a British officer." 8vo. There are some facts, or pretended facts, here presented, which are certainly at variance with facts asserted in the two preceding works: but the author has concealed his name, and we cannot rely on their correctness they nevertheless require some notice from the friends of Sir John Moore. 7. "Letters from Portugal and Spain, comprising an Account of the Operations of the Arinies under their Excellencies Sir Arthur Wellesley and Sir John Moore, from the Landing of the Troops in Mondego Bay to the Battle at Corunna, &c.: by Adam Neale, M.D. F.L.S. &c." 4to. We cannot pay much compliment to this production. The letters, we are told, were not originally intended for publication, and that to fit them for the press much has been omitted, and much altered. Now the greater part, if not the whole of their value, would, in our opinion, have depended upon their being given as they were originally written for we question whether in that state they were not much simpler, much shorter, and much more natural. In their present shape they are so stuffed with epithets, and bespangled with tropes and figures, as clearly to prove that they have passed through a long process of manufacturing for the press. The writer is always aiming at being peculiarly picturesque, or peculiarly pathetic; feelings that betray him to have composed the greater proportion in his closet, instead of on the field of battle, as he pretends to have done. Some of the writer's feelings also betray him into the common blunders of his countrymen : one instance must suffice. "On en

survey the sadly interesting group within, I recognized, amid the gloom of an inner apartment, the features of an officer with whom I was formerly well acquainted. On approaching he recollected ine, and pointed to the spot where the fatal lead had entered. I was happy to perceive that the wound was not immediately dangerous, and instantly tendered him my services. The ball had been extracted by a surgeon." The account proceeds in the same nambypamby style, to a length we cannot copy: but it soon acquaints us more fully that this fatal ball did not prove fatal; and that the important services which this sentimental physician to his majesty's forces tendered to the wounded officer, after the ball had been extracted, and the wound dressed, consisted in "having advised a bleeding," (why or wherefore we are not told;) "when," adds Dr.Neale, "I quitted him to offer my services to any of those around who might require them."

"A permanent and effective Remedy suggested for the Evils under which the British West Indies now labour: in a Letter from a West India Merchant to a West India Planter." 8vo. This pamphlet boldly recommends a reduction of the growth of sugar as the only means of obtaining an adequate price. To this there is one serious 'objection, and which must effectually preclude it from answering: and that is, the growing extension of West India colonies by the capture and conquest of other islands. The pamphlet is well written, and well worthy of atten. tion.

Interes

Interests of Great Britain, by Lord Sheffield." The position advanced in the title-page does not appear to be established by the facts or reasoning in the tract itself: for the noble author admits that our commerce has fallen off considerably during the year in which the orders in council have operated, though he ascribes the defalcation (erroneously as it appears to us) to other sources. It is, however, one of the best pamphlets on the subject.

The peculiar state of Ireland has called forth many tracts, but none of essential consequence. We will just notice, that Sir Jonah Barrington, judge of the high court of admiralty, has published in a quarto fascicle the first part of his "His toric Anecdotes and Secret Me

moirs of the Legislative Union between Great Britain and Ireland.” It will be time for us to examine it more in detail when the work s completed.

A View of the Gold and Silver Coin of all Nations, &c. by Joseph Ede." This consists of copperplate engravings, intended to guard the public against frauds, by a representation of genuine legends : but the engravings are in various instances incorrect.

Our law list consists chiefly of Mr. Comyns's Treatise on Contracts and Agreements not under Seal: Mr. Campbell on Nisi Prius: Mr. Turner on the Practice of the Court of Exchequer: Mr. Bradby on the Law of Distress: Mr. Sugden on Powers: Mr. Minchin en Debt and Credit.

CHAP

Romances.

THE

" Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London" have still sufficient interest and importance to induce us to open the present chapter with a brief notice of the articles contained in the volume published for the year before us. The first part consists of nine communications, as follows: 1. "The Croonian Lecture. On the Functions of the Heart and Arteries: by Thomas Young, M. D. For. Sec. R. S. The observations here communicated are founded upon the idea, that "the mechanical notions which take place in an animal body, are regulated by the same general laws as the motions of inanimate bodies." The questions examined upon this assumption, are, first," what would be the nature of the circulation of the blood, if the whole of the veins and arteries were invariable in their dimensions, like tubes of glass or of bone? In the second place, in what manner would the pulse be transmitted from the heart through the arteries, if they were merely elastic tubes? and, in the third place, what actions can we with propriety attribute to the muscular coats of the arteries themselves?" - The paper concludes with some observations on the disturbance of these motions, which may be supposed to occur in different kinds of inflammations and of fevers.

We cannot pursue this elaborate inquiry, which we have read with much pleasure and improvement. We cannot avoid noticing, however, that in allowing forty pounds, as the average weight of the blood in an adult, the writer appears to have exceeded the due proportion by at least twelve pounds, though we are aware that some physiologists have absurdly doubled, and even more than doubled, the ratio he has here assigned. He calculates that the muscular coats of the arteries are of high, if not of principal utility, in accommodating the diameter of the blood-vessels to their contents, which he supposes to be perpetually varying: and modestly observes, towards the close of his subject, that "with respect to the tendency of inflammation in general to extend itself to the neighbouring parts, it is scarcely possible to form any reasonable conjecture that can lead to its explanation: that this circumstance appears to be placed beyond the reach of any mechanical theory, and to belong rather to some mutual communication of the functions of the nervous system, since it is not inflammation only that is thus propagated, but a variety of other local affections of a specific nature, which are usually complicated with inflammation, although they may perhaps, in some cases, be independent of it." Till this

