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two months, in the prefence of above an hundred and fifty perfons; and that among others, M. Jadelft, profeffor of physic at Nancy, a man eminent for his genius and abilities, was not only a witness of thefe experiments, but was actually concerned in the greateft part of them.-Each of thefe experiments was repeated at different times, in different manners, and with all the precautions that could prevent fraud, through the ingenious application of mechanical contrivances, to produce the appearances under confideration. We fhall give a part of these precautions in a tranflation of the Author's own words:

I repeated, fays he, thefe experiments, fometimes blindfolding Bléton, and fometimes binding his arms behind his back, allowing him only fuch a ufe of his hands, as was barely neceffary to his holding the rod. I brought him to places which he had never feen. I conducted him blind-fold, at one time, towards fprings which I knew, and which he could not have 'known before; at another, to grounds, whofe fubterraneous contents were unknown to us both.-I brought him back again by different roads, and ftill blindfold, to the fame places.—I made him go backwards; and notwithstanding all these attempts to difconcert him, he ftill returned to the course of the ftream, conducted me, himself ftill blindfold, and only fupported by one arm, to the place from whence he fet out, without deviat ing in the leaft from the lines that had been drawn to mark the current, and following exactly the fame windings of the water that he had formerly indicated. Sometimes I removed the marks he had himself made to indicate the courfe of the water, and fubftituted falfe ones in their place, endeavouring thus to deceive him by his fenfes, but he always obferved and rectified the error, and of fix hundred trials I made to deceive him, not one fucceeded.'

Our Author's curiofity did not end here: he opened a new field of investigation, hitherto unattempted, and made experiments upon the phenomena of the virgula divina, or divining rod, which muft render them fingularly interefting to natural philofophers. He made experiments upon Bléton with magnetic compofitions, newly electrified, and found they produced no vifible influence on him, more than on other men, when he was at a distance from a fpring; but when he was placed above a spring, and magnetic compofitions were prefented to his touch, our Author obferved a diminution of three-fourths, both in the convulfive motion of his body, and the rotatory movement of the rod. This led him to think, that with stronger dofes of this kind of electrics, and a deeper impregnation, both these movements might be entirely fufpended. As foon as M. THOUVENEL withdrew his electrical preparations, the phenomena of the inAuence of the water upon Bléton refumed all their force.

It was not on Bléton alone that these electrical trials were made. We have already feen, that the proximity or contact of this man was fufficient to communicate to our Author, the -virtue of making the rod turn about. M. T. therefore provided himfelf with magnetic compofitions, electrified fometimes in the form of balls, fometimes in powder, in bags and cafes; and then the proximity or contact of Bléton could not communicate the smallest motion to the rod. This experiment appeared to be influenced by the state of the atmosphere, and to vary with the air, like every other kind of electricity.

Other facts are related in this Treatife, which fhew ftill more remarkably, the key that electricity may furnish to explain the phenomena of the divining rod. The effects of infulators or non-conductors, are generally known. Our Author, curious to know what effects they would produce on Bléton, placed fucceffively under his feet pieces of folded filk, and cerecloth, planks thickly covered with wax or refin, and alfo glafs infulators. In these experiments, both the motion of the rod, and the impreffion of the water were almoft imperceptible; and they were totally fufpended by making Bléton touch artificial elec trics. In other experiments, made with ladders raised perpendicularly above the fprings, the impreffions of the water upon the rod and the body of Bléton, manifefted themselves at the height of 15, 20, and 30 feet; whereas the impreffion ceafed, and was null with refpect to both, when a piece of cerecloth was placed under thefe ladders.

These facts, which we have felected from a confiderable number of the like kind, feem to favour our Author's conjecture, that there are effential connexions and affinities between the phenomena of the divining rod, and thofe of magnetism and electricity. Thefe experiments, followed by others, which inventive fagacity muft undoubtedly fuggeft, will perhaps, in process of time, enable the natural philofopher and the chemift to explain thefe curious phenomena, and to discover new affinities between the fubterraneous, atmospherical and animal electricities. The internal ftreams may be the natural conductors of the firft, as the clouds in the air, and the blood-veffels in animals, are of the second and the third. One of the most effential objects of the farther experiments that may be made to illuftrate the phenomena of the divining rod, ought to be, fays our Author, to enquire whether thefe phenomena be owing to the acquifition or deperdition of any fubtile matter, which iffues from the terreftrial globe, or is extracted from the human body, or whether both thefe caufes operate at the fame time, to produce the effect under confideration. For example, the direct rotation of the rod, and the convulfive motion of the body, may perhaps be occafioned by the former (the acquifition), whereas the retrograde

notion of the rod, accompanied with an internal fhivering, which announces the restoration of the equilibrium in the organs of the diviner, may be occafioned by the latter (the deperdition), and then it may be inquired, whether the former be not a fpecies of pofitive, and the latter a fpecies of negative, electricity.

