from crown, coronet: if we adopt the terms prickle and horn, we must use the adjectives prickly and thorny, not aculeate and fpinofe: from glume we form glu. mofe; from ament amentaceous; from awn, awned and awnless; from axil or axilla, axillary; from pinna, pinnate, bipinnate, &c. from calyx are formed calycle, calycled, calycine; from petal, anther, berry, we make the compounds five petaled, anther bearing, berry-bearing, not bacciferous; from cell, two-celled; from leaf, two leaved; from feed, twofeeded. Without, however, entering too much into the minuteneffes of this fubject, fuffice it to remark, that when we admit terms of art or fcience to participate in the rights of citizens, they fhould put on our garb, and adopt our manners. If this rule had always been obferved, our language would not have been deformed with innumerable barbarifms, which learned and unlearned ignorance have joined to introduce among us; and which nothing but the conftant habit of fpeaking or hearing them, can ever re concile to our ears It would be eafy to add many more obfervations, but it is not my defign to exhauft the fubject. I have addreffed thefe curfory remarks to you, fir, as being at the head of a fociety, one of whofe principal views is to promote English botany; in hopes that fome member of the fociety, who has more leisure than myself, may turn his thoughts N Ο T E. * Such are per cent, per annum, perpound, and per-post; ipfo facto, minutie, data, errata, in vacuo, vice verf, plus et minus, vis inertia, in equilibrio, jet d'eau, aqua fortis, aqua vite, ignis fatuus, cæteris paribus; equivoque, critique, je ne fcai quoi, favoir-vivre, outré, et cetera, et cetera, èt cetera-It should feem that the mercantile world, the learned world, and the fashionable world, have formed a confpiracy to debase our fterling English by ill-made terms, affectedly introduced without the leaft neceffity. Short Account of the celebrated SCHEELE. [From the third Volume of Cox's Travels into Poland, Ruffia, Sweden, and Denmark.] HARLES William Scheele, fon of a tradefman, was born at Stralfund, in December 1742. He received the earliett rudiments of education at a private fchool, and afterwards in the feminary of that town. Having at a very early age expreffed a ftrong defire to follow the profeffion of an apothecary, he was bound apprentice to Mr. Bauch, of Gotheborg, with whom he continued till 1765. There he laid the foundation of his chymical knowledge. He was remarkably quiet and ferious, extremely attentive to the medical and chymical preparations, and used afterwards to repeat the procefs in his own apartments. He feems to have been firft excited to the study of chymiftry, by the perusal of Neuman's chymiftry, recommended by Grumberg, an apprentice in the fame fhop He alfo met with Lemerie and Stahl's works, and Kenckell's Laboratory, which feems to have been his favonrite book. In 1765, he departed from Gotheborg, and ferved different apothecaries; first, Karlstroem, of Malmoe; secondly, Scharenberg, of Stockholm; and in 1773, obtained an appointment with Loock of Upfala. At Upfala he increafed his knowledge by forming an acquaintance with the learned men of the univerfity, particu larly larly the ftrictest friendship with profeffor Bergman, and by having free accefs to the public laboratory. In 1775, he was appointed by the medical college apothecary at Kioping, where he finished his days. The reader will find, in Wells's Chemifche Annalen for 1787, a lift of the works and principal difcoveries of Scheele; alfo in the Gentleman's Magazine for April, 1789. His character as a chymift, is fufficiently known by his great and numerous difcoveries in that fcience. Scheele had ftruggled during his whole life against narrow circumstances; and when appointed apothecary of Kioping, he involved himself in debt in order to purchase the stock which had belonged to his predeceffor. He had been for fome time engaged to marry his predeceffor's widow; but waited till he had discharged his debts, and had collected a moderate provifion for her in cafe of his death. He had fcarcely effected his purpose, and received the offer of an annuity of 300l. per annum, if he would fettle in England, which would have afforded him more leifure, and a fufficient income to purfue his chymical difcoveries, when his health declined. His diforder began with an inflammation in his eyes, arifing probably from the intenfe zeal with which he carried