is more intelligibly explained, we are afraid we must adhere to Mr. John Hunter's theory of continuous and contiguous sympathy. 2. "Account of some Experiments performed with a View to ascertain the most advantageous method of constructing a Voltaic Apparatus, for the Purposes of Chemical Research: by John Geo. Children, Esq. F. R. S." The apparatus here noticed is of two kinds: first, a battery with plates of copper and zinc, connected to gether by leaden straps, soldered on the top of each pair of plates, which are twenty in number, each plate being four feet high by two feet wide; the sum of all the surfaces being g2160 square inches, exclusive of the single plate at each end of the battery. The trough is made of wood, with wooden partitions, well covered with cement to reader them perfectly tight, so that no water can flow from one cell to another. The battery was charged with a mixture of three parts, fuming nitrous, and one part sulphuric acid, diluted with thirty parts of water, and the quantity used was an hundred and twenty gallons. The second battery consisted of two hundred pairs of plates, each about two inches square, placed in half pint pots of common queen's ware, and made active by some of the liquor used in exciting the large battery, to which was added a fresh portion of sulphuric acid, equal to about a quarter of a pint to a gallon. The result of these new, and in many respects more commodious modes of condensing the electric or voltaic power, confirms the axiom of Mr. Davy, that "the intensity increases with the number, and the quantity with the extent of the series."

3. "The Bakerian Lecture. An Account of some new Analytical Researches on the Nature of certain Bodies, particularly the Alkalies, Phosphorus, Sulphur, Carbonace. ous Matter, and the Acids hitherto undecompounded; with some general Observations on Chemical Theory: by Humphry Divv, Esq. Sec. R.S. &c." This very elaborate and curious article continues the series of Mr. Davy's very important experiments on the most intractable substances in modern chemistry. We have already noticed the result of his experiments on potash and soda; and the field being hereby opened, he has expatiated in it with a fearless, and almest unlimited step. Our readers will readily allow us to accompany him to an extent which we cannot admit to writers or experiments in general. We shall give the chief point of the article from the notes mminuted down by us on a patient and attentive perusal of it. MM. Gay Lusac and Thenard have discovered since Mr. Davy's first publication upon the nature of potash and sola, that potassium may be obtained much more readily and in larger quantities, by the simple action of ignited iron upon potash, which separates the oxygen as ef fectually as the voltaic circuit. Hence these chemists have conceived and asserted, that potassium is a compound of potash and hydrogen, i stead of being a simple substance (simplified by the abstraction of oxygen); and that the hydrogen is derived from the metal employed. This assertion, if true, would altogether subvert Mr. Davy's theory; and tend towards introducing the phlogistic theory once more. Mr. Davy, by a very ac curate and extensive series of experiments here referred to, has

very satisfactorily proved, however, that potassium neither contains any hydrogen, nor any affinity for it. With respect to the other articles examined, the following is a brief sketch of the general results:

Sulphur. The voltaic circuit appears sufficiently to prove this to be no longer a simple substance, but to consist of a certain portion of hydrogen and oxygen, in connexion with a resinous, oily, and carbonaceous matter; this last constituting the acidifiable basis.

Phosphorus. This also contains a small quantity of hydrogen and oxygen. The basis, however, has

not been obtained free.

Boracic Acid. From this a combustible matter was obtained, which bears the same relation to this acid as sulphur and phosphorus do to the sulphuric and phosphoric acids. But is it, inquires Mr. Davy, an elementary inflammable body, the pure basis of the acid? or is it not like sulphur and phosphorus compounded?

Fluoric Acid. The decomposition of this by sulphur and potassium, seems analogous to that of the acids of sulphur and phosphorus. In none of them are the pure bases, or even the bases in their common form resolved, but new compounds result.

Muriatic Acid. The experiments upon this are very unsatisfactory, though highly curious.

Plumbago. Carbonaceous matter, merely in combination with iron, and in a form approaching to that of a metal in its nature, being conducting in a high degree, opake and lustrous.

Charcoal. A compound substance also; containing a minuter quantity of hydrogen in combination; alkalies and earths are produced durig its combustion, not fully

combined with oxygen. In the main it consists of pure carbon and hydrogen.

Diamond. This also seems to possess oxygen; but the quantity must be exceedingly minute, though probably sufficient to render the compound non-conducting. Like charcoal, it appears to consist in the main of pure carbon, and perhaps consists of this altogether: it does not, like charcoal, produce water under any degree of heat, and hence has no hydrogen.

Azot and Hydrogen in combination. There is some doubt whether this be an elementary principle. In one or two experiments, p. 55, on ainmonia, in which it was analyzed by volcanic electricity, Mr. Davy appears to have decompounded it, and in one experiment, . 52, to have generated it. One of its elements he suspects to be oxygen; but what is the other? As ammonia (the result of azot and hydrogen) appears to be metallic, and to amalgamate with mercury, has azote a metallic base, and is the gass, &c. which, in the formation of this amalgam appears to possess the properties of hydrogen, a new species of inflam mable aërial substance? We appear, therefore, to be uncertain in some degree, as to the existence, as elements, both of azot and hydrogen. The general result of these experiments is, that hydrogen does not appear (as Mr. Davy at one time expected it would do) to be a common principle in all inflammable bodies: and that the theory of Lavoisier has still an advantage over that of Phlogiston. In proportion as a progress is made towards a knowledge of pure combustible bases, is the number of metallic substances increased: and could sulphur and phosphorus be perfectly deprived of oxygen, it is

probable