the distance of ten feet ten inches and one line from the centre of the lens; and the image of the fun there formed is 15 lines in diameter. This focus is occafionally contracted, to a circle of about eight lines in diameter, and the heat accordingly confiderably augmented, by the interposition of a fecond and fmaller lens of folid glafs.

From the experiments made upon pure gold with this powerful inftrument, it appears, that that metal actually undergoes a partial vitrification; and that the fmoke which is feen to arife from it does not proceed from a decompofition of the metal, but is a vapour of the gold itself: for on holding a cold plate of filver over it, the vapour was condenfed on its furface fo as to gild it. Those who delight in the marvellous, M. Macquer obferves, have not only been inclined to confider this fmoke as one of the conftituent principles of the gold [Homberg, in fact, confidered it as the mercurial principle of this metal]; but have likewife imagined that, on its gilding the plate of filver, this fame fuppofed principle actually combined with the filver, and effected a real tranfmutation of it into gold. M. Macquer has however fully fhewn, that this vapour confifts of the intire gold in fubftance.

We shall only mention another very fingular obfervation relative to this fubject. M. Macquer obferves, that during these experiments, the melted globule of gold was feen frequently to turn round on its center during a confiderable fpace of time; and further, that any little detached particles that were seen on its furface, conftantly moved to the inferior part of the globule that was oppofite to the fun; and that whenever they were purpofely turned half round towards the fun, they quickly returned to their former fituation. He confiders this effect as being produced by a mechanical impulfion of the folar rays.

A fingular circumftance relative to the folar rays thus collected into a focus, deferves particular attention. It occurs under the Article, Fire. A pane of glafs, as thin as a fheet of paper, which would melt in an inftant, on putting it into the flame of a candle, refifted the violent heat of the focus as long

as

as he chose to hold it there: although in the very fame place, a fufficiently large piece of iron would melt in an inftant, and throw out red hot fparks to more than the distance of a foot. On the occafion of this curious obfervation, our philofophical Readers will naturally be reminded of Mr. Melville's ingenious Obfervations on Light, publifhed in one of the Volumes of the Edinburgh Physical and Literary Essays.

ART. VII.

Beyträge zur Kentnifs Grossbritanniens, &c. i. e. Effays on the prefent State of Great Britain. Lemgo. 8vo. 1780.

HE contents of the book before us are the following: On the character of the English-On the English conftitution - On the British land and fea forces-On taxes and national debt-On the provifion made for the poor-On the Englith laws, courts of judicature, and the manner of administering juftice-On trade-Remarks on the city of London-On the curiofities, and other things worth feeing, in London and its environs-Advice to foreigners who vifit England.

The Author of thefe Effays, whofe name is not mentioned, has been many years refident in London, as he declares in the Preface to his book; and we think his obfervations on the feveral fubjects which he treats are, in general, very juft. He promifes another Volume, wherein he intends to give an account of the state of religion, of the literature, and of the arts and fciences of this kingdom.

TO OUR READERS.

At the defire of many of our English Readers, who feem to be more peculiarly interefted in the Literature of their own country, we propofe, for the future, to gratify, their partiality by a new divifion of our APPENDIX; appropriating one part of it to Foreign, and the other to British Publications: and by this means we hope to provide a dish for every palate.

BRITISH PUBLICATION S.

ART. I.

A Galic and English Dictionary; containing all the Words in the Scotch and Irish Dialects of the Celtic, that could be collected from the Voice, and old Books and MSS. By the Rev. William Shaw, A. M. 2 Vols. 4to. 2 1. 2 s. in Boards. Murray, &c. 1780.

THE

HIS Dictionary must be a valuable acquifition to the student in GALIC; for it appears to be the refult of unwea ried application, and a thorough acquaintance with the lan

guage.

guage. The Poems of Offian, &c. have given fome eclat to the Galic; though we apprehend very few Englishmen will be at the pains of studying the language with grammatical precision, in order to compare Mr. M'Pherfon's tranflation with the originals. Thofe that give him credit for his fidelity as a collector of the traditional or written fongs of the Highland bards, will not be very forward to difpute his accuracy as a translator: Sturdy fceptics, who quarrel with his honefty, think every subordinate enquiry loft in the contention; and to them it is matter of perfect indifference, whether a man can tranflate Galic into English, or English into Galic.