We pass over several obfervations of our Author, relative to the important difcoveries that may be made by fuch inquiries, and to the advantages that medical practice may derive from them. We imagine that our Readers will be, at this moment, peculiarly anxious to fee all the degrees of evidence, with which the relation of the facts hitherto mentioned is accompanied, and we are defirous to fatisfy them, on this head, as far as this can be done from the Author's declarations. He tells us, that he addreffed circular advertisements to all the perfons who employed Bléton, and to all the provinces where this man exercised bis fingular profeffion, in order to obtain accurate and well-attefted accounts of the fuccefs of his undertakings. The refult of this was a multitude of teftimonies, which confirmed his own obfervations; and these are published at length in the third fection of the Work now before us. He does not always mention the names of the perfons who have fent him the memoirs and letters that atteft Bliton's talent and fuccefs, but he points out always their place of refidence, their employments, rank, and all the circumftances that are adapted to make them known. He offers moreover to fhew their letters and their feals, to fuch as defire it. Among those who bear teftimony in this cafe, we find a great number of perfons in diftinguished fituations,-bishops, magiftrates, heads of colleges and communities, physicians, &c. It appears by thefe teftimonies, that many towns, communities, and individuals, are indebted to Bléton for the fprings with which they are enriched. Among the Memoirs that have been fent to our Author, feveral are compofed by perfons eminently skilled in chemistry and natural philofophy, among whom he particularly mentions M. Sigaud de la Fond. This ingenious profeffor, fo well known, and to juftly celebrated, has appeared publicly as an affertor and witness of Bléton's atchievments; he even affirms, that he has feen operations of the divinatory rod, ftill more wonderful than those of Bléton.-If this extract had not already furpaffed the bounds we proposed to give it, we would copy M. Sigaud's account of the effects of metals upon a divinatory rod, which, in the hands of a fair lady at Bourges, was indeed marvellous in its indications. M. Sigaud was an eye witness of these marvels, which are only fuch, because we are unacquainted with their mechani cal caufes. The attraction of the loadftone is every whit as marvellous as the divinatory rod; and there is as much narrownefs of mind in difbelieving things, because they furprize us, Kk4

and

and because they have been the innocent occafions of fraud and imposture, as there is in the most implicit and fuperftitious credulity. The great point here is to examine facts and teftimonies. The name of M. Sigaud is certainly of great weight in the relations of our Author: we are even highly difposed to believe him, in what he himself relates of the lady of Bourges; though, to render the moral evidence complete here, we could with to know fomething of the moft material qualities and accomplishments of the lady in queftion. For here a more than ordinary fascination may be fufpected, against which philofophers are not always proof;-being, at the beft, men of like paffions with ourselves.

Our Author speaks much of the medical uses that may be derived from fuccefsful inquiries into the mechanical causes of the phenomena we have been relating, and thinks the power of managing (or being managed by, one might as well fay) the divinatory rod, might be communicated to many, who are not as yet initiated into thefe myfteries.-But we go a step farther, and obferve, that the improvement of this fcience may not only be fubfervient to medical purposes, but also to mental and moral ufes, if the attempts to eftablish materialifm fhould fucceed. For if, contrary to expectation, it should be generally believed, that the fimple principle in man, which thinks and wills, is either a grain of falt, or a bubble of air, or an electrical spark, or a drop of water, or a globule of oil, or a particle of earth, or a piece of glass,-why then it is not impoffible that the divining rod, by the intervention of magnetifm, electricity, &c. may form interefting communications with the faculties and affec tions, the tranfactions and fecrets of this principle, which as yet is invifible. It may difcover mines of virtue which are hid, and pure currents of generofity and genius, which run under ground, unnoticed and unknown. It may bring to light motives, plans, and purposes, that would undeceive dupes, and difconcert impoftors. But alas! we know already too much of poor humanity, both in private and public fcenes, to need or defire any farther manifeftations of its mifery and folly.

AR T. IV.

Lettre fur la Litterature Allemande, &c. i. e. A Letter concerning German Literature, addreffed to Her Royal Highness the Duchefs Dowager of Brunfwick-Wolfenbuttel, tranflated from the German. 12mo. Berlin. 1781.

Tis reported, that the Royal Author of a letter on this

appeared), defired to know the fentiments of the learned and refpectable Abbé JERUSALEM Concerning his performance; and,

that

that to gratify this defire, his royal fifter addressed herself to the Abbé, and thus gave occafion to the Letter now before us. The Abbé is a rational divine, a good philofopher, and an infinuating courtier; withal a worthy and virtuous man. The royal author had laid himself more or lefs open to criticifm, by confounding too much the ftate of literature in Germany, in the earlier part of the prefent century, with the very advantageous revolution that has been progreffively improving tafte and genius in that country for thefe laft forty years. The Abbé, indirectly, and with all the mellifluous gentleness of which contradiction is fufceptible, corrects this error, and makes the proper diftinctions. His principal defign in this Letter, is to fhew ift, the obftacles (not yet entirely removed) that have retarded the progrefs of the belles lettres and fciences in Germany; and, 2dly, to indicate the fuccefsful attempts that have been made, by the native energy of genius, in that country, notwithstanding thefe obftacles.

Under the first of these articles, the ingenious Author mentions the wars, which beginning at the period when the exiled mufes took refuge in the Weft, continued fo long to ravage Germany; the circumftances of the German empire, which exhibits to learning no common protector, no fixed refidence;the contempt which the grandees have almost always fhewed for literature, as below their dignity, and only fit for the lower ranks in fociety;-the little encouragement given to learned men, who were scattered here and there, feeking for a bare subfiftence by laborious occupations, which extinguished genius, and who, when they had not the badge of nobility, were excluded from courts, kept at a diftance from the commerce of the polite world, and obliged to live in a difcouraging obfcurity. These and other obftacles to the progrefs of taste and genius are pointed out by this refpectable Writer in a very interefting manner.

He obferves farther, that Germany was indebted, for the firft dawn of good taste, to the French, and more efpecially to a colony of that nation, which fled from perfecution, and found an afylum in the territories of the Elector of Brandenburg. This colony, according to our Author, polished the rough Germans by the elegance of their infinuating manners, the beauty and harmony of their language, and the mafterly productions of their poets, orators, and hiftorians, which were fuperior to any thing which Germany had as yet exhibited in the line of lite rature. But these advantages were not exempt from inconveniences. The more learned Germans ftudied and admired the French language, but began to be almoft afhamed of their own; at least many defpaired of being ever able to render it elegant and harmonious. This difcouragement fuppreffed emu

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