hitherto always imagined impof- All that he required was, to have the charging of the gun himfelf, which when he had done, he placed himself at ten yards diftance, ftrait before the muzzle, and defired one of us to fire it: We were a good deal furprized at his confidence, but, unwilling to be acceflary to his lofing his life by his rafhnefs, defired him to ftand from before the cannon, and only place his hand to receive the bullet. This he did, and I fired it myself: The loudnefs of the report gave us no room to doubt but that he had put in the full charge of powder we gave him; but, to our amazement and furprize, we faw him (top the ball with his hand; the ball fell directly down; in fhort, he received no hurt. Some of the company judged he had done this by putting in a falfe ball made of hollow prafteboard, but, on examining it, we found it the very bullet we had given him; fo that it was plain there was no cheat. On the whole, after a thousand random gueffes about the way in which this was done, the man offered, for a certain fum of money, to tell us the fecret, which we joined to purchafe, and found to be this: When you have the proper quantity of powder for a charge, put a very little of it into the cannon, then put in the ball, and over it put in the reft of the powder, then put in the wadding, and ram it down hard as ufual. This is the whole mystery, and a cannon thus charged will not carry the bullet twenty yards. The report of the cannon this way is as loud as any other, for all the powder is fired, the bullet not filling the barrel fo exactly as to prevent its catching; and the effect of the ball is almost nothing, because the ball is only thrown forward by the fmall quantity of powder that is below it, that which is above rather driving it back than forward. When we had purchased the fecret, we tried it feveral times, firing against thin deal boards, without hurting them; and, for fear of accidents, that, I think, is much the best way of making the experiment. T. W. quités du Monde: the ancient world analyfed and compared with the modern; or, an enquiry into the antiquities of the first ages; under the following heads. I. Of the origin of language and writing; of univerfal grammar; an alphabet and dictionary of the primitive language; and the relation of these with the alphabets, grammar, and languages of the prefent time. II. The fymbolical genius of antiquity demonftrated in the hieroglyphical writing, allegorical language, mythological tables, and fymbols, that have been in ufe among all nations; with the heraldry, heroic poetry, cofmogony, and theogony of all nations. III. Of the primitive religion; with a general key to the theology of all ancient nations. IV. Of the hiftory, traditions, and cuftoms of the primitive world, and how far the knowledge of them has been tranfmitted to us. V. Of its laws and cuftoms, relative to agriculture, the fources of the grandeur and power of ancient empires. VI. Of its calendar and feafts, and the objects to which they related. VII. Of its principal monuments, with an explanation of them. An account of the books, which the author has read upon thefe fubjects, and of those which he has not been able to procure. The author is aware, that the nature of this work, including difcoveries, which, in general, will be thought impoffible, muft expofe it to cenfure, as illufive and vifionary, like the figures that are fometimes feen in clouds, which depend upon the fancy of the beholder, rarely appearing the fame to any two perfons, and always vanishing as they are approached. How," fays he, can things be traced to their firft fource, fince, in proportion as fcience and art become perfect, their origin becomes obfcure; as the light of a taper totally dif appears in that of the fun?" This objection he removes, by obferving, that, if fome common principles can be ascertained, all things may be traced into their fource without much affiftance from hiftory: and that, if the learned have failed in the attempt, it is because they have taken the tree by its branches, and not by its trunk they have been bewildered by their multiplicity and convolu tions, and, not having been able to comprehend them all, have never difcovered where they unite in a common ftock. I, fays he, have endeavoured to trace the branches from the trunk, and not the trunk from the branches. As man was placed upon this earth to enjoy and cultivate it, all his knowledge muft originally be produced by imitation: to trace all his inventions, therefore, to their fource, it is neceffary to confider the objects with which the first men were furrounded, the fenfations which ftruck them, the ideas which were neceffarily excited, the organs with which they were furnished to com municate their thoughts, the figns and expreffions which would naturally refult, the manner in which abftracted and metaphyfical ideas were derived from an acquaintance with natural or physical objects, from the mutual wants and rela tions which united familes, and from from the natural progrefs of the human mind towards perfection." The work will be divided into two parts: one relative to words, and the other to things. The first part, among many other curious particulars, contains a dictionary of the Hebrew language, traced into its true radicals, and both into the primitve and modern languages, by which many difficulties in its conftruction will be removed. A dictionary of the Latin language, traced into its true radicals, with the reafon of each; fo that the reader may, in a very short time, not only acquire the knowledge of all the words in that language, but affign the reason of each. An etymological