nism in that city, being a clock with certain curious appendages, which he was very desirous of seeing, and no less so of conversing with the maker. On his arrival, however, he could neither procure a sight of the former, nor draw the least hint from the latter concerning it. Thus disappointed, he fell upon an expedient for accomplishing his design; and accordingly took up his residence in the house of the mechanic, paying the more liberally for his board, as he had hopes from thence of more readily obtaining the indulgence wished for. He was accommodated with a room directly over that in which the favourite piece was kept carefully locked up: and he had not long to wait for his gratification: for the artist, while one day employed in examining his machine, was suddenly called down stairs; which the young enquirer happening to overhear, softly slipped into the room, inspected the machine, and, presently satisfying himself as to the secret, escaped undiscovered to his own apartment. His end thus compassed, he shortly after bid the artist farewell, and returnel to his father in England.

About two or three years after his return from Ireland, he left Congleton, and entered into business for himself at Derby, where he soon got into great employment, and distinguished himself very much by several ingenious pieces of mechanism, both in his own regular line of business, and in various other respects, as in the construction of curious thermometers, barometers, and other philosophical instruments, as well as in ingenious contrivances for water-works, and the erection of various larger machines; being consulted in almost all the undertakings in Derbyshire, and in the neighbouring counties, where the aid of superior skill, in mechanics, pneumatics, and hydraulics, was requisite.

In this manner his time was fully and usefully employed in the country, till, in 1775, when the act being passed for the better regulation of the gold coin, he was appointed stamper of the money-weights; an office conferred upon him altogether unexpectedly, and without solicitation. Upon this occasion he removed to London, where he spent the remainder of his days, in the constant habits of cultivating some useful parts of philosophy and mechanism.

In 1778, Mr. Whitehurst published his Inquiry into the Original State and Formation of the Earth; of which a second edition appeared in 1786, considerably enlarged and improved; and a third in 1792. This was the labour of many years; and the numerous investigations necessary to its completion were in themselves also of so untoward a nature as at times, though he was naturally of a strong constitution, not a httle to prejudice his health. When he first entered upon this species of research, it was not altogether with a view to investigate the formation of the earth, but in part to obtain such a competent knowledge of subterraneous geography as might become subservient to the

May the 13th, 1779, he was elected and admitted a fellow of the Royal Society. Before he was admitted a member, three several papers of his had been inserted in the Philosophical Transactions, viz. Thermometrical Observations at Derby, in vol. 57; An Account of a Machine for raising Water, at Oulton, in Cheshire, in vol. 65; and Experiments on Ignited Substances, vol. 66; which three papers were printed afterwards in the colleetion of his works in 1792.

In 1783, he made a second visit to Ireland, with a view to examine the Giant's Causeway, and other northern parts of that island, which he found to be chiefly composed of volcanic matter: an account and representation of which are inserted in the latter editions of his Inquiry. During this excursion he erected an engine for raising water from a well, to the summit of a hill, in a bleaching-ground at Tullidoi, in the county of Tyrone, which is worked by a current of water.

In 1787, he published An Attempt toward obtaining Invariable Measures of Length, Capacity, and Weight, from the Mensuration of Time. His plan is to obtain a measure of the greatest length that conveniency will permit, from two pendulums whose vibrations are in the ratio of 2 to 1, and whose lengths coincide nearly with the English standard in whole numbers. The numbers which he has chosen show much ingenuity. On a supposition that the length of a second's pendulum, in the latitude of London, is 39 inches, the length of one vibrating 42 times in a minute must be 80 inches; and of another vibrating 84 times in a minute must be 20 inches; and their dif ference 60 inches, or five feet, is his standard measure. By the experiments, however, the difference between the lengths of the two pendulum rods was found to be only 59 892 inches, instead of 60, owing to the error in the assumed length of the second's pendulum, 39 inches being greater than the truth, which ought to be 394 very nearly. By this experiment, Mr. Whitehurst obtained a fict, as accurately as may be in a thing of this nature, viz. the difference between the lengths of two pendulum rods whose vibrations are known. a datum, from whence may be obtained, by calculation, the true lengths of pendulums, the spaces through which heavy bodies fall in a given time, and many other particulars relating to the doctrine of gravitation, the figure of the earth, &c.