on his chymical experiments, and ended in a total debility, which hurried him to the grave on the 21ft of May, 1786, in the fifty fifth year of his age. Two days before his death, he was married to the perfon to whom he had been fo long betrothed, and left her the little money he had been able to fave. The union of virtue and knowledge is doubly meritorious; and it is a pleafing fatisfaction to add, that the morals of Scheele were ftrict, and his conduct as irreproachable as his morals in all feafons of life. Scheele had neither time nor inclination to form common acquaintances; for most part of the hours which he could fpare from his fhop and the duties of his office, he employed in his laboratory and library; but he was greatly attached to a few congenial friends, and fond of converfing with them on subjects of chymifiry. He was to them extremely open, and of a communicative difpofition, never in the least defirous of withholding his information, or concealing his discoveries. Before he adopted any opinion, he was particularly cautious; but when he had once adopted it, he was decifive, and defended it with firmnefs, yet without heat. He was, however, always open to conviction; and more than once retracted his opinion, whenever he was convinced by argument or experiment. Scheele understood no other languages but the Latin, German, and Swedish; fo that he had not the advantage of being benefited by the early intelligence of difcoveries made by foreigners, and was forced to wait until the information was conveyed to him in the flow and uncertain channel of translation. Even his acquaintance with the Swedish was not fufficient to write the treatises he fent to the Swedish academy of fciences in that tongue, but he was accuftomed to compofe them in German, from whence they were translated into Swedifh. When we confider the number and accuracy of Scheele's experiments, we fhould naturally prefume that his chymical apparatus was very complete. On the contrary, his laboratory was extremely confined, and his apparatus extremely inconvenient, owing, probably, to the fcantinefs of his circumstances. If he made fuch important and accurate difcoveries with a fcanty and inconvenient apparatus, and without any affiftance, what would he have done, if his circumstances and his fituation had been different? LITERARY IN N our 3d vol. p. 47, we announced this learned and valuable work, and have now the pleasure of informing our readers that two volumes more are just published. The fourth volume contains the lives of Sertorius, Eumenes, Agefilaus, Pompey, Alexander the Great, and Cæfar; the fifth, Phocion, Cato minor, Agis, Cleomenes, the Gracchi, Demofthenes, Cicero and Artaxerxes. "Icones Plantarum Rariorum Delineavit "et Aere incidit Hen. Schewegman'; "edidit et defcriptiones addidit. G. V. "dici Chirurgici atque Dietetici."Imp. fol. 20 fafciculi, 5 val. Vienna, 1793. Imported by Mercier and Co. HIS is probably the moft fplendid THE and extenfive work ever prefented to the botanical world. Five volumes, containing five hundred plates, are now published; and the fixth volume will be foon finished; each fafciculus contains twenty-five plants, coloured with the greatest accuracy, and the descriptions are in Latin and German. "The Mysteries of Udolpho, a Romance, "interiperfed with fome Pieces of Pue66 try. By Ann Radcliffe." 4 vols. 12mo. 1794. "Schn:ovoogt; fcriptionem infpexit, IT feldom happens in our sketch of "S. T. Van Geun" fol 12 fafc. Tomus primus, Haarlem, 1793. Imported by Mercier and Co. the literature of the month, that we notice novels; there are but few that rife above mediocrity, and numbers fall ftill-born from the prefs: But the myfteries of Udolpho is of a very fuperior clafs; terror and pity prevail by turns, and both the head and the heart are interested in the course of the eventful ftory. In defcription, the fair Authoress excels, and pourtrays many scenes of nature, in a manner worthy the pen of Gilpin. Some faftidious readers may conceive that the work abounds too much with thefe; but to the lover of nature they come recommended with all the glow and embellishments of a vigorous imagination, aided by a cultivated taste. We are furprised at an error which repeatedly occurs, and which we G hope on a predial war, which spread defolation and horror over the face of the country. This has occupied the atten tion of our historian in his introduction, which contains many curious particulars of the Border history. He defcribes the county by parishes, and along with many curious engravings of Roman and other antiquities, are fome on wood, by the celebrated Bewick. The firft volume only is published, but the fecond will follow. THIS elegant work is from the pen "Hory of the County of Cumberland. "By William Hutchinson, F. A. S. "Author of the Hiftory of Durham.” 