dictionary of the French language. A comparative dictionary of he Celtic, the Teutonic, the Northern, the Greek, the Perfian, and the Indian languages, fhewing their relation to each other, and to the primitive language. An account of the origin of the Chinese language and writing, and their relation to the primitive language and alphabet. An enquiry concerning the lan guages of Africa and America, and a demonftration that they are derived from the primitive language. The fecond part contains the geography of the primitive world, its hiftory, traditions, dogmas, laws, &c. The work will be illuftrated with a great number of curious copperplates; and the first volume, intitled, Principes fur l'origine des langues, et leur rapports," will be delivered to fubfcribers next Michaelmas. Each volume will contain about 500 pages in quarto, and every volume will make a compleat VOL. XV. work of itself. The fubfcription for the first volume is twelve livres, half to be paid at the time of subfcribing, and half on the delivery of the book. Subfcriptions are taken in by Mr. Elmfly,bookfeller, over against Southampton-street in the Strand. This ingenious author, upon receiving, from Mr. Bonet, a vocabulary of words of the language spoken by the inhabitants of the South-Sea Islands, affigned the meaning of feveral of them, by an application of his general principles; which is a demonstration that his fyftem is not a chimera, but founded in truth, and capable of being reduced into practice. State of Smithfield-Market for forty Years. IN SIR, N September laft, I communicated my fentiments to the public on the dearnefs of provifions, and endeavoured to prove that a real fcarcity, arifing from the unneceffary breed of horses, was the principal caufe of fo heavy a miffortune. To fupport the truth of my affertion beyond the poffibility of queftion. I fhall now take a comparative view for forty years back of all the black cattle and fheep brought to Smithfield-market; from which the reader will fee at one glance, that however the buildings. in the metropolis, and the inhabitants have increased, no material increase has taken place in the confumption of butcher's meat. In juftice to a gentleman equally known to the world for his integrity and his benevolence, I must acknowledge that the following table is not my own; but I have a pride [0] in A Table, hewing the Number of Sheep and Black Cattle fold at SmithfieldMarket for the last forty Years. From Michaelmas Sheep Aver age. 8304 From the foregoing table it appears that the decreafe in the fale of black cattle is about equal to the increase in the fale of fheep, according to the proportion which they bear to each other in point of weight; therefore it is evident that the confumption of thefe articles of food is now nearly the fame as it was forty years ago, which makes us naturally afk, how this can correfpond with the general outcry, that the metropolis requires fuch extraordinary quantities of provifions as to advance the price on one hand, while foreftalling and engroffing advance it on the other, to the unfpeakable diftrefs of the community? Those who have maintained these two pofitions may perceive their miftake by the table in the first inftance; and in respect to the fecond it is manifeft, that, if the country produced a plenty, this produce must be brought to market; unlefs we abfurdly fuppofe, that the dealers in provifions are wicked merely for the fake of wickednefs, and deftroy one part of their property to raife the other part on its unavoidable purchasers. For myself, however, I always imagine that the value of a commodity is governed by the quantity on fale, and am certain that the more live ftock we bring to Smithfield, the the lower the rate of butcher's meat must be reduced. The with-holding cattle from market, or taking them away unfold, is fo apparently hazardous to the owners, that they will feldom attempt either: for in the first place the longer they are detained in the country, after they have been properly fed, the longer the grazier lies out of his money, befides the expence of keeping them; and what is still more material, he runs all the various hazards attendant upon accident and mortality. In the fecond place, let us fuppofe that he stops them a little fhort of the market, or takes them away from it in expectation of a better price, can we imagine that the worse they grow the more profitably they will fell, or that the owner will keep them near town three or four days at a certain expence, without even a probability of any advantage? After cattle had been driven from fifty to one hundred and fifty miles, and on the road have been miferably supplied even with food, to which they are unaccustomed; after they have been made as fat as poffible, and then turned out to a long journey, when leaft able to endure the fatigue; after they have, been cruelly beaten, and in general lamed in their progrefs to the capital, and thrown into a state which muft fpeedily reduce them, efpecially if they are off their feed, which is frequently the cafe; I fay, after all thefe difadvantages are confidered, is it credible that any man in his fenfes would keep fuch a stock willingly upon his hands? No. The very avarice imputed to the owner mult induce him to difpofe of live ftock inftantly, and render him utterly difinclined to trifle much about terms with a purchaser. In every point of view, therefore, provifions being of a perishable nature, it is, generally speaking, impoffible to create an artificial fearcity, except for a very short time; and if the fpring of a real fcarcity.. fhould be fortunately traced, it be [0] 2 comes |