Mr. Whitehurst had been at times subject to slight attacks of the gout, and he had for several years felt himself gradually declining. By an attack of that disease in his stomach, after a struggle of two or three months, it put an end to his laborious and useful life, on the 18th of February, 1788, in the 75th year of his age, at his house in Bolt-court, Fleetstreet, being the house in which another emi

nent self-taught philosopher, Mr. James Ferguson, had immediately before him lived and died.

WHITELIVERED. a. (from white and liver.) Envious; malicious; cowardly.

WHITELY. a. (from white.) Coming near to white (Southern).

WHITEMEAT. s. (white and meat.) Food made of milk (Spenser).

WHITE MOUNTAINS, the highest part of a ridge of mountains, in the state of New Hampshire, in N. America. They extend N.E. and S.W.; and their height above an adjacent meadow is 5500 feet; and the meadow is 3500 feet above the level of the sea. The snow and ice cover them nine or ten months in the year; and during that time they exhibit the bright appearance from which they are denominated the White Mountains. Although they are 70 miles inland, they are seen many leagues off at sea, and appear like an exceedingly bright cloud in the horizon. Their highest summit is in lat, 44° N.

To WHITEN. v. a. (from white.) To make white (Temple).

To WHITEN. v. n. To grow white (Smith). WHITENER. s. (from whiten.) One who makes any thing white.

WHITENESS. s. (from white.) 1. The state of being white; freedom from colour (Newton). 2. Paleness (Shakspeare). 3. Purity; cleanness (Dryden).

WHITE SEA, a bay of the Frozen ocean, in the N. part of Russia, on the E. side of which stands the city of Archangel.

1.

WHITEWASH. s. (white and wash.) A wash to make the skin seem fair (Addison). 2. A kind of liquid plaster with which walls are whitened (Harte).

WHITE-WASHING, is the act of cleans ing ceilings and walls, with a solution of lime in water, to which a little size is occasionally added.

The practice of white-washing apartments eminently contributes to the preservation of health; hence we would recommend the proprietors of cottages to enjoin their tenants regularly to perform this operation, at least once annually. In countries abounding with lime, the expence will be trifling; and, even though this article should be purchased, the whole cost will not exceed one shilling. It ought to be remarked, however, that hot or quick-lime is preferable to any other, and must be employed as soon as possible after it is slacked; for, by attending to this circumstance, its effects in destroying vermin, and removing infection, will be considerably increased.

WHITFIELD, or WHITEFIELD (George), one of the first and most celebrated preachers among the methodists, was born in 1714, at the Bell inn, in Gloucester, which was then kept by his mother. He received his education at the grammar-school of Gloucester, and afterwards became servitor of Pembroke college, Oxford. At the age of twenty-one, the fame of his piety recommended him so effectually to Dr. Benson, bishop of Gloucester, that he

offered him ordination, which he accepted, and applied himself most indefatigably to the duties of his character, preaching daily in prisons, fields, and open streets, wherever he thought there would be a chance of making proselytes. Having made himself universally known in England, he embarked for America, where the tenets of methodism had begun to spread very fast under his friends, John and Charles Wesley. Here he gained many converts, and instituted the orphan-house at Georgia. After a long and successful course of itinerant preaching, his fortune improved as his fame increased, and he erected two extensive buildings for pub lic worship; one in Tottenham-court-road, and the other in Moorfields, where, with the help of some assistants, he continued for several years, attended by overflowing congregations; he had also establishments of the same kind in variou parts of the kingdom, besides being connected, as chaplain to the countess dowager of Huntingdon, with several chapels built under her patronage. By a lively, fertile, and penetrat ing genius, by the most unwearied zeal, and by a forcible and persuasive delivery, he never failed to produce a good effect upon his crowded and admiring audiences. America, how. ever, which had constantly engaged much of his attention, was destined to close his eyes, and he died at Newbury, about 40 miles from Boston, in New England, in 1770. His sermons and other works are well known,

WHITHER. a. (hpydeɲ, Saxon.) 1.T what place? interrogatively (Dryden). 2. To what place: absolutely (Milton). 3. To which place: relatively (Clarendon). 4. To wa degree: obsolete (Ben Jonson).