4to. 2 vols. Two guineas and a half the fineft paper; 21. 8s. 9d. the fecond paper, and 21. 35. 4d. the cheapest. jollie, Carlifle. THE learned author of this curious work is already well known in the republic of letters, by his former productions in this line; and the prefent muft add to his reputation. The fituation of Cumberland between the two kingdoms before their union under one fovereign, often rendered it a prey to thofe marauders with which the Marches The Hory of the principal Rivers of "Great Britain." vol. 1, folio, 312 pages and 46 coloured plates; five guineas; printed by Bulmer for the Baydells. TO the family of the Boydells the fine arts in England are certainly much indebted. The prefent work is indeed a proof of their tafte; and the Thames, as firft in rank of the British rivers, first occupies their attention. The plan is highly deferving of public encouragement, and merits our approbation. Some of the defcriptions are admirable, and the plates are most accurately executed. The account of the fource of the Thames is, in particular, highly interefting. FEW of our readers but are acquainted with the extenfive erudition and fine tafte of Wakefield. To the scholar this beautiful edition of Horace muft prove a most acceptable prefent. The text is corrected from the emendations of Bentley and Markland, with fome conjectures of the editor. It is moft elegantly printed. A few errata however appear, which are noticed at the end; and to each volume is prefixed a vignette, defigned by Burney, and engra ven by Skelton: there are alfo heads of Horace and Mæcenas. A new collection of hymns and pfalms for public and private worship is fhortly expected to make its appearance. The felection is made by Doctor Kippis, Doctor Rees, Mr. Jervis and Mr. Morgan, from the whole compafs of English divine poetry; and will therefore bring forward many names, befides thofe of Watts, Doddridge, Merrick and others, which are more generally known. Several of the hymns are derived from fources that have hitherto been little examined, and fome are original compofitions. On the whole, it is prefum ed, that there will be found fuch a variety in the collection as will recommend it to confiderable notice, and probably occafion its being introduced to various congregations. The Rev. Mr. Tatterfall's elegant and judicious publication of the first twenty-five pfalms, from Merrick's verfion, is now in great forwardnefs. His fubfcribers, we doubt not, will be fully fatisfied with his punctuality and liberality; and we cannot refrain from expreffing our good wishes in behalf of his ftrenuous endeavours to introduce that excellent verfion into common parochial ufe in our churches We understand that the poems of the late Mr. Mickle are in the prefs, and are speedily to be published for the benefit of his wife and fon. The name of the ingenious tranflator of Camoens, will, doubtlefs, raise a general wifh in the public to poffefs this volume, which in addition to his published poems, is to contain a tragedy left in MS. and fome letters of the late lord Lyttleton, addreffed to the author. We are enabled alfo to announce the third volume of Mr. John Ireland's Hogarth illuftrated, which will be formed from the MSS. in Hogarth's poffeffion at the time of his death, all of which have fortunately been obtained by Mr. Ireland. A feparate work, by Mr. Samuel Ireland, on the fubject of Hogarth, must not be confounded with this. The lovers of botany will fhortly be highly gratified by the publication of a fyftematic local catalogue of Irifh plants, under the following title, “ Catalogus fyftematicus plantarum indigenarum per comitatum Dublinienfem inventarum," pars prima, Auctore Gualtero Wade, M. D. Collegii Medicorum Regis et Reginæ in Hibernia e permiffis, rei botanica Prelectori, Societatis Linnæanæ Londinenfis et Medice Dublinienfis Soc. &c. As it will be the first fyftematic account of any branch of natural history from Ireland; the work will become the more curious, particularly as the Irifh names of plants are to be annexed. MATHE G 2 |