for the durability of a pelice or fhube is a great object to the peasant, and indeed in a lefs degree to all clafses, whilst one half of the sheep skins manufactured in the north, are partly rotten when brought to market, being burnt up, I believe, by a quantity of calcareous earth (probably in a caustic state,) with which every pore is filled. In fhort, it appears to me that a much better mode of drefsing, at least the common fheep skin furs, might be fallen upon, than what is at present practised in Rufsia; and that would give such a superiority to the new manufactory, as must be attended with a great sale; for I regard such an improvement, as a real desideratum in that branch of trade. ON THE DELAYS INCIDENT TO THE COURT OF SESSION. To the Lord President of the Court of Session. LETTER II.* MY LORD, If the interlocutors were reduced to two, upon each point, and all dispute upon counter-claims was precluded, one might think it only remained to decide at once upon the justice of the pleas of the parties, and so terminate the dispute. But the case is quite otherwise; and there are many more bars in the way of a speedy decision. *Continued from vol. xvi. p. 280, The party complaining of an interlocutor, must lodge his representation, or present his reclaiming petition, within the space of a fortnight, otherwise the interlocutor becomes final. But there is no such necefsity to lodge answers within any given time. In the outer-house there is not even an amand imposed; but barely an order given, to lodge answers within ten days or a fortnight;* and I have known the best part of a sefsion lost before such an order could be enforced, by dint of repeated enroll ments. A defender has usually nothing to gain by the ifsue of the cause, and when he happens to be respondent, delay ensues; and it sometimes becomes a new question, whether the old one shall proceed or not, besides giving rise to illiberal reflections between the parties, as to the reason of the delay, and so producing ill humour and additional vexation and expence through all the after stages of the cause. An amand is by no means an adequate remedy; and the ready compliance with the orders of the inner-house is justly ascribed, not to the amand, but to your Lordship's vigilance, and the fear of your displeasure. An order to answer, will always be eluded more or lefs, until the respondent is cut off, from even the hope of delay. And therefore I would humbly pro * One honourable judge only, is in use to annex a penalty to his order, and it generally proves unavailing. It goes to the poor; and the tak is invidious to insist upon its being paid. pose a regulation (like the act of sederunt 26th November 1718,) precluding the pofsibility of receiving answers, unless they are lodged within fourteen days, and so sending the cause to be advised, as it then stands. I know not of any disadvantage that this would be attended with, unless to diminish the emolument of the members of court, whom I formerly mentioned. And as every new regulation to save time has that tendency, it is surely worth while trying to makeup their lofs in some other way. If the endurance of a lawsuit could be shortened one half, the litigants could well afford to pay double the fees of court that they do at present. It is to be regretted, that in many cases of delay, no such remedy as I have proposed regarding answers can well be devised. An order to condescend: to produce a material paper: to give in a state of accounts to make up an order of ranking, and other orders of various kinds, often produce astonishing delays, and it is very difficult to propose a remedy: but such orders fhall be the subject of a future letter. I am &c. LENTULUS. ON VARIOUS WAYS OF MAKING MONEY. For the Bee. God made man upright, but he hath found out many I inventions. AM an old domine, Mr Editor, who have toiled hard for fourteen hours a day, during forty years past, in hopes of getting some little thing laid up for a sore heel in my old age; but in vain: for after having got my old wig new drefsed, my clothes put into the best trim I could, to make a few visits during the vacance, and a pair of new fhoes to carry me along the road, I find there is no danger that my pockets will be worn out with the weight of my purse. It was an old practice with my grandmother, who lived to a good old age, to try to discover her fortune by the sortes virgillianæ ; that is, when she wished to know what would be the result of any arduous interprise, he used to open her bible at random, and observe what was the first sentence that catched her eye; from the tenor of which the augured the success of her plan. Though I believe in no such heathenish tricks, I learned such a practice of doing this when young, that I sometimes, even yet, do it by a sort of involuntary impulse. The sentence I have chosen as a motto turned up thus to me this morning. as I was meditating upon the plans I should adopt for bettering my fortune in future. But what invention, thinks I, can I fall upon for this purpose? Now, Sir, I had been so often foiled in every attempt I had made, that I could not think of any thing that had the smallest prospect of succefs; and I walked forward ruminating upon the subject, as I went to breakfast with a worthy clergyman, who always receives me with great kindness on my annual circuit. At breakfast he kindly invited me to spend the day with him, observing that I fhould be in time enough tomorrow to the place of my next Sept. 11. visit. The invitation was too flattering for me to refuse it; and I, with much satisfaction to myself, consented. While my friend was fhaving, to accompany me in an excursion to see the improvements in his glebe, I took up a book to glance at. It was the eighth volume of your Bee; and as chance would have it, the first thing that turned up to me there, was the letter of Juridicus to Mr Semple. (Bee vol. 8. p. 318.) which was exactly to my purpose. Verily said I to myself, this man hath found out one, and not one of the worst of the "many inventions" for making money. What a dunce of a fellow am I that I should not have thought of this. You are right, said I, Mr Juridicus, for it is only two days since I was hospitably entertained, almost with a royal profusion, by a man who lived in a stile of sumptuosity that I had never before witnessed, whose generous C—-rs a very short time ago, thankfully accepted of two fhillings, or half a crown a pound, in full of all demands; no doubt from the noble principle that they might enable him to live in future, not like a gentleman, which he did before; but like a nobleman, which he now does! Great is the magnanimity and generosity of the British nation!!! Well, but thinks I, this invention, excellent as it is, will not suit me. I cannot get even credit for a good new coat; I must therefore think of some other invention. The thought has not gone out of my head all day. In the course of my meditations, I recollected that once upon a time, now a good while ago, we, poor devils of schoolmasters, thinking to get |