If, however, the Galic be, as Mr. Shaw fuppofes it really was, the fpeech of paradife," putting Offian out of the queftion, it would be a fufficient motive to excite a curious man to ftudy it, for its high antiquity, yea its divine origin. The language immediately taught our firft parents by God himself must have beauties worthy of its Author, and a purity and fimplicity in fome degree congenial to the primitive innocence of the happy pair, to whom it was originally communicated.

This idea operated very ftrongly on our Author, and was one motive to his prefent undertaking. Obferving (fays he) with regret, the indolence and inactive zeal of my compatriots in the cause of their expiring language, with the moft ardent enthufiafm I was impelled to attempt fnatching from oblivion, and, in her laft ftruggles for exiftence, preferve in a Dictionary, as much as poffible of the greatest monument of antiquity perhaps now in the world: for the Galic is the language of Japhet, fpoken before the Deluge, and probably the fpeech of Paradife.'

This affertion is accompanied with no proof: but perhaps the Author imagined the matter had been fufficiently fettled by the congenial enthufiafm of the adventurous Hiftorian of the primitive tongue, Mr. Rowland Jones, in a certain Treatise on the "Origin of Language and Nations, hieroglyphically, etymologically, topographically, defined and fixed." Now, infpired with the fame ardent paffion for the Welsh, as our Author is for the Erfe (both indeed being branches fhooting out from the fame paradifaical root), this bold adventurer into the darkest of dark times affures us, that "various matters of antiquity are treated by him in a method entirely new." -We believe him. But to fupply Mr. Shaw's defect, who hath Contented himself with a bare pofition, without offering any argument, or producing any authority, to establish it, we shall present our Readers with Mr. Rowland Jones's fagacious reafon for giving the Celtic an ante diluvian exiftence. Babel was

called fo from ba-bi-el; i. e. beings calling like Ba's, or fheep. -It is likely that this language, as it thus defines the prediluVian as well as the poft-diluvian names, and gives the etymoAPP. REV. Vol. Ixiii.

LI

logy

logy of languages preferable to any other, must have existed bed fore the confufion of languages; and if all the world fpake in one language, this must be it."- Stimulated by an enthusiasm equally patriotic, à certain Scandinavian hiftorian hath defined and fixed" the feat of Paradife in Norway!Thus will zeal for a favourite fyftem betray the moft learned men into abfurdities, and produce a fondnefs that borders on childishness, and grows tefty and wayward the moment its darling wishes are oppofed.

We infert thefe reflections, not to depreciate the general merit of the work before us, but to difcourage that blind attachment to national prejudices, in which fome writers confider the very honour of their country as fo effentially concerned, that they frequently facrifice good fenfe and moderation, while they prefs forward in fupport of them.

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The Author, after fome general obfervations on the prefent laborious undertaking, informs us in his Preface, that, in or der to complete it, he undertook a journey from London to the Highlands of Scotland in the fpring of 1778.' Having (fays he) made a progress into almoft every corner of the highland part of the continent, and vifited the moft confiderable of the Hebrides, exposed to much fatigue, and many inconveniences, I paffed over to Ireland, there alfo to purfue the Galic; and returned to London in 1779, after a perambulation of about three thousand miles, with a collection of near thirty thoufand articles for a Dictionary.

In the Highlands, there being few books, and ftill fewer manufcripts, in the Scotch dialect, the language in the living voice was the only fource from which I could glean vocables. In the island of Mull, however, Mr. M'Arthur, one of the ministers there, who understands the language well, laid before ime about 200 words, part of which I tranfcribed, uncertain whether I had feen them before.

The better clafs of the people every where, with alacrity, afforded every poffible information, and for that purpose feldom fpoke to me but in the ancient tongue, turning the converfation on various fubjects, to give an opportunity of catching new words. But the common people, who are generally poffeffed of whatever narration remains in the country, muft alf be bought. They told me I had been well paid by his Majesty for what I undertook, otherwife I fhould not have been at fo much pains; and therefore they feldom opened their mouths before they were paid."

Our Author acknowledges his particular obligations to Sir John Foulis; and when he confiders the pains this gentleman hath taken in treasuring up whatever is curious of Celtic origin, and with what liberality he communicates the refult of

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