WHITHERITE, in mineralogy, a native carbonat of barytes; colour yellowish-gre, passing into greyish-white and pale wax-ye low: it is found massy, disseminated, rarel crystallized, at Anglezach in the north of Lan cashire, at Schlangenburg in Siberia, and near Neuburg in Upper Stiria.

WHITHERSOEVER. ad. (whither and soever.) To whatsoever place (Taylor). WHITING, in ichthyology. See GADUS. WHITING (Pout), in ichthyology. See GADUS.

WHITISH. a. (from white.) Somewha: white (Boyle).

WHITISHNESS. s. (from whitish.) The quality of being somewhat white (Boyle),

WHITLEATHER. s. (white and leather) Leather dressed with alum, remarkable for toughness (Chapman).

WHITLOW. See SURGERY. WHITLOW-WORM, in helminthology. See GORDIUS.

WHITSUN-FARTHINGS, otherwise called Smoke-farthings or Quadrantes Pente costales, a composition for offerings which were anciently made in Whitsun-week by every man in England, who occupied a house with a chimney, to the cathedral church of the diocese in which he lived.

WHITSUNDAY, a solemn festival of the Christian church, observed on the fiftieth day

after Easter, in memory of the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles in the visible appearance of fiery cloven tongues, and of those miraculous powers which were then conferred upon them. It is called Whitsunday, or WhiteSunday; because this being one of the stated times for baptism in the ancient church, those who were baptised put on white garments, as types of that spiritual purity they received in baptism. As the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles happened upon the day which the Jews called Pentecost, this festival retained the name of Pentecost among the early Christians.

The origin of this feast is by Epiphanius carried as high as the time of the apostles. The passage, however, (Acts xx. 16.) to which he refers, in proof of his position, has been usually taken in another sense. But it was doubtless observed in the time of Origen; for he speaks of it in his books against Celsus, hb. 8. Tertullian also mentioned it before him in his book on Idolatry, cap. 14. And Irenæus, before either of them, that is, about A.D. 180, mentioned it in his book concerning Easter; as the author of the Questions, under the name of Justin Martyr, informs us; Qu.

115.

WHITSUNTIDE ISLAND, one of the New Hebrides, in the Pacific ocean. It is 12 miles long and five broad, and was discovered by captain Wallis, on Whitsunday, 1767. Lon. 168. 20 E. Lat. 15. 44 S. WHITTLE. s. (hpýzel, Saxon.) white dress for a woman: not in use. knife (Shakspeare).

1. A 2. A

1.

To WHITTLE. v. a. (from the noun.) To cut with a knife. 2. To edge; to sharpen: not used (Hakewill). WHITTLEBURY FOREST, a forest in the S. part of Northamptonshire, nine miles inlength, and, in some parts, above three in breadth. Here the wild cat is still found. In 1085, the first duke of Grafton was appointed hereditary ranger of this forest, in which the present duke has a fine seat, called Wakefield Lodge.

To WHIZ. v. a. (from the sound.) To make a loud humming noise (Shakspeare). WHO. pronoun. genitive whose; other cases whom. (hpa, Saxon; wie, Dutch.) 1. A pronoun relative, applied to persons (Abbot). 2. Which of many (Locke). 3. As who shall say, elliptically for as one who should say (Collier). 4. It is used often interrogatively (Psalms).

WHOEVER. pronoun. (who and ever.) Any one without limitation or exception (Pope).

