a vacuum, is cloathed infide and out with a fuit of fine, ætherial matter, changes its name, and becomes no fmall perfonage in the phyfical oeconomy of the world. In the 7th chapter of this part, Mr. L. undertakes in form the total exclufion of attraction, as a phyfical agent; but wifely foreseeing that his utmoft efforts to remove the almost invincible prejudice in its favour may poffibly prove vain and fruitless,' he again makes use of the words of Mr. Jones, for that purpose, with which he covers. near eighty pages more; but then indeed he more than repays the obligation, by the high compliment which he beftows upon that gentleman, in calling him an advocate for his opinions," and thereby admitting him to make one in his philofophical retinue-honours with which Mr. Jones will no doubt be most highly flattered. Our Author is indeed a moft enormous and heterogeneous quoter. He quotes from the Principia of Newton, down to the London Evening Poft: nay, which may be deemed by fome, perhaps, on more accounts than one, the worst of all poffible modes of quoting, he was formerly much addicted to quoting from himself, and has not yet, we believe, quite left the practice off. Mr. L. has indeed two propenfities, which, fomewhat unluckily for his fame, very much interfere with each other: a fondnefs for making discoveries, and a ftrong paffion for quoting. The untoward confequence attending these two propenfities is, that he generally conveys to us his difcoveries and obfervations in the words of preceding writers. -- We protest we had almoft overlooked what may be confidered as the greatest of all our Author's difcoveries; we mean that of the longitude, deduced from his new theory of the magnetic pole. But who could imagine that a matter of fuch importance would have been thruft into an appendix? When we first discovered it there, we naturally fuppofed that Mr. L. after his fublime excurfions among his funs and circulators, Hooked upon the courfes of us lowly worldlings, creeping and paddling, by land and by water, over the furface of this little ball, in no higher light, and as of no greater fignificance, than those of so many animated points moving over the blue of a plumb, or fo many animalcules fwimming on the surface of a drop of pepper-water: but we were miftaken. Our Author has his worldly views, and puts his choice things into an appendix for reafons fimilar to thofe which influence fome to referve the moft material paffages of a letter for the poftfcript. Nay, fuch is Mr. Lovet's idea of the importance of this difcovery, that, according to him, Providence appears to have laid a train, ever fince the days of Burrows and Gunter, for the completion of it by him-nay, he gives fome pretty plain hints as if there was a revelation in this cafe too; by which we do not think he has taken taken the most effectual way to recommend it to notice in this very unbelieving age. The theory on which the proposed difcovery is founded, fuppofes that there is only one magnetic pole, by which the needle is governed in these northern parts of the world, which moves uniformly in a circle round the pole of the equator, at the distance of 13°. 51′ nearly, and at the annual rate of 42. 43′′. 20′′, and at prefent lurks fomewhere, he fufpects, in the bowels of the earth, under the meridian of Acapulco, about the latitude of 76 degrees. On thefe affumptions, the angle of variation and the latitude being given, our Author founds his method of difcovering the longitude, which, overlooking those parts of his theory which appear inconfiftent with actual obfervation, and even granting him all his date and their immediate confequences, fome may poffibly deem impracticable and inadequate. We fhall refrain, however, from paffing our un-authoritative verdict on its merits; but fhall fecond our Author's profeffed views on a part of the parliamentary reward, by referring it, as far as we properly may, to the confideration of a fuperior board, whofe authentication of this great difcovery will be attended with certain comfortable douceurs, of a much more fubftantial nature than the empty praife which we Reviewers have in our power to bestow. When we fat down to this review of Mr. Lovet's performance, we made a covenant with ourselves, in confequence of his humble and apparently modeft request at the end of his preface, to overlook all poffible tranfgreffions in point of method, connexion, language, or grammar.' With thefe benign and favourable difpofitions we accordingly refifted the numerous temptations which were ever and anon prefenting themselves, as we journeyed on through the work: but while we thought we were exercifing forbearance towards Mr. L. behold, at page 391, our own critical fagacity at fault! At the fight of the word, tranfpeciation, which there occurs, we own we were fufficiently difconcerted. We called forth all our philological powers, and even fummoned a board of criticifm on the occafion, which broke up, re infectâ, after confulting every lexiphanic book in Becket's fhop, from Hedericus and Johnfon even down to the Scoundrel's Dictionary. We are candid enough to own that, though we at last mastered it, it was not till our index-maker, who was in waiting upon this occafion, inftinctively, as it were, fpyed the Gloffary, or explanation of the most difficult words,' which Mr. L. we fufpect, from an old grudge, and with a view of diftreffing us critics, had artfully concealed behind his index. We forgive him however, and even congratulate him on the prodigious advances he has made in literature fince the publication of the second part of his Subtile medium proved. At that time, he durft not venture to use the term, electrician, without referring referring us in a note, to the authority of Dr. Franklyn: we find him now fetting up for himself, and producing, if not coining a word, which has puzzled a whole college of reviewers. We are prompted, however, perhaps by a little fpice of envy, to declare our opinion that this word has too ill favoured an appearance, and is too ftrangely turned, ever to be admitted, without a struggle, into the English language.