WHOLE. a. (palg, Saxon; heel, Dutch.) 1. All; total; containing all (Shakspeare). 2. Complete; not defective (Waller). 3. Uninjured; unimpaired (Samuel). 4. Well of any hurt or sickness (Joshua).

WHOLE. S. 1. The totality; no part omitted; the complex of all the parts (Broome). 2. A system; a regular combination (Pope). WHOLESALE. s. (whole and sale.) 1.

Sale in the lump, not in separate small parcels. 2. The whole mass ( Fatis).

WHO'LESALE. a. Buying or selling in the lump, or in large quantities (Addison).

WHO'LESOME. a. (heelsam, Dutch ; from hæl, Saxon, health.) 1. Sound (Atterbury). 2. Contributing to health (Addison). 3. Preserving; salutary: obsolete (Psalms). 4. Useful; conducive to happiness or virtue (Denham). 5. Kindly; pleasing (Shakspeare). WHOLESOMELY. ad. Salubriously;

salutiferously.

WHO'LESOMENESS. . (from toholesome.) 1. Quality of conducing to health; salubrity (Graunt). 2. Salutariness; conduciveness to good.

WHO'LLY. ad. (from whole.) 1. Completely; perfectly (Dryden). 2. Totally; in all the parts or kinds (Bacon).

WHOM. The accusative of who, singular and plural.

WHO'MSOEVER. pron. (oblique case of whosoever.) Any without exception (Locke). WHOO BUB. s. Hubbub (Shakspeare). WHOOP. S. Sce Hoop. 1. A shout of pursuit (Addison). 2. (upupa, Latin.)

bird.

A

To WHOOP. v.n. (from the noun.) To shout with malignity (Shakspeare).

To WHOOP. v. a. To insult with shouts (Dryden)

WHORE. s. (heɲ, Saxon; hoere, Dutch.) 1. A woman who converses unlawfully with men; a fornicatress; an adultress; a strumpet (Ben Jonson). 2. A prostitute; a woman who receives men for money (Dryden).

To

To WHORE. v. n. (from the noun). converse unlawfully with the other sex (Dryden).

To WHORE. v. a. To corrupt with regard to chastity (Congreve).

WHOREDOM, s. (from whore.) Fornication (South).

WHOREMASTER. WHOREMO'NGER. S. (whore and master, or monger.) One who keeps whores, or converses with a fornicatress (Shakspeare).

WHO'RESON. s. (whore and son.) A bastard (Shakspeare).

WHO'RISH. a. (from whore.) Unchaste; incontinent (Shakspeare).

WHORTLEBERRY BEARS. See UVA

IDEA.

WHOSE. 1. Genitive of who. (Shakspeare). 2. Genitive of which. (Prior).

WHO'SO. WHOSOEVER. pronoun. (who and soever.) Any, without restriction. Whoso is out of use (Bacon. South).

WHURT. s. A whortleberry; a bilberry (Carew).

WHY. ad. (hpi, Fonhpi, Saxon.) 1. For what reason? interrogatively (Swift). 2. For which reason: relatively (Boyle). 3. For what reason: relatively (Milton). 4. It is sometimes used emphatically (South). WHYNN DYKES, in mineralogy, dykes,

banks, or natural walls of whin-stone, a peculiar species of basalt, found in various parts of the world, but no where on so grand and stupendous a scale as on the Scotch and Irish coasts. The nature and origin of this singularly arranged and most wonderful mineral production have for many years strongly attracted the attention and divided the opinion of geologists. The Swedes and Germans, with M. Bergman at their head, have contended that it is of an aqueous origin; and their arguments are highly plausible, and have met with extensive support in Great Britain. The French and the Italians, on the contrary, with various other English philosophers, have contended for its being an igneous formation; and hence whynn dykes are by the followers of this school uniformly denominated lava veins. But here the latter class of geologists appear to disagree one division of them, with Dr. Hutton and professor Playfair in the foreground, believing them to consist of unerupted lava, or of matter fused by some enormous subterranean beat, and forced up the basaltic cavities and interstices in which it is usually found, by some unknown power; while another division of them, led forward by Dr. Hamilton, as plausibly conjecturing them to consist of erupted lava, thrown forth from volcanos in a state of violent activity, and forced down the same cavities, as it rolls forward by its specific gravity. And hence, while the aqueous system is denominated the Neptunian, the first division of the igneous system is denominated the Volcanic, and the second the Plutonic.

Dr. Richardson, who has lately written several valuable and important papers on this curious subject in the Philosophical Transactions, appears to have adopted a third opinion, essentially differing from both the preceding. He shows evidently that the whynn dykes of Ireland and Scotland cannot be of igneous origin, whilst he believes that instead of being posterior to the basaltic mountains or the other rocks they cut through, all of which he conceives to be of aqucous birth, he supposes them to have possessed an antecedent date, and to form the frame-work or skeleton of the globe. His last paper upon this subject is of too much importance, in the present uncertain state of mineralogy, to be past by, and we shall hence present our readers with the following extracts from it. It occurs in the 9th vol. of the Royal Irish Academy.

"The whynn dykes in the Hebrides are seen under very different circumstances from those on the northern coast of Ireland. There they are found on, and above, the surface, generally a few feet; and often serve as fences, whence they obtain their name. In this form they run northwards quite to the extremity of these islands, ascending and descending mountains, crossing seas; and where these are narrow, the dykes that run into the water at one side of a channel are seen rising out of it at the other side, steadily pursuing their formed rectilineal course.

"With us they are sometimes exhibited in a very different manner. Their first appear. ance is in the faces of our vast perpendicular precipices, where they are seen cutting verti cally the several strata of which these are com posed, and then burying themselves in the northern ocean.

"The observations made on these whynn dykes in the two countries, taken together, nake our information on the subject complete. In the Hebrides we are surprised at the incredible length to which these mighty walls proceed, and we see them penetrating indifferently all substances they encounter :with us we can measure a part, and a part only, of their stupendous height, as at the Milestone 100 feet, at Port Spagna 330 feet, at Fairhead probably more; and we can ch serve the effect, or rather the non-effect, pro duced at their contacts with the different ma terials they meet, as they are seen in the faces of our precipices.

66

By Mr. Mills's account, (Phil. Trans. 1790,) the island of Lismore, entirely limestone, is crossed by whynn dykes, as is the limestone at Gartness; at Iona granite is the contiguous matter, at Juva chert, at Persabas a whynn dyke is crossed by a lead vein, and another at Glascow Beg; at the isle of Arran Mr. Jameson finds them cutting through porphyry and micaceous schistus.

With us the whynn dykes at the west ward of the Giant's Causeway cut through strata of table basalt, and red ochreous matter, placed alternately; at the Giant's Causeway, and Port Spagna, they cut through strata of finer basalt, disposed in prismatic pillars; while at Fairhead they encounter new materials, to wit, alternate strata of freestone and coal.

"In both countries these mighty walls are always of basalt; their general thickness 15 from twelve to fifteen feet, though in one or two instances they do not exceed two or three feet, and at Gartness the whynn dyke is 23 yards across; but it has not been ascertained, in any instance, to what depth they reach beneath the surface, even in the deepest mines.

“Though the material of which these walls are composed seems to be in general the same, yet from Mr. Mills's account there are im portant differences between the Scotch whyrn dykes; and with us scarce any two of our dykes, that are accessible, exactly (as will ap pear) resemble each other.

"As the whynn dykes Mr. Mills observe! are unquestionably basalt, he calls them all lava, and attempts to prove it by a sort of vag induction: page 75, he says, Islay whynn dykes resemble those at Ballycastle, which take their rise in a country confessedly abounding with volcanic matter.

Now the specimens from the Islay dykes strongly resemble (as he says) the Derbyshire toadsone, formed, as he asserts (page 99), by subterraneous fire.

"Of Derbyshire I will not presume to say any thing, having never visited it; but the