-But to draw towards a conclufion : We have been somewhat late in giving an account of this work, for which omiffion the true apology we have to make is, that it was actually overlooked by us. We are the lefs forry for this overfight of ours, fo far, at leaft, as it relates to Mr. Lovet, as we flatter ourfelves he will not think himself materially injured by the delay. We fhall now take leave of our Author, but not without firft expreffing our concern at finding him perfectly filent, throughout the whole of this volume, with regard to the medical administration of electricity, the profecution of which was, as he has formerly informed us, his first and fole object in procuring an electrical apparatus. Of his fuccessful practice, in this laudable courfe, we have very lately, as well as formerly, fpoken with the approbation to which it really feemed entitled. Mr. L. himself, we think, muft on reflection own, that he was then much more ufefully employed in difpenfing the electric fluid, to the relief of his rheumatic and other difeafed neighbours in Worcester and its environs, than now in publishing to the world his crude fpeculations concerning its nature, which, we very much apprehend, are not likely to be of the leaft benefit to any one living foul in it. We shall accordingly take the liberty, on the footing of old acquaintance, to recommend it to him to refume his medico-electrical exhibitions (in which we doubt not his adroitness) if they have been interrupted; to add to the fmall public ftock of facts of this kind, by publifhing a cool, unexaggerated relation of his moft pertinent experiments, and leave to others, poffibly more. quickfighted or more fortunate than himself, the task of looking after the fubtile medium. Unless a fhort letter, from a gentleman of the faculty to the Author, may be deemed an exception, containing an account of a cure, effected by electricity, of an obitinate fixed pain in the occiput and vertebra of the neck, fuppofed by the relator to have been leated in the fpinal marrow. The gentleman fpeaks of his having great fuccefs in the medical application of electricity, and fays, the practitioners of Salop infirmary have at laft got a fuccessful method of using it. The writer alludes, we fuppofe, to the letter published by Dr. Hart in the 48th Vol. Part II. of the Phil. Tranf. B-Y An An Account of a Series of Experiments, inftituted with a View of af certaining the most fuccessful Method of inoculating the Small-pox. By William Watson, M. D. Fellow of the Royal Society, one of the Trustees of the British Mufeum, and Member of the Royal College of Physicians. 8vo. I s. Nourse. DR R. Watson is one of the phyficians to the Foundling Hofpital; where inoculation has been practised ever since its firft eftablishment; and where some hundreds pass through the artificial disease every year. This fituation gave our Author an opportunity of trying feveral of the methods which have been ufed with fuccefs, together with fome others which promised to be equally fecure.-Defirous therefore to afcertain, whether there was any specific virtue in particular medicines; whether the disease was more favourable, when the matter inoculated was taken from the accidental or artificial small-pox; and whether the thin lymph in the early, or the highly concocted matter in the advanced state of the puftules, produced any different effects; Dr. Watfon undertook this experimental enquiry. All who were inoculated, however differently treated in other refpects, were ordered to abftain from animal food, and from heating liquors; and were permitted to enjoy the cool and open air through the whole disease.-The following is a thort comparative view of the several methods which were pursued. Those inoculated with the ichor (or lymph) of the natural fmall-pox, Puftules at a medium, Four boys, prepared with jalap and calomel, had, at a medium, Of thefe, the boy who had moft puftules had 25, the leaft 5. Four girls with the same, Of thefe, the girl who had most had fix, the leaft 3. 14 each. 5 each. 8 each. 32 cach. Four boys and four girls with infufion of fena, leaft 2; none of the rest had 10. Eleven without medical preparation, Of these, the most were 200, the leaft 1. - • Inoculated with purulent variolous matter from inoculation. Puftules at a medium. Four boys and four girls with calomel only,- 72 each.. 29 each • Sias • With highly concocted matter from inoculation without medical pres paration. Nine boys and nine girls had, Of these, the most were 260, the leaft 1. Puftules at a medium, 57 each. Of these, four were inoculated after three days abftinence only from animal food: these had, The greatest number was 168, the leaft 73 each. Such is the ftate of the facts, from which every perfon is at liberty to make fuch deductions as he may think they will admit of. To me it appears, that after ten or twelve days abstinence from animal food and heating liquors, the perfon being in other respects in good health, it is of no very great importance with what kind of variolous matter he is inoculated; as in every one of the hiftories before mentioned, though the treatment was fo different, the small-pox was fo flight as fcarce to deserve the name of a disease. It fhould feem, however, from the refult of thefe enquiries, that after a few previous gentle purges, in which mercurial preparations have no part, and the variolous matter being inferted in its watery ftate, that the fupervening eruptions will be feweft in number, and the difeafe the flighteft. Ichorous or watery variolous matter, therefore, I fhould chuse to employ.' As to fpecific medicines, Dr Watfon fays;- The boafted effects of the medical noftrums of feveral inoculators, at however an extravagant price the poffeffors may rate them, are, in my opinion, very little to be regarded. The preceding hiftories bear teftimony that much is not wanted; and if these are not deemed fufficiently numerous, we have many hundreds more to produce in corroboration of that teftimony.' We apprehend our Readers will think themselves indebted to Dr. Watson for this feries of experiments.-As no general principles however can be established, but from a very extenfive collection of facts; we hope our Author, and others of the faculty, as they may have opportunity, will purfue the fame plan, and faithfully communicate the refult to the public